Alan Kulwicki's 1992 Underbird: The Actual Hooters 500 Car! (Paul Andrews)

The same guys that put it together back then want to put it together now. >> That's the first thing you looked at when we open the hood. These braces are made to bend. And once you go through tech, what you would do is you'd pull them. >> So this is the Underbird. That is Paul Andrews. This car was a centerpiece of one of the greatest stories in NASCAR history. And our friend Slap Shoes is the best person to tell you about it before we get going. >> Alan Kwicki arguably pulled off the biggest come from behind upset championship win in NASCAR history in 1992 with this car, the Underbird. It was one of only a few cars in the stable of AK Motorsports, which was owned and operated by Allen himself and ran off of just a fraction of the budget the big boy teams in the Cup series had. Their stable, however, got a little bit smaller in September when Allan crashed out at Dover. He had an outside shot at making a run for the cup, but after that DNF, he was fourth in the points, 278 points behind the leader, Bill Elliot, with just six races remaining. But instead of throwing in the towel, Allen and his band of misfits redoubled their efforts and rattled off an impressive streak of finishes to put him just 30 points back of the new points leader, Davy Allison. However, knowing they were still massive underdogs, Allen's team altered the Thunderbird logo on the nose of their car so that he was now driving the Thunderbird, complete with a Mighty Mouse sticker just off to the side. After an unlucky crash by Davey and a brilliant strategy call by Paul Andrews, Allen secured the five-point bonus for most laps led and settled into second where he would clinch the cup even with a Bill Elliot win. After the cup was won, the car was pressed right back into service. Allen didn't have the resources to send a car that good to a museum. But the car did eventually retire and here it is. This is the car Allen clinched the Winston Cup with in the fall of 1992. >> What happened to it after Atlanta 92 to right now being in the basement of the Hall of Fame. >> It's a pretty crazy story. That's for sure. You know, it it uh it was wrecked uh you know, Jeff Line drove it uh in uh we were actually just talking about that. I can't remember if it was 93. We're pretty sure he wrecked it in '94 uh for the final time. And then it was kind of put off to the wayside. Uh and then somebody approached us about wanting to buy it. So, we restored it back to, you know, as close as we could back then, you know, to um you know, it's got the original championship motor in it. Uh there's a lot of things about it that is very all original. uh you know, and the guys that worked on the team, uh all did it kind of as a as a as a night side project, you might say. I was involved in it some, but not tremendously. Uh supplies the documentation to it. Uh you know, we're obviously still racing at the time and trying to go go win races. And it's a pretty cool deal really. You know, we didn't have no clue back then what we were doing as far as what we were recreating and what we were we were saving, you might say. You know, to think back on it now, you know, it's like it's just a miracle that it happened the way it happened, you know, because it really shouldn't have it shouldn't have been that way. It probably should have been pushed off of the wayside and pushed away and eventually shred or scrapped like most other race cars are, you know, but uh to be honest, I don't remember the guy's name that bought that uh bought it. Do you do you know it off hand right now? >> Uh Danny Cameron told me. I can figure it out and put it in a little >> We'll have to look at that. Um cuz I don't remember what who it was, but anyway, uh that that's how it's put together. So, and he used a parade for parades and and uh little little stuff like that. He kept it at his house. He lived in Florida. Uh I know he had it in different parades and somewhere along the line, you know, with him, he sold it to um I don't know if he just sold it one time, but it's ended up at Hooters Casino in uh Las Vegas ended up with it. And that's why that's kind of where of course he you know parades driving on off a trailer things like that kind of beat it all up you know and but at the casino I don't think they roped it off you know. It was just a just a Hooters's car. It was sitting there you know and and uh and it was kind of halfway roped off a little bit but not tremendously. Uh but people leaned on it. They sit on the door. They said they they you know pushed up against the body sit on the fenders. I you know I I could imagine what everything that's that's happened to it at Hooters Casino. you know, even pictures with Hooters girls and sitting all over it, things like that. I'm sure it was kind of, you know, comical if you had to, you know, if