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Most cars are built for either looks or power, sometimes with a job in mind. Rarely is that job to smash, bash, and crush other cars.
That's exactly what is going on with this build. Dakota Lange's 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is barely recognizable as such anymore, after being overhauled into a smashing, crashing, thrashing machine. This custom demolition derby car is rigged up to best survive the madness in the pits, while both delivering its own heavy hits and protecting the driver.
Lange built this car almost seven years ago, and most recently entered it into the Frontier Days Demolition Derby. Instead of driving it himself, he let his wife take the wheel to show him how it was done, letting her show off all the work he has put into it.
"I did all my own welding, pulled the body off and did that, and me and a buddy built the engine seven years ago," said Lange. "All of the steel and stuff on there adds an extra 500-600 pounds."
Under the hood, the car is equipped with a built 355 small block Chevy, with a custom sliding drive train that can absorb the hard head-on collisions it's going to slam into.
"It can extend to almost double its length," said Lange.
The transmission is a Turbo 350, with the drive train itself being wrapped up for protection.
The engine sits inside a custom steel cradle, both protecting it from debris and keeping the debris out of the belts.
"These motors, guys in the derby world build them to run hot," said Lange. "It's built to last. The only way you can stop, because it's the last man standing, is to take out wheels or hope he breaks down."
Even the fuel tank has been put in a protected cradle and is itself swapped from a boat.
The radiator is up front, which does run the risk of punctures and cracks. Thankfully, the engines in demolition cars are specially built to run really, really hot.
The cab is protected with massive steel beams, 12 inches wide, 76 inches tall, and between two and three inches thick. These ensure that if a vehicle climbs on top, there is plenty of support to keep the driver from being crushed.
The squatted stance isn't just from ramming. It's specially designed to help deliver heavy hits to the opponents you meet in the derby.
"You keep a high front bumper so you get up into people's radiators and you keep a low back bumper so you can take out wheels," explained Lange.
Even the bodywork, as chaotically dented as it may seem, has been especially reshaped by Lange to better help with structural rigidity. He has carefully pinched, crimped, folded and moulded the body to better deal with the insane amount of abuse it has had to endure for nearly a decade.
In total, he estimated that this car has had close to $10,000 put into it. That's with doing the work himself. Lange does build these cars professionally and is available for hire if anyone would like to get their own demolition derby car up and running.
He recommends people do their research before going all in.
"There are people like myself, but there are pages dedicated to it on Facebook," offered Lange. "I know a lot of people have trouble asking nowadays, but there's no dumb questions, there's only stupid mistakes, in my mind."
Under the Hood is powered by Great West Auto Electric, your local Bumper to Bumper dealer in Swift Current. Long live your car.