I am a 64 year old drag racing fan... Looking back without a doubt The Winged Express and Mr. Borsch clearly ran the most bad a$$ car of this century! Thank you sir!! The memory's will be with me forever.
Mike is an amazing driver, always getting the absolute most out of the car. That guy would have dominated the class back in the day because he doesn't fear the car. After being around those untamed beasts for years, there were very few drivers with Mike's talent. There is another thing that has to be mentioned.....in the video, you see a lot of the Bradford Family Fiat Altered. You have to give credit to Randy Bradford as well. He is an amazing driver who deserves recognition.
This is one of the greatest, if not The Greatest drag racing car of all time! I remember seeing this car often at the old Irwindale dragstrip in the 60's and 70's. It was great! To see Wild Willie drive this beast one hand on the half steering wheel and the other on the side of the body. He did this 99% of the time, no matter what! Awesome, awesome, awesome! I really, really miss Irwindale, and Orange County, and, and, and...... .
My favorite car of all time saw it at Thompson dragway years ago was an honor and privilege to stand next to it one of my fondest memories, will never forget it rest in piece willie and mousie
I recall that the original car (which I saw at numerous SoCal strips in 1968 and maybe earlier) only ran a 354 inch Chrysler block (circa; 1956) which was unlike many other fuel cars of the era (The Frantic Four) simply because the chassis & tires couldn't really handle much more. I saw Willie drive this car many times @ SoCal strips (Lions, Irwindale, OCIR) and he always drove with one hand on the wheel on and one hand on the side of the body.
I was there as a teenager...grew up at Lions, 223rd St. At Almeda, drive the highways and race at Lions. I got to see all big names trying to get to double century mark with 1500 hp
This is incredible. Mike Boyd is the best driver in drag racing--I am convinced he is the living embodiment of Wille Borsch. Awesome footage, thanks forthe upload.
@@josephanderson8130 You are right Joseph... This Boyd is a good driver, but he is no Willie Borsch. And this car definitely looks like a clone. I used to talk to Willie, and Rich Harrell who built the engines, in the pit at Lions Drag Strip when the car was Harrell, Borsch and Muse. The car is different.
I remember seeing Willy himself driving at the 1969 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis. To say those cars were wild is putting it mildly. On a qualifying run, the Winged Express got a bit out of shape, took a few bounces, and crossed the finish line on one wheel.....a front wheel ! Willy never took his foot out of it until he crossed the finish line. Truly the stuff of legends. BTW, the other car beside him was the also famed Pure Hell. Those were different times, and all great.
AA/Fuel Altered was a late 1960s , early 1970s class based on T-Bucket or Fiat Topolino bodied Altereds from that era. Lives on as an Exhibition Class. All that power in a short wheelbase without a lot of the modern chassis and aerodynamic technology of today's Funny Cars & Top Fuellers!
Awesome video watched it twice ............. Now I have a grin that you couldn't with off with a brick I always figured a racecar did have have doors for AA/FA I could make an exception!
It carried the weheels for the whole damn eighth mile! Wow lol Some crazy shit. Wish they were still a part of NHRA, just like how I love pro stock truck
I heard an old Don Garlits story , not quite sure if it's true but here it is , Don would have a Hemi built , it was put on the dyno and cranked up to 5000rpm , Don would go eat lunch and come back in 15 to 20 minutes and if the Hemi was still running , he installed into the dragster .
Back in the late 60’s we were at irwindale raceway, I was on the Pure Heaven 2 crew .we were pushing down to fire up we and behind the Winged Express,Willie suffered from narcolepsy, and feel asleep on the way down and ran into the guard rail.it woke him up and went on to make the run. PureHeaven won .
In June of 1972 I met Wild Willie and Mike Boyd. Mike didn’t like me because Willie offered to take me on tour with him and I was taking Willie and the Winged Express out of the way to get my parents permission to go. My family refused to let me go, but the Original Winged Express was in trailer in front of My House 🏡
Not only do I miss Mike paying homage to Willie and by the way doing Willie proud but, also the breather masks....true 60's drag racing ...now its pretty much just posers.....😢
@MrNitro65 Two thumbs up on saving the original paint. Ive got a short wheelbase VW pickup built in 69 thats been in long term storage. some of the muds startin to bubble but damned if im gonna fix and paint!!
Mike, How does the car handle with that VERY large Horizontal round steering wheel as opposed to the more conventional small butterfly wheel? One would think that when the car goes off at 45-degree angle, the smaller butterfly wheel would be more responsive. Is that true? What are the benefits of the larger, horizontal steering wheel?
Great driver , great machine . Pure poetry in motion . I wish the NHRA wasn't the corporate sell out like it is now . I think it would be better all the way around .
