A Truck Driver Turns to YouTube and Social Media to Get This Pontiac from Neglected to A Drag-and-Drive Finisher at Sick Summer!
The car community can seem intimidating at times, but there’s thousands of people that once started out with just an interest in cars or racing, and needed some direction or help.
One of the great things we’ve witnessed over time about the drag-and-drive community is the majority wants to help fellow enthusiasts get into the game, and survive the event, even if it means that competitor gets beat by the newcomer.
Todd Fogle, a truck driver with very little experience with cars outside of general maintenance, swam to the deeper end of the pool with a 2017 purchase of a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville, and it started his path to a deeper appreciation of cars.
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“I got the car as a ‘Roadkill-style’ piece of shit that hadn't run in decades,” said Todd. “This is the first car that I've worked on. It was all stock, and I got the original 389 going with some tune up stuff a new fuel tank and rebuilt the drum brakes.”
He started driving it, and was constantly tackling leaks and some blow-by from the original engine. That led to purchasing a different engine, a 400 cubic inch Pontiac, to re-gasket and hopefully cure the smoke and leaks. Todd even purchased another car, an Oldsmobile Cutlass, to put that engine in, and bought another Pontiac engine.
After the Bonneville sat on hold for some time, Todd attended an event with friends behind the wheel of another car, and his vision for the Pontiac was forever changed. “I went to Duquoin, Illinois for the Street Machine Nationals,” said Todd. “I drove my buddy’s ‘65 Chevelle with a 5.3-liter LS, turbo and 4L80E overdrive transmission swap. I knew what I needed to do. Fuel injection and overdrive.”
Todd now had a new gameplan - pulling the Pontiac engine and Turbo 400 3-speed automatic transmission out of the Bonneville, and planned to attend the first Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, in June 2023.
“I started the ‘Sloppy Mechanics-style’ engine and transmission swap,” said Todd. The Bonneville’s first LS candidate, a 6-liter, took longer than expected, and unfortunately, he missed out on Sick Summer. To add insult to injury, the engine lasted just 55 miles, failing in November in 2023.
Todd wouldn’t settle for missing Sick Summer again in 2024, so he started on another engine shortly after. “We rebuilt another 6-liter LS and kept chipping away,” Todd said. “I watched Roadkill, Sloppy Mechanics, Vice Grip Garage, Motion Raceworks tutorials, various other YouTube stuff, and drag-and-drive live streams. With some help from a few friends (especially my co-driver Adam), this car came together.”
The second 6-lter got a standard dingle ball rebuild, but with some upgrades for more power and fun. A Summit Racing ‘Big Truck Torkinator’ camshaft was slid in place, and the stock crack, rods and pistons were re-used with new piston rings.
The stock cylinder heads got a valve job and upgraded BTR valve springs, and the combo gets a boost from a Turbonetics ’80-something’ millimeter turbocharger.
A GM overdrive transmission sits in the transmission tunnel, and connects to a Quick Performance 9-inch rear end sporting PMT Fab rear control arms, tie bars and sway bars.
On June 2nd, the Bonneville was once again ready for action. “We pulled it out of the garage, did some street shake downs and drove the car to a LaPorte, Indiana cruise the night before Sick Summer,” said Todd.
With not even 400 miles on the new combination, Todd and Adam set out to conquer Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, and about a week later, they emerged as drag-and-drive finishers.
“The week was 860 miles garage to garage,” said Todd. “No trailer, no major problems, and a best time of 12.23 at 120 mph in a 4730-pound car. We completed the car in time, and we completed the event. The car stayed together and worked well.”
“I missed Sick Ward last year because I didn't get done. If these events interest you, stop thinking about it and get out in the garage. You can get there. The best car cruise is where you get to hit a bunch of different drag strips too, a true test of what you've built.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Todd Fogle.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com