The best AA/FA race I ever witnessed was in the summer of 1968 at Irwindale. Wild Willie in the Winged Express vs. Sush Matsubara in the big-block Chevy powered Mondello & Matsubara altered. Sush put a monster hole-shot on Willie but Willie drove the shit out of that Chrysler powered altered and caught Matsubara at about 1,200 feet for the win. Willie ran 7.12 to Matsubara's 7:17 with the white-hot nitro flames shooting 10 feet high out of the Zoomies on both cars. Everybody was screaming!

My wife walked in while I was watching this. I told her this was the type of car I'd love to drive just once. And she said ,"dear God why"? I told her if I had to explain she'd never understand. She's never smelled nitro. I told her it has to experienced 1st hand. There are no words.

Stopped at Petro truck stop in Joplin mo. to get gas one day and spotted this car on a trailer at the pumps I instantly recognized the car and walked over to check it out thinking someone had built a replica . Nope it was the real deal and there was Mousy filling up the old tow truck . We talked for a while and then he asked if I would like to meet Willy , I said hell yea ! so Mousy pulls an urn with Willys ashes out of the truck . I wasn't aware he had died but there he was on his way to another drag strip . No fancy hauler just a beat up old pickup a car trailer and a couple of legends one living and one in an urn . Mousy gave me an autographed pic and a memory that will stay with me forever .

Wow, thought this car was gone........ very nice to see it up and running in the nastalgia drags.... I,m 48yrs young and first saw this car run at O.C.I.R. international, Irvine Ca. 1976?..... Wild Willy.......... NICE VID....thank you........Lola......out.

I saw Willie slde the car sideways at Indy in MAYBE 1968 or 1969 One of the coolist things I have ever seen at the races. Willie RIP.

@EmpEntTV I saw the urn with Willy's ashes sitting in the driver's seat at Indy several years ago. I was fortunate to see Willy at the wheel several times when I was younger. What a ride! Thanks to Mousie and Mike for keeping the legend alive.

what can you say about this car that hasn't been said, I've had the great Fortune of meeting Mike and his brother in Bakersfield when Mike was driving his front motor fuel car him and his brother were awesome guys very personable and always willing to stop and answer questions or just chat, now Mike drives a piece of history and is probably the best person they could have put in that car! It's an honor and a privilege to have gotten to meet Mousie, and Mike as well. God bless and hang on brother!

Awesome!!! Love it!! CRANKSHAFT

Wild Willie & "The Wing". It didn't get much better!

I literally get goosebumps just watching this

What a trio ! Mike was a humble guy and definitely put on a great show! Awesome driver ! Wheels up Mike ! RIP !!

I wish I could find an actual video of Willie making a few passes. I'm glad to see the car in action and Mike is a great driver. When Marcellus and Borsch came to Fremont as a kid it was something for a 10 year old to see! They took me under their wings and showed me how to mix Nitro and be the pit helper and got to ride along in the push truck to jump out and pour bleach on the tires for the burn outs. They were super nice guys and gave me memories that I'll take to my grave smiling.

My favorite car of all time . Love it !

@MrRonnieG Ronnie, got to agree with you! There was nothing like going to a Fuel Altered meet at one of the local tracks and seeing the likes of The Winged Express, Burkholder Bros., Blue Blazer, Mike Sullivan, Nanook and the host of other So Cal altereds. It was such a golden era of drag racing that has never been duplicated.

I saw Willie go thru the traps at the Hot Rod Championship drags at Riverside in '68 @ 202 mph and tripped the lights with his back tire, one handed.

A TRUE drag machine in it's purest form ! My all time FAVE AA/FA . RIP to everyone Mike,Mousie, and of course Wille........

i seen this car run in niagara falls n.y. when i was a kid, it's great to see it in action again. great job driving MIKE ( willie is watching you )

I wish he would come to Tulsa, OK he would fit in to the "old time drags" they have here from time to time , that and I love old school fuel altereds !

Part II: My favorite Chevy altered was the Mondello-Matsubara car with Sush Matsubara behind the wheel. It was powered by a big-block Chevrolet and, as often as not, they gave Willie (and the other Chrysler altereds) all they could handle. I recall one night @ Irwindale (circa; 1968) when Sush "sneezed" a blower about 50 feet into the air. Back in "the day" the NHRA did not require that supercharges be secured and some blower explosions caused drivers to dodge flying GMC 6-71's!

When I first saw this video it brought tears to my eyes, While growing up I lived 5 houses down from Willie Borch and used run errands fro his wife, I saw this car many times on the trailer and run at LIONS DRAG STRIP. It was always a WOW and thundered Long Beach. Great Job MIKE.