I bought an original 95 inch wheelbase fuel altered chassis for 600 bucks when I was fifteen and now 7 years later I might bet to drive the deathtrap lol
I love the tank pickup is at rear end of tank, pointed at fuel pump intake!!! Center or gravity of freaky elephant motor is way above drive axle center line!!! Proper weight transfer is the scientific method we are learning!!!!
@BucksOwin actually talked to Marcellus at a nostalgia event, it IS a clone........stick vs automatic comment? Would that have been the stupid comment about why Saboury's car uses a lenco because you didn't think anyone used them anymore?.............Maybe you need to actuually GO to a drag race and see that pro mods use either a lenco with a clutch or a Bruno/Lenco for a transmission.............why are you bashing me for saying the truth?.......What the hell do YOU think they use?
I jad the distinct pleasure of seeing Sir William many many mons ago. As a young man even I thougjt he was the most Batshit driver Id ever seen in my short life. Sideway half way down the track steering with one hand like a banshee all hopped up on Robitussin. The man was fearless and put on the best show I have to this day ever seen. NE Dragway was never the same after that. Nor was I...
I miss ye olde awful altered & the original fuel coupes. Model "A" bases bodies on digger chassis. Cool. Wild willy was in this one. Don't see that often. Used to like RAt Trap as well, had a Hot Rod mag pic of it on my wall next to the winged express & Harry Schmitt's blue max.
Seen Wild Willie in Bakersfield( before there were guardrails) Run the car smoking the tires sideways off the track next to the grandstands and back on the track and never lifted...Crazy Mo Fo
Big Motor ? It's a 392 1957/58 Chrysler New Yorker Engine, just like your Grandma had. ! Thousands of them are still WOOing the Fans every weekend, few people give the old Iron Hemis any credit, but they started the "fuelie" drag racing wars. And are still out there all over the world performing ! and Thrilling Folks, ya gotta love em !
Sorry got all nostalgic tonight. My most favorite car of all time. Get past the music and turn up the sound of nitro. Willy still rides along all be it in a urn.
Rest In Peace Mike Boyd, Gone on February 22nd 2022.
I have three older brothers, they were all into Hot Rod magazine and the Revell car kits. They built one of these kits and were so proud of it.
I am a 64 year old drag racing fan... Looking back without a doubt The Winged Express and Mr. Borsch clearly ran the most bad a$$ car of this century! Thank you sir!! The memory's will be with me forever.
RIP Mike and Mousie, thanks for the smiles.
Absolutely one of the cars that defined the era.
Thank you so much....one of the great cars of all time.
RIP Wild Willie.....and thank you Mike Boyd.
Mike is an amazing driver, always getting the absolute most out of the car. That guy would have dominated the class back in the day because he doesn't fear the car. After being around those untamed beasts for years, there were very few drivers with Mike's talent. There is another thing that has to be mentioned.....in the video, you see a lot of the Bradford Family Fiat Altered. You have to give credit to Randy Bradford as well. He is an amazing driver who deserves recognition.
Man the original one back when I was a younger lad just blew me away.
That old (1957 Chrysler 392 Hemi) is just SAVAGE, the way it just "chews up the track" love it !
Oh yes, God do I love that car, can't beat AA/FA cars. Thanks
60's drag racing will always be the best than today.
This is one of the greatest, if not The Greatest drag racing car of all time!
I remember seeing this car often at the old Irwindale dragstrip in the 60's and 70's.
It was great! To see Wild Willie drive this beast one hand on the half steering wheel
and the other on the side of the body. He did this 99% of the time, no matter what!
Awesome, awesome, awesome!
I really, really miss Irwindale, and Orange County, and, and, and...... .
My favorite car of all time saw it at Thompson dragway years ago was an honor and privilege to stand next to it one of my fondest memories, will never forget it rest in piece willie and mousie
Met Wild Willie Borsch in June 1972 at Niagara Dragstrip
He was the Best RIP 🪦
Thompson in Ohio?
Wild willie, one hand on the wheel, the other hand on the door !!
RIP Mike Boyd, one of my favorite cars at the meet
Man I LOVE that car!
Thanx for sharing this awesome footage
Should be named,"WINGED ASSASSIN!!! Bad ass machine you have!!!!💪👌👌🤯
The cars are not for the faint of heart . I wish they would have them at national events . They are fun to watch . They put on a great show
we need fuel altereds now
I recall that the original car (which I saw at numerous SoCal strips in 1968 and maybe earlier) only ran a 354 inch Chrysler block (circa; 1956) which was unlike many other fuel cars of the era (The Frantic Four) simply because the chassis & tires couldn't really handle much more. I saw Willie drive this car many times @ SoCal strips (Lions, Irwindale, OCIR) and he always drove with one hand on the wheel on and one hand on the side of the body.
