Do you remember the Funco tandem off road race buggies from the late 70’s and early 80’s? This Funco desert racing buggy is the infamous Patrick & Bowers buggy that won the Score 1980 Class 2 championship. It has won such races as the Mint 400 and Baja 500. If being a tandem buggy is not enough, it has the typical 80’s parts like yellow Bilstein shocks, Cibie lights and a windshield. I am not sure I would like to be the passenger in this one…what do you think?

Frequent contributor Kevin Vaughan posted these photos on the Vintage Class 4 Photos thread on Race Dezert. Check out Roger Mears co driver!

> The NORRA Mexican 1000 vintage desert race is coming up in a few weeks. Below, we have a video of the 2010 event. If this does not make you want to attend, I do not know what will!

I recently came across these TV coverage videos of the Bill Stroppe Ford Broncos racing in the 1968 Baja 1000. Can you imagine racing back then?

Check out the vintage videos of the first Mexican 1000 off road desert race from 1967. This race started as the NORRA Mexican 1000 and later evolved into the infamous Baja 1000.

I have always loved International Scouts. They are like the girl next door that is not as pretty or popular as the other girls, but surprises you by being just as good or better in bed than the more popular girls. The International Scout was never as popular as Jeeps or Broncos, but performed just as well on and off road as them. Frequent Off Road Action photo contributor Kevin posted some more photos on the Ultimate Class 3 Photo thread on Race Dezert. In September 1978, International Harvester sponsored the Coors Off Road Championship in Colorado, a 100-mile race held on a closed course near Indian Springs. The day before the race, the competitors were all invited to display their rigs at Colorado Springs Equipment Co. All these Scouts were on display there; one that wasn’t there was Sherman Balch’s green-and-white machine that won the race the next day.

Did you know that 4 time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears started his career as an off road racer? Mears, who also holds the record of 6 Indy 500 pole position starts, raced buggies with his off road racing star brother Roger Mears. There was a few other rides, such as the Parnelli Jones Chevrolet pictured above, but most fans remember the Mears brothers battling it out at Riverside Raceway. Do you have more photos or information about Rick Mears and his off road racing career?

Do you remember the old days of desert racing? Larry Minor, Rod Hall, James Garner, Walker Evans, Ray Russell? We have discussed the Old Off Road Pics thread on Race Dezert a few times. However, they have added a whole vintage section to the forum and a lot of previously unseen photos have been posted, so we thought we would mention it again.

For years, I had heard about Dirt: The Movie, but had never seen it. Now, we have the ablility to view the whole movie on You Tube. Follow Clarke Gordon as he travels across the states to learn more about this thing called off roading. Desert racing, sand drags, swamp buggies, hill climbs, Pikes Peak…this video has it all! It is a great collection of vintage off road racing!