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After successfully bringing home first prize last year, the 2024 Great Beater Challenge winners are looking to claim top prize again in 2025.
Dustin Vipond and Hayley Vipond are aiming to do so with a 1985 Mercury Colony Park wagon. Found on a ranch near Beechy, this unit had no motor or transmission in it when Vipond found it.
"And for whatever reason, I looked at it and said, well, that's perfect," said Vipond. "A pretty unwise decision, but still perfect."
As it turns out, the reason the car had no power train to speak of may be because it hates running. In the weeks leading up to the GBC, Vipond installed a 351 Ford Windsor engine. This greatly displeased the Colony, apparently.
Vipond ended up having to pull the engine out not once, not twice, but three times, to diagnose various issues. Chief of all is a overheating problem that has persisted through the replacement of parts, the redoing of seals, and even a dose of Blue Devil.
"We've been through head gaskets and radiators and water pumps and kind of run the gamut on the cooling system," said Vipond. "I think, for whatever combination, it's working now."
In fact, when Vipond left to reach the starting point in Calgary on August 22, he over-heated by Tompkins. To remedy this, he added a couple of custom vents to the hood of the car in an effort to let more air flow through and cool down the engine.
In the weeks leading up to the event, multiple test trips had the same result, leading to him almost giving up on the project. However, this great beater presenting such a challenge galvanized his can-do attitude, leading him to double down on his diagnosing of the issue, until he got the Colony to a point it could limp far enough often enough to compete.
"We ended up using up two different parts-cars and parts from each, and pieces," said Vipond. "I honestly couldn't even tell you just what's in there now, but it seems to be working. So, that's a win, I guess."
The reason he didn't simply rip out the radiator or replace more parts was due to the rules of the GBC. Competitors are limited to a budget of $999 on their vehicles, unless the purchase is a safety essential.
Those same rules are also why the Colony is decked out in such unique decorations. Vipond has styled it after National Lampoon's Vacation car, but with his own twist. The challenge rewards extra points if you customize a vehicle with certain items, all of which have been worked into this Griswold-themed automobile.
"If you're going to have something that ugly, you might as well have some fun with it," said Vipond. "So there's always a theme on the Great Beater Challenge. That's kind of the theme we went after, and I was originally going to paint it green, just like the Truckster, but it just had the right look as is."
An addition that Vipond admits he hates the look of but has stapled on anyway is the crazy carpet fender flares. Another addition is the coffee can exhaust, with the Hillbilly Edition badge helping the vehicle to qualify for special edition points.
A Vipond-specific addition is the Wild Bill tag on the side of the vehicle. Wild Bill was his father's handle, and he was an inspiration for Vipond in getting into the motoring world.
"He was always kind of into wild, crazy stuff like this," said Vipond. "So we always try to honour him a little bit on every car we build."
Another fun addition is the water jug/aquarium. Mounted on the roof amongst the luggage, this was a way for Vipond to store emergency water, in case his overheating problems persisted for too long.
"I've been caught without any water a few times, so I thought if I'm going to carry a bunch of spare water with me, we may as well make it kind of funny," said Vipond. "Hopefully, we don't have to use it."
Lastly, while not the last of the customizations Vipond implemented, is his custom sound system. Using an updated radio, Vipond has equipped the car with acoustics that hopefully cover up any moans or groans the vehicle makes. What makes it unique is the subwoofer setup, which is two subs in five-gallon buckets.
Thankfully, after his first day on the roughly 960-kilometre trip, he managed to trade his overheating problem for a fuel issue. According to an update on social media, the Colony has decided to impose a limit on RPMs to only 1,700 - 1,800, due to what Vipond guessed was a fuel pick-up failure. While not a big issue in Saskatchewan, the effect of limiting his ability to attack hills in Alberta is challenging.
Joining Vipond on the GBC is his daughter, Hayley Vipond. She is working to help him untangle the riddles and clues for the various stops and checkpoints the GBC requires their drivers to visit, find, and check off on their list.
"It's actually pretty challenging because not only will you be trying to keep this thing alive on the road, but we'll maintain all our various decorations while figuring out these rules and puzzles," said Vipond. "She did a real good job navigating last year, so we're hoping she's maybe even a little bit sharper this year."
Her tagging along means that the team is having to make double use of the sleeping arrangements in the back of the vehicle, which is, of course, a requirement for the points.
"We tried (the GBC) for the first time last year with the 68 International," said Vipond. "We ended up winning it, kind of got hooked on it, and I thought that's kind of easy peasy to bring a proven winner back there. So we wanted to challenge ourselves a little bit this year, and we probably went maybe a little far on that."
The Viponds enter the final stretch on Sunday, hoping the Colony has the courage to keep going. If anyone sees them on the road as they race all over Alberta, make sure to give them a thumbs up to add to their tally and to wish them luck as this old Mercury keeps chugging along.
Under the Hood is powered by Great West Auto Electric, your local Bumper to Bumper dealer in Swift Current. Long live your car.