When it comes to race cars, there are cars and then are classics. However, this is the story of more than just a classic. Most race cars are built from the ground up and start with a tube frame. Or if it’s a classic race car and you’re restoring it, the car may be 20, 30, maybe 40 years old. And it’s usually not an old street car that was never meant to be driven at high speeds on rocky and rutted dirt roads and Mexican highways.

The 1928 Willys Whippet built by Lost Boys Racing to compete in the NORRA 1000 off-road rally did not begin as most race cars do. It began more like a hot rod restoration project. The Whippet was purchased from J.R. and Dana Leaner in Mountain Center, California and was not in any shape to be driven, and certainly not on a demanding off-road race course more than 1000 miles down the Baja California peninsula. It had been sitting in a pile of other cars, and had to undergo a complete strip down, rebuild and massive restructuring before it would be ready to hit Baja.

Gary Dixon is the owner of Lost Boys Racing, based in Menifee, California, and along with sons Derek and Stewart Dixon, and a handful of good friends, the Dixon’s campaign a few race vehicles including a fullsize V-8 powered Ford race truck, a powerful buggy, an AMC Hornet, and now the beautiful ’28 Willys Whippet built for the 2013 NORRA 1000. Dixon bought the Willys for $1,400, and he estimates that the total cost of the build was about $15,000. But it was never just about the money, that might have been the easy part.

The Build

As Dixon explains, “It all started two years before the 2013 NORRA 1000 and rebuilding the Willy’s took a lot more time than I thought it would. I had to change the suspension three times, I changed the motor mounts 10 times, the radiator was moved at least three times and the list goes on…” As a matter of fact, the knickname for the Willys project became “Willymakeit.”

“Working with a frame that’s almost a 100 years old created many limitations,” Dixon told us. “Each component had to be redesigned to merge the old with the new. Building a four-link suspension system for the Willys was an adventure in itself.”

Dixon has built and raced many cars and trucks, both vintage and unlimited, but this project was special, because he wanted to drive the oldest vehicle to race Baja in the NORRA 1000.

The axles and suspension were the first things to tackle. The front axle comes from the leading end of a 2WD Jeep YJ and the rear axle used for the Whippet project is a 3.73-ratio Ford 8.8-inch axle nabbed from a Ranger pickup, both of which were sourced though Sierra Towing in San Bernardino, California.

King coil-over shocks with reservoirs were incorporated into the custom suspension system built into the frame up front and in the rear. The tall shocks clearly seen on the front end are all part of the elaborate chassis construction that Dixon designed and built with the help of his boys.

A Ford 5.0-liter V-8 from a 1997 Explorer was completely rebuilt by Butch Burtness, and also converted from EFI to carb as part of the rebuild, using a Holley 670cfm for fueling duties. Burtness also built the brakes for the car using Wilwood equipment, and did all of the electrical wiring as well.

The C-4 three-speed auto transmission with an Art Carr/Winters gated shifter behind the 5.0-liter V-8 comes from Mogi Transmissions in Riverside, California. Custom drivelines had to be manufactured, of course, and those were handled by Inland Empire Drivelines of Corona, California.

The cockpit of the ’28 Willys Whippet race car is where Dixon spent most of his time during the NORRA 1000 rally, and although it sat two people, it was tiny. We have to admit, it was well equipped though, featuring MasterCraft seats with Crow seat belts for safety and security, and P.C.I. Race Radios for good on-course communications.

The Willys was further outfitted with a fuel cell from Fuel Safe, Rigid LED lights running across the front bumper, as well as a set of KC HiLights lamps for headlights. Flowtech Purple Horny Mufflers cap the exhaust system. The rig stands on a set of 35-inch General Tire Grabbers mounted on American Racing rims. And the beautiful blue paint job was laid down by Jim McKay at JM Designs in Temecula, California.

A Jeep YJ manual steering box was used up front, and there was no room to run a sway bar during construction of the front steering setup. Dixon said that the steering system design is one of the things, that if he had to do it all over again, he would do differently. The “bump steer” was so bad that it made it nearly impossible to drive the car faster than 70 mph.

The Purpose

The Lost Boys Racing team made its dream come true and participated in the 2013 NORRA 1000 rally. Dixon reported, although the bump steer was a problem from early on, the “Willys was very good at floating across the sand.”

However, by half-way through the four-day event, the team and the Willys were at the back of the pack due to overheating and stalling problems. The manual choke closed and, the team had to wire it open; but then the fuel pressure regulator began to go south.

Eventually they tried to install an entirely new carb, but there wasn’t a Holley to be found in Baja and when they did find an Edelbrock, it was going for 5,800 pesos (just over $500 at the time). By the time the team removed and refitted the carb three times and checked everything out, it was all over and they had been timed out. The team had gone almost 1000 miles, but were just short of Cabo, and the rally was done.

“The entire time I was building the Willys, I just kept thinking, I can’t give up, the deadline for the 2013 NORRA 1000 was approaching fast,” Dixon said. “I knew that if this project didn’t get finished for this rally, it would never get finished. You know, there is always more to do, more to change, this to fix, but we made it there and we did our best. We ran the oldest car to ever be run, and we came within a few miles of finishing.”

OffRoad Xtreme applauds the Lost Boys Racing crew. They built and ran a truly unique race car that blended hot rodding culture with modern racing technology and good old-fashioned bravado. And although they were timed out and did not officially finish the 2013 NORRA 1000 Rally, they went for it, never gave up trying, and proved that every one on the team is clearly a winner.