From 1964 until I was drafted (Feb 1969) I LIVED at SoCal dragstrips and can well rememeber the man with the beard who drove with one hand on the wheel. By 1968 the AA/FA's were a common scene at Lions, Irwindale and OCIR. I was always a Chevy guy so I pulled for the altereds running the big block Rat Motor (Mondello & Matsubara, etc.) but the Winged Express was bad ass. Surprisingly, as I recall it, those guys only ran a 354 Chrysler block but it was a BAD BAD BAD fuel altered. (BAD)

I love all Gassers and Awful/Awful's - But hands-down my favorite car of all time is the Winged Express. Keep hangin' on, Mike ... Willie's smilin' down on ya! Thanks a million for putting this video up!

Mousey came to Hendersonville a while back, and stayed with my boss Glenn Hyder. Glenn's dad was Gwin "Chief" Hyder who built the Hyder '34 Fuel Coupe from back in the '50's and 60's Drag racing has grown from a sport to an occupation! The old day when you worked like crazy on your opponent's car in the pits just to get the honor of a "hot run" are gone! At least Mousey and Mike are keeping some of it alive!

I saw Mike and Mouse with the winged express at the first Goodguys race at Pacific raceways a few years ago and Mike layed down a solid 7.11 at well over 200 mph

very cool. I was lucky enough to see Mike and Mouse with the Winged Express in Seattle a few years back and at night on a cold track he laided down a 7.11 @ 211 mph. I had to laugh when he said he runs 7.40's to 7.50's

I lived at SoCal dragstrips (Lions, Irwindale, OCIR, Fontana and Pomona) from 1964 until I was drafted in 1969. I saw Wild Willy many many many times (you know Willie drove this thing with only one hand). The fuel altered class was as exciting, and as spookly, as any class that existed in the 60's. Short wheelbase, shitloads of horsepower, etc. Unfortunately I was a Chevy guy so Willie was one of the bad guys ~ I rooted for the likes of Pure Heaven & Hell (before they rolled over to Chrysler

Love it! When I was a kid going to Lion's and Irwindale drag strips, I bought a Revell model of this car. This video brings back many great memories. Thanks.

Yeah, sure, I'll drive you're BFA sideways at 200 m/h! Thanks, guys also for keeping it looking real! The new fuel altereds just aren't as cool as the "gasser" styled T's of the early days.

There isn't a 1,000 foot NHRA fuel run that can equal the excitement of 60's drag racing. My favorite car was the AA/FD Yeakel Plymouth Special (Downey, California) with Tom "Mongoose" McKuen in the seat, Lou Baney running the deal and John Garrison turning the wrench. I remember watching The Goose set the top speed record at Lions (November 1964) with a 214.00 MPH blast. A 392 Chrysler block, GMC 6-71 supercharger and the 2,000 cfm Enderle 3-hole bug-catcher injectors.

I was born in Glendora CA and went to the Irwindale speed way in the 70s before it was the Miller brewery and always looked forward to seeing Wild Willie Borche drive the Wing T with one hand and handled it better than anyone 😊

@p51mustange1 No, Willy, passed away several years ago, in fact Mousie Marcellus his partner with this car, is said to have Willy's ashes in his possession and takes him to various racing events.

Robert, it is way cool to have you see this video and post your comments. Your dad was awesome! J.R.Ybarra Speed Sport TV

OUTSTANDING!!!

I remember the cackles running nitro. I would stand next to the fence adjacent to the starting line. Smelling the nitro while it burned my eyes feeling like i had sand in them.

I have had the pleasure of watching this old school altered several times at Firebird Raceway in Boise Idaho, several times . It still hauls ass down the track and always is a major handful for the driver to keep it straight, but then again what altered isnt.

Fuel Altereds Forever!!!!!

Never get tired of seeing this car GO! Read somewhere that Willie one-handed it, to steady himself, cause the car threw him around so much. long live AA/FA!

Willie would be proud!

Never forget one hand on wheel & W.W. Hanging on with other!!!

If God wanted to drive a drag car it'd be this one!!

EmpEntTV, Thanks for the info. It all makes sense. Yes, it seems that using a current engine in one of these Altereds would be a beast, impossible to control and probably sure death. It's wonderful that The Winged Express uses a setup based on the original car. Jeez I love watching these cars.

I met the old man. He helped build the unblown aluminum rod injected 382.sbc

@nitrokrumpt Yes, it sill runs today. The car can usually be seen at many of the nostalgia drag racing events on the West Coast. Its worth the price of admission all by itself! J.R.

@CSXer Yeah, that's where they put the fuel tank on those.

@Tireshake.completely agree, this might be the most iconic nostalgia car in all of drag racing! EmpEntTV

I remember when Wild Willy came to Hawaii Raceway Park in the 60's . Check out Hawaii Raceway Park in the 60's on KZfaq .

Man, what a nice guy.

Clanging brass balls the size of coconuts to get behind the wheel of that thing.

Rip Mike God Bless.....

Race in peace big mike ...

Love that car... had the model as a kid

seriously bring back altereds and slingshots

I remember seeing this car run back in the day.. it was fun to watch Willy manhandle this thing

That is bad ass!

@miragemammaries Wow, shure it´s cool!!! I´ve only seen it running on videos, but´s probablu something a mix of scaring with excitement! Admirable car!

There are many factors involved with the HP rating of the engine in the "Winged Express" and the modern day nitro engines. I know they run a conservative set up in order to keep parts damage to a minimum. This relates to blower size and pressure, single magneto and single spark plugs per cylinder and single fuel pump vs. dual fuel pumps on modern nitro cars. I am sure there are other items but those would be the initial differences. A current style setup in this car would be a monster to drive

It's nice to see a tire burner intead of a new slip clutch setup! What's the tank for in front of the motor???

RIP Willy

Iconic car... 😎

Awesome Ride!

@MrRonnieG ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!!! could not agree more. I also vote to make it mandatory to do dry hops.

Sideways with the tires smoking is the only way to run a fuel altered.

@p51mustange1 Don't recall, it was nothing related to a racing accident, if I recall it might have been a bout with cancer but can't completely confirm it.

What's the HP compared to today's top fuel engines? How would this thing do with a modern 8000hp engine? What keeps it from approaching speeds of modern fuel cars?

wonder if thats an ol' 92 in that thing. 392's were awesome

That was my dad before I was even born, but now he is old, but he still drives the same car but it goes 200 mph if you want to know.

Kind of depends on the compound of the tire, some might have an ability to get through 10 passes on a set.

This car is the reason i love drag racing... its like an old girlfriend i never got over...!!! My god im still inlove...👌

@EmpEntTV Wow shurely do!!!! Is that hotWheels miniature, "fuel altered" ? Couse i boght it here in Brazil!

Way lower. The best guess at the time these beasts ran was that they generated between 1,500 - 1,800 horses on 95%...and that's from a couple of veteran wrenches. A modern engine would be impossible because of the torque...these beasts went straight half the time on a good day, and they have all the aerodynamics of a brick compared to so-called modern designs.

Nothing in racing today rivals the AA/Fuel Altered class. Nothing

How often do they go through a set of slicks? Rear tires must go away fast!

Ah yes...Lions and Irwindale. I spent many weekends at both tracks.

@EmpEntTV Well...... that is a bit weird, but shurely a manner to reverence the friend... Someday, all we will find each other on the other side...

This is EXACTLY how NHRA drag racing, in 2011, should be run. Reduce the capacity on fuel pumps, back off the overdrive on blowers and stop tossing money down the corporate sponsored black hole. Drag racing in the 60's was SO MUCH fun and it could be, again, today. Bring back quarter-mile runs burning down the tires the entire way. You could run 6.30 @ 240 MPH in a top fuel car and it could be competitive, safer, cheaper and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, it could bring back the excitement of yesterday.

@eatshit311 at the very least you would think that the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage series would have a class for these great cars but you never seem them at any of these events. Drag racing would certainly benefit by those awesome altereds.

the driver's got'a have big balls

wild willy

LOL thats my roomates car mousie. lol

1/4mi burnout... wow

Re-created...where is the original?

You'd have to be outta your GD mind to drive this thing!!!!!!!!

how did willy die

if anyone wants to talk to Mousie or al thats what i call him cause thats his real name im MAKEING a profile for him on youtube and its not fake its real so yeah

So,,, if you kill the ignition the car will go thataway. Or if you whisky thottle it you're dead anyway!!! Still get a nice Nitro eyewash!!

is it expensive and fun to do this

you gotta be outta your GD mind to drive that!!!

now that would be a bit of a handfull..... (well thats what the girls must say to the driver.......)

hey just think this used to be a class .

is he still alive

i made one i still have to show him how to make it but his username aafamouse

@p51mustange1 is who still alive?

@EmpEntTV yes it was cancer.

HAHAH i bet u guys wont belive me but i swear to god hes my roomate lol i know his driver mik

how did willy die

@EmpEntTV yes it was cancer.