you could look at go back and look at it over the years, obviously, but Hooters Casino did close and or they sold or whatever. It had become available and and I have no idea how it all came about. Uh, Wally Mccardi, I know, was instrumental on uh getting it. Somebody somebody called somebody who called somebody who called somebody, I'm assuming, and the Hall of Fame owns it, which is great. again. This is where it needs to be. So now the next project is is to uh get it back to where it was. You know, that's uh that's that's what's going to happen next. Um it's been a long process. I believe it's been here for 3 years. Uh you know, it's it's been out here and there different doing different things, but very very very most time it's been right down here in the basement. Um you know, when Allan was inducted into the Hall of Fame, that was a Allan Quicky Carver, that was a uh that was a um Um, it's 007 is what it was. And it just happens to be this is 008, but that 007 car was a was a vintage road race car. It's pretty cool how that happened, too. But, uh, you know, so now it' be nice to have Allen's car in the Hall of Fame and it be something that could be displayed as something that could be used for for whatever, you know, uh, things that the Hall of Fame sees fit to fit to use it for, which would be really cool, you know. But like I said, it's we were we were had a group of guys down here a couple years ago, like all the a lot of local team guys that uh wanted to come by and and see it, of course, and and then we all got together when this again when the restoration project really first started, you know, just started talking about it. you know, we came down here as a group and raised the hood. We didn't we didn't get to jack it up or nothing like that, but you know, it's like it was when we put it back together, you know, at Bo Ions that time and and uh of course this got a little road road rash on here and there and the veilance is knocked off and and the fenders are beat up, you know, but it's uh it's this is how we we shipped it shipped it out, that's for sure, you know. >> Well, let's open the hood and I want to see some of the things you were looking at and some of the stuff that makes this car. So, one of the guys >> from engine builder, Shane Shane Parzo, >> there it is. That's the timing light. That's it. That's right. >> These water lines out of the heads, they're right. >> He was one of the engine builders back then and still an engine builder right now actually. Uh Hendrickk, but he uh he wrote on the valve cover a million dollars and it's still right there. You know, uh I think it something like the million dollar right. It's something about a million dollars. I know that. But it's still there. That's the first thing you looked at when we opened the hood. Yeah. There it is right there. $1 million. >> So, uh >> Wow. >> Um but you know, it needs to be uh needs to be taken apart, of course, and put back together. >> Was this engine mothball? Did Boddine ever use it? What? How? >> You know, I don't know the history of that. Uh somebody does. Uh, and it may be documented because there's a lot of documentation on this thing, but this is all the parts uh other than like the rings and stuff like that. Actually, it may even be the same rings really, you know. Um, the uh but this is uh and I'm sure Jeff used it somewhere along the line, but this is this is the original engine for sure with uh with a large amount of the his exact parts and everything. It was uh you know everything on it when you go look around it is8. Even we dug out the shocks that we ran at Atlanta uh cuz we didn't use them anymore at the time. So, uh you know when when you know this is being put together. So, I mean it's got as much stuff on there as you could possibly get on it to uh you know to make it original from back then you know and it's pretty uh pretty different from what you look at. Of course, now the cup car that the current cup car is way different but uh even the um you know before the COT cars a lot of changes happened you know since uh this car was raced in '92. It's uh it's pretty interesting, you know. Uh >> what about how the way the suspension was and all that? Um how much >> how much influence on that did you have versus it was the way Allan wanted it? >> Well, you know, it was it was both, you know, like like back then, you know, Allan and I worked, you know, hand in hand, you might say, and uh he made the decision, final decision on what we did and what we ran. But there was a guy named Ronnie Hopkins who's a chassis builder that would come to our shop and him and Allan and myself would sit at the picnic table in the shop and and go over geometry things and and uh and just all kinds of stuff like that. We were always, you know, Ronnie was instrumental in uh in in the cup cars, you know, back in this era. Uh, and even when this style of car was still around, there's people that still would go back to those basics to start over sometimes when they get so far out the launch, you know, before the COT car. That was a different animal itself. But, uh, just like the current car is now, but I give them the setup sheet. We put this, we put the I mean, the shim package, the A-frame links, everything is back to where it was, uh, back then. uh you know and um I think I really think I again I have to kind of look at that one. My memor is a little fuzzy on some even the same springs. Um >> that radiator looks like it's been through a wreck. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> It's several things. I'm sure it's like that, you know. >> So, was this a an early Ronnie Hopkins built chassis? >> Uh no. This was this this was a Laughlin Jasse. >> Oh, and >> was that before Ronnie Hopkins had his own >> Well, deal. Yeah. He he was he kind of started this was in that era where he was starting he was starting out and but but he worked for Laughlin forever and then uh went to Hopkins or you know did his own deal and this I don't remember if this is a Hopkins clip or not but we we went to his place and did some clips but his biggest thing he was was promoting and helping people with was his uh his pivot point locations and his spindle package. Uh that was what we that was his his how he kind of got things moving and in you know moving around you might say and and uh in his direction and eventually uh he was a you know that's where you went to buy your chassis you know that's what that's who you went to but I think this is a hop that's a Laughlin chassis here. >> Do you remember what the spindle package was or >> Yeah. >> why you went that way? Like yeah let's get off in the weeds. I want to know that stuff. >> Yeah it was his own little package. uh you know is this the the spindle itself was the same but the steering arm was way different. The spindle itself the spindles are stock products uh back then which is the spindle everybody had but then you had a different steering arm. He had his own version of steering arm that that that he put on it and that changed things tremendously. You move the pivot points around. It was dramatic but it wasn't that dramatic in in a field standpoint from a driver's feel. It was Allan always said how it just had a better feel to it >> and it made the car turn. That's always what you're after with these cars. It was always about trying to make the car turn. Uh you could usually fix loose. It's trying you sometimes you just couldn't fix the turn. >> How much of this interior in here is the way it was left? >> That was funny. U again a couple years ago when we first came down here, this this dash cover I completely forgot about it. >> Yeah. What's the deal with that? >> That is that is to keep the the glare off. That is just a little You really shouldn't be doing it, but you know, we didn't know back then. But, uh, it's not fireproof at all. But, that's just a headliner material. And we glued it to the dash cuz Allan didn't like the glare from the flat black paint or anything like that. It was always messes with the glare with him and he didn't like that. So, that's what that is. Of course, it's the foam under behind it is deteriorated, but that's exactly what it is. And, uh, it's just a real thin headliner material. That's really interesting. >> Dash, >> that's like I've never seen anything like that in a car like this before. >> And again, when we got here, I looked at that. I said, "What in the world is that?" You know, and it's like, and then then they a couple of guys reminded me. Oh, yeah. I completely forgot about that, you know. And you seen on the air cleaner up here. I know we kind of already passed it the AK on the air cleaner airbox, you know, that was, you know, that's in the in the metal. That's something always done. Um, one of the guys that um, >> the fabricator was, uh, you know, he was from New York, Pete Jackson. He's the one that started all this stuff and, uh, he did all kinds of, he put AK on anything he would build, he put it up there and Allan loved it. You know, he Allan didn't tell him to do it, but but he's he loved it after he did it and sometime somewhere along the line he got he liked it so much he said, "Make sure you put put my put AK on that thing for me, you know." So there show there's a glove box in here. I don't know if you've seen the glove box, but uh that's usually pretty famous. Yep. Yep. It's there. And it's got AK on it, too. You know, it's it's a little glove box. He kept his he kept his This is all stuff that's in there, but he kept a chapstick in there, Sharpies, uh couple other things. I don't know what else he kept in there, but people always drivers would find out about it. And once they found out about it, they're always stuffing stuff in there, you know, and uh it's