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In another thread I mentioned that Westech Engineering General Manager Steve Brulé started out in the performance engine business in Albuquerque, working at McClintic Racing Engines. I thought some of you might find the story interesting, so I am filling out some details in this post.
I first met Steve when I was a pimply faced teenager, trying to get some speed out of the underpowered and overweight 1957 Chevy I had bought for $200 from one of my dad's employees. It was around 1969-1970.
John McClintic began racing at Albuquerque Dragway around 1967. I think Steve began working for him in 1970. This is the Corvette that McClintic raced in 1971 and 1972. It ran in D/MP and often took home the Modified Eliminator trophy.
When Steve moved to SoCal in 1997, he owned and raced a CP-19 in Pro Gas Jet, and won a couple of SDBA titles.
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One of McClintic's sponsors was Guaranteed Auto Parts, an honest to god speed shop and parts store. They had a huge intake valve from a GM locomotive engine as a front doorstop, and there were a couple of Packard Merlin pistons on the counter used as ashtrays.
Steve Hight was the owner, and he ran a Volkswagen bug with a SBC stuffed into it. Guaranteed was "the" place to hang out and talk racing. I spent hours there learning tips from the racers on how to build and tune SBCs. Steve Brule mentions Guaranteed in the Hot Rod magazine story I have linked below. A photo of the bug:
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The 1957 Chevy 210 post car below has a McClintic SBC in it, it's likely Steve wrenched on it at some time. The car was owned by an employee of my dad's company and my dad gave them some sponsor dough. I think it was 1976 when they built it. It ran the half mile at Albuquerque Raceway, which I believe is now known as Duke City Raceway. You can see the Sandia mountains in the background of the photo. I was surprised they used the big '57 body when everyone else was going to smaller cars. It ran like a sumbitch, redlined somewhere close to 8K.
Check out how clean the metal is. This was taken the night of the season opener, so everything was straight and shiny. The car was really in nice shape when they bought it, it was rolled into the shop and the cutting started.
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This link is to a Hot Rod magazine article about Steve. He moved to Southern California in 1998 to work at Westech.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/take-5-with-steve-brule/
In another thread I mentioned that Westech Engineering General Manager Steve Brulé started out in the performance engine business in Albuquerque, working at McClintic Racing Engines. I thought some of you might find the story interesting, so I am filling out some details in this post.
I first met Steve when I was a pimply faced teenager, trying to get some speed out of the underpowered and overweight 1957 Chevy I had bought for $200 from one of my dad's employees. It was around 1969-1970.
John McClintic began racing at Albuquerque Dragway around 1967. I think Steve began working for him in 1970. This is the Corvette that McClintic raced in 1971 and 1972. It ran in D/MP and often took home the Modified Eliminator trophy.
When Steve moved to SoCal in 1997, he owned and raced a CP-19 in Pro Gas Jet, and won a couple of SDBA titles.
.
.
One of McClintic's sponsors was Guaranteed Auto