Ron I did too because I Grew Up in So Cal and There was Nothing Cooler Than Willie Driving One handed.................
Apparently those slicks were free, lol, that’s one bad ass machine and the driver has some stones!
Bill, thank you for the great comment! I'm happy to have created this video for everyone.
I have seen these things at Freemont,Lion's,US30. About as close as you can get with 2,000HP in a go cart. Absolute crazy,loved them all.
drag racing was a hell of alot cooler in the 60's
Always.
I was there as a teenager...grew up at Lions, 223rd St. At Almeda, drive the highways and race at Lions. I got to see all big names trying to get to double century mark with 1500 hp
Ned Scarisbrick badder’n hell
@@TierodMcslush nothing like watching wild Willie driving sideways
that was one of my favorite cars to watch when I was a kid.
And they came out west
Hi ,I am always glad to share these memories of the Winged Express with you and every altered fan.Best regards, Larry.
R.i.p. boyd and Willie and mousie
This is incredible. Mike Boyd is the best driver in drag racing--I am convinced he is the living embodiment of Wille Borsch. Awesome footage, thanks forthe upload.
Mike never made a 1 handed run! That's why he was called "WILD WILLIE"
Mike still is a great driver !
@@josephanderson8130 You are right Joseph... This Boyd is a good driver, but he is no Willie Borsch. And this car definitely looks like a clone. I used to talk to Willie, and Rich Harrell who built the engines, in the pit at Lions Drag Strip when the car was Harrell, Borsch and Muse. The car is different.
I remember seeing Willy himself driving at the 1969 NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis. To say those cars were wild is putting it mildly. On a qualifying run, the Winged Express got a bit out of shape, took a few bounces, and crossed the finish line on one wheel.....a front wheel ! Willy never took his foot out of it until he crossed the finish line. Truly the stuff of legends. BTW, the other car beside him was the also famed Pure Hell. Those were different times, and all great.
Balls to the wall! I remember hearing about one of the first Winged Expresses that the chassis was made out of exhaust pipes!
Can't thank you enough for this!
AA/FA forever/
Such a badass machine to see run balls out every time
AA/Fuel Altered was a late 1960s , early 1970s class based on T-Bucket or Fiat Topolino bodied Altereds from that era.
Lives on as an Exhibition Class.
All that power in a short wheelbase without a lot of the modern chassis and aerodynamic technology of today's Funny Cars & Top Fuellers!
Awesome video watched it twice ............. Now I have a grin that you couldn't with off with a brick
I always figured a racecar did have have doors for AA/FA I could make an exception!
I'm so glad this car is back doing that voodoo it do so well
It carried the weheels for the whole damn eighth mile! Wow lol Some crazy shit. Wish they were still a part of NHRA, just like how I love pro stock truck
I used to be neighbors with Mike and his family, miss them
great stuff nitro forever thanx for vid
I heard an old Don Garlits story , not quite sure if it's true but here it is ,
Don would have a Hemi built , it was put on the dyno and cranked up to 5000rpm , Don would go eat lunch and come back in 15 to 20 minutes and if the Hemi was still running , he installed into the dragster .
Great video, thanks.
awesome. every run at famoso raceway im sure i was there. great vid
Oh Hell ya! NITRO-till-the-day-I-Die N even my after life iff Possible Thanks4the Show!!!
I like how he even backs up like he's gonna kick some ass.
the Bad Habbit AA/FA was the first to break into the 6's at Maple Grove....Where is this car now? concact me....
Back in the late 60’s we were at irwindale raceway, I was on the Pure Heaven 2 crew .we were pushing down to fire up we and behind the Winged Express,Willie suffered from narcolepsy, and feel asleep on the way down and ran into the guard rail.it woke him up and went on to make the run. PureHeaven won .
Luv the alts, bring back the mad man.
Mike Boyd 4 Prez ...
In June of 1972 I met Wild Willie and Mike Boyd. Mike didn’t like me because Willie offered to take me on tour with him and I was taking Willie and the Winged Express out of the way to get my parents permission to go. My family refused to let me go, but the Original Winged Express was in trailer in front of My House 🏡
Willie! was my hero!
WILD WILLIE BORSHE.
Fuel altereds forever!!!
The wing is from a dirt track Super modified,, heaps of drag but plenty of downforce. Wheels up for most of the run is speccy!
What a driver
STANDING STILL WINGED EXPRESS IS IN BEAST MODE.
Not only do I miss Mike paying homage to Willie and by the way doing Willie proud but, also the breather masks....true 60's drag racing ...now its pretty much just posers.....😢
Wild Willy and the Winged Express visited Hawaii Raceway Park in around 1968 . Check out Hawaii Raceway Park in the 60's on youtube.