pretty funny that >> is that where the comb would go? >> Yeah, the comb would be in there. Oh, yeah. Comb's in there. Uh, it's always good. There's always a I don't know where it is on this one. There's always a St. Christopher's metal underneath the seat somewhere, which I don't know which seat this is, but it may it may be glued underneath there, but St. Christopher's metal was underneath the seat. That was always a must. U, and he did that himself. He'd always put them in there himself, too. So, >> I see the AK on the package tray back there. >> AK on the package tray. It was that was, you know, rolled in. Uh, so yeah, that's always something that he that he uh that the guys did and and again, he didn't start off by putting my AK in there. It was it was one of those deals where the guys started doing it and then he loved it for sure. You know, we all did, actually. >> Is that where his clock would go? That little sticky circle is >> uh Yeah. Yep. That's where it would go. Exactly. Right. You can see somebody fell off. It was just a little small quartz clock. and uh you know just so he could keep track of practice you know know what you knew what time it was and what time it ended and all that good stuff. So >> that was uh before you got here I was looking at this and I see the center of this back glass is really sucked down. Is that something that was the way you guys did it? >> It's definitely had some abuse along the way because the braces are bent but it is it looks like somebody's been laid on it. But yes, these braces are made to bend and once you go through tech, what you would do is you'd pull them pull them uh usually pull on them and uh this is way excessive right now, but uh to get some sloop in there having uh in this era car having some uh a dish right here was really big. It kind of extended the deck give you more downforce. That's before we knew about downforce to be quite honest. Not compared to what we know now, you know. What other kind of things were built into these cars or this car that you would do after you went through tech? >> Uh, usually uh well, it depends on where you're going. If you're going to Dayton Lake, which is not a Dayton car, you would add you would start shaving the spoiler from day one or from from first day there after after tech. But then here, you would probably slide the spoiler up to try to get up on the deck lid more to raise it up because once you go through the templates, you usually don't do the templates again. But you you'd have the smaller slot when you where you could slide it up the hill a little bit and get it a little higher, things like that. That's before uh because they had gauges went here to set the quarter pound heights, but it didn't have nothing here so you could raise the spool up and make it better. Um yeah, we didn't really pull and push as much as you do, you know, in the later era with these type of cars. You know, you're you would pull and push everywhere because we didn't, you know, our wind tunnel was l we did wind tunnel. We had went to the wind tunnel but it was very limited on what we did and our knowledge was not near as what it is now. You know you look back on on uh you know 10 years ago you know compared to compared to this 30 something years ago it's we know a lot more now. Uh but there wasn't as many things usually chassis things that we did uh that that helped and this is an era where you know air was here and arrow was important but yet chassis chassis setup was more important uh you know for this style of car cuz it you know it's a high off the ground. It didn't you didn't put it on the ground and leave it on the ground. So it's just it it just it had it had to handle you know this had more mechanical u grip than it did arrow grip you know which is kind of reversed now. So, >> did it have any uh camber or toe in the rear end back then? >> Uh, no. Straight up and down. Um, so the cambered camber camber did come in in this era, but for for for um uh rear rear end camber did come in in this era. And I'm trying to remember what it was. I know is in '92 um in 90 I think maybe but I don't think we ran it at at um at um you know at the at the main intermediate tracks we ran it at Martinsville and that's where if you kind of go back in history you see people falling out of Martinsville it's called a camber everybody's putting the camber in the housings in so >> they didn't have the axle up the car to handle this load >> didn't have it scienceed out like we do like it like it is now you know uh you know bald axles and and uh you know different dry plates. The dry plates were soft back then, you know, so because they weren't made to do what we were trying to do with them, you know. Today's video sponsor is Fanhome, and you might remember them from a handful of videos back with the Jeff Gordon car. 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