(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – This is the second in a new, throwback (wow…) series I put together from my photo archive. First stop is a mud bog near Hennessey, OK situated on the remnants of the Chisholm Trail. I believe these photos encompass two events during 1983 or 1984. Throughout this series the photos are not necessarily in chronological order. Also something to consider is the cameras I used during this era – either a Kodak 110 or a Kodak Disc. It’s amazing to me that any of these turned out at all. A lack of zoom will show itself in later installments. You will also need to overlook my lack of detail as these events took place over 30 years ago.
The ‘Little Monster’ Chevy Luv is one I saw often at these events and it originally sported gumbo mudders and also strapped on some ag tires from time to time. Eventually it was revamped into the new style of mud racer that was just emerging at the time. Next up we have ‘Love,m Sweat, & Tears’ Jeep FSJ ran by the Landwehr family out of Waukomis, OK. They had a Jeep/AMC dealership there and also ran a pulling truck called ‘Stir Crazy’. This mud truck saw a lot of different configurations through the years as trial&error progressed. It eventually morphed into the ‘High Risk’ Monster Truck.
The ‘Missouri High-stepper’ Pinto/Ranchero is a creation I first spotted at a Daryl Starbird show in OKC. Sporting a Bronco chassis and Ground Hawgs it was certainly a build for the times. Now we are going to look at one that will seem flawed to most – 2wd mud rig. These were a few classes for these and they had a pretty good following. Perhaps not as capable as the 4wd rigs, but none-the-less entertaining. The most-dominant one around was ‘It’s Only Money’. When I first say it run the thing was in ruddy primer and had little in the way of cosmetics. Later (as shown here) it got paint, lettering, tinwork, and more. With a high-crop, portal diff, leaf-sprung tractor front axle, and a big-block Chevy……It took a LOT of goo to slow it down. There were at least 4 events where I witnessed this thing being the only rig to clear the run or made it the farthest distance. Maybe 2wd isn’t such a liability. I believe at one event its tires were completely under the mud before it stopped moving forward. I apologize for the lack of depth in this gallery as I don’t think all the images have been found. Eventually I’ll have to get into the negatives and have the missing images reprinted.
If you were like me and enjoyed the lifted trucks with knarly (word of the day) tires then this is the start of a flashback to times gone by. I will also say, the main subject in the photo is not all the story here. Look at the clothes, the people, and the cars in the background. I see at least one Cherokee (burnt orange and white) and a Steiger tractor to name a couple in this collection.
Enjoy.