@MrNitro65 Two thumbs up on saving the original paint. Ive got a short wheelbase VW pickup built in 69 thats been in long term storage. some of the muds startin to bubble but damned if im gonna fix and paint!!
What good days of drinking beer and going to the drag strip
The sound the smell of rubber and fuel was the cats ass
Damn, that thing is a monster!
Iconic Altered... 😎
Good luck....Mike...George Hutcheson. The Stone Age Man of the rat trap
Mike,
How does the car handle with that VERY large Horizontal round steering wheel as opposed to the more conventional small butterfly wheel? One would think that when the car goes off at 45-degree angle, the smaller butterfly wheel would be more responsive. Is that true? What are the benefits of the larger, horizontal steering wheel?
Beyond cool to see the Express live again and Mike does do one hell of a job with the car but Wild Willy did earn his name.......Just sayin
Great driver , great machine . Pure poetry in motion . I wish the NHRA wasn't the corporate sell out like it is now . I think it would be better all the way around .
I was at Bakersfield that day that the front wheel assembly came off.. that could have been a whole lot worse if it hit someone, Scary
I always saw it at fomoso dragst strip out of Bakersfield, great place !!
fucking crazy
A TRUE drag machine......
I bought an original 95 inch wheelbase fuel altered chassis for 600 bucks when I was fifteen and now 7 years later I might bet to drive the deathtrap lol
Legends!
Boy! At 1:55 that Fiat is laying down some shit!
Some serious brass
Fuel Altered and Top fuel are the best
Go cart running fuel and supercharger? Have not seen this new altered class.
Fuel Altered equals a nitro burning hemi in a sprint car. Wild, unpredictable, fast and scary.
I love the tank pickup is at rear end of tank, pointed at fuel pump intake!!! Center or gravity of freaky elephant motor is way above drive axle center line!!! Proper weight transfer is the scientific method we are learning!!!!
Wheel hops taking their toll!😳
Love winged express as/fa!**!!!!! I wonder what would it need to be a five second ets????
More wheelbase
What a pro !!!
@BucksOwin actually talked to Marcellus at a nostalgia event, it IS a clone........stick vs automatic comment? Would that have been the stupid comment about why Saboury's car uses a lenco because you didn't think anyone used them anymore?.............Maybe you need to actuually GO to a drag race and see that pro mods use either a lenco with a clutch or a Bruno/Lenco for a transmission.............why are you bashing me for saying the truth?.......What the hell do YOU think they use?
This thing runs like I expect a pulling tractor would if the chain broke !
I jad the distinct pleasure of seeing Sir William many many mons ago. As a young man even I thougjt he was the most Batshit driver Id ever seen in my short life. Sideway half way down the track steering with one hand like a banshee all hopped up on Robitussin. The man was fearless and put on the best show I have to this day ever seen. NE Dragway was never the same after that. Nor was I...
Mike Boyd looks like he could almost bench press the car.
Yeah that he does!
I miss ye olde awful altered & the original fuel coupes. Model "A" bases bodies on digger chassis. Cool. Wild willy was in this one. Don't see that often. Used to like RAt Trap as well, had a Hot Rod mag pic of it on my wall next to the winged express & Harry Schmitt's blue max.
3:05... great job peddling
Crazy Shit . Tahts what NHRA needs . Thats why Pro Mod Is so popular...
Pro Stock BORING, Get rid of it just an expensive Spec class
Seen Wild Willie in Bakersfield( before there were guardrails) Run the car smoking the tires sideways off the track next to the grandstands and back on the track and never lifted...Crazy Mo Fo
What these cars weigh 1800 to 2000lbs then putting out 2000 to 2500hp (please correct me if iam wrong) that all spells fun and excitment for me
It takes a big motor to haul those balls around.
Big Motor ? It's a 392 1957/58 Chrysler New Yorker Engine, just like your Grandma had. ! Thousands of them are still WOOing the Fans every weekend, few people give the old Iron Hemis any credit, but they started the "fuelie" drag racing wars. And are still out there all over the world performing ! and Thrilling Folks, ya gotta love em !
I built a model of the winged express
Take's big jumbo coconut balls to drive that down a race track !!!!!!!!- GETTER DONE!!!
is that the original one or a copuy
Sorry got all nostalgic tonight. My most favorite car of all time. Get past the music and turn up the sound of nitro. Willy still rides along all be it in a urn.
Looks like Wild Wiliies car.
Nothing sounds like nitro!
Too bad! You just could not get enough good side by side runs. The Funny Cars were to take over.
Double A the best class
+ there's the Nitro.
Add a second tank for nitro. @20% it makes a street car haul ass.
@chevypower406 it's a clone
AA/FA. the badest of the bad...