Cleetus McFarland Details His Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive Strategy – Changes to Mullet, Ruby Comes off the Sidelines, and a New Ride Will See Its First Drag-and-Drive
To say Cleetus and crew are busy 24-7 is an understatement. In addition to creating content for his popular YouTube channel, Cleetus has an arsenal of cars, combined with running the Freedom Factory race track and now the Freedom Plus (FRDM+) channel.
But he hasn’t forgotten his roots, and plans to return to drag-and-drive in 2024 with a trio of rides and a renewed determination to win a class have been detailed in his latest video.
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The 1986 El Camino known as Mullet will enter its third year of drag-and-drive events with some wins on the docket, and looking to add a possible Sick Week title to that list. At the 2022 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Cleetus wheeled Mullet in the Modified class to a 7.89 average, good enough for the sixth spot in the class.
One year later, Cleetus was well on his way to a 6-second average, but the big block expired at the end of a run on day three at South Georgia Motorsports Park, ending his shot at a top two finish.
Since that time, the El Camino has been brought back into service, and even laid down a 6.3-second pass at over 220 mph with Pete Harrell from Harrell Engine and Dyno behind the tuning keyboard.
But Cleetus has said more than once that Mullet needed some help to use more of the power the Steve Morris Engines big block Chevrolet and 94-millimeter Precision turbochargers are putting out.
So, in the limited time left before Sick Week, Mullet is getting some upgrades in the suspension department, as it still employed stock-type upper and lower control arm rear suspension. To allow for more adjustment, Cleetus has opted to upgrade to an aftermarket 4-link rear suspension.
The current TRZ Motorsports rear end is getting replaced by a new floater-style 9-inch housing from TRZ, and Tye Braun from Cleetus’ team will handle all the cutting and welding. “A real 4-link should really help the car out,” said Tye, and the rear of the car will get a lot of the original bracing and brackets cut to make room for the new suspension.
Cleetus has stated that not only will Pete be riding with him on Sick Week, Pete is bringing down a suspension tuner to get the El Camino up to speed in pre-Sick Week testing.
The second vehicle being prepped for Sick Week is the Corvette known as Ruby. Originally purchased from an auction, it’s gone through quite a transformation to a 7-second drag-and-drive ride. Employing a single-turbo LS powerplant, Ruby had success on Rocky Mountain Race Week, winning the Limited Street 8.50-et limited class once, and finished in the top three twice more.
But since late 2022, Ruby has been engineless and some have wondered what it’s future might hold. Cleetus dropped the details: “We’ve seen the comments (on the videos). We’re bringing Ruby back.” The Corvette will get the 427 cubic inch LS based on a Dart block that pushed Leroy to multiple 7.0-second passes, and Ruby will retain the 98-millimeter single turbocharger it last employed.
Yes, 8.50s might seem easy, but based on the limited time before Sick Week, the crew knows it’s a more realistic goal versus roll cage upgrades and another batch of things to sort out. “We’ll turn it up after Sick Week,” said Cleetus. “It might be able to squeeze out a 6-second with that engine.”
The third and final ride out of Cleet’s group is one that will get its first drag-and-drive appearance: Tye’s Ford Ranger pick-up. The truck sports a Coyote swap with a single turbo, and already has laid down 670 rear-wheel-horse-power on the chassis dyno and some solid runs on the track.
Click below to watch the video with all the details:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks, Cleetus McFarland and Tye Braun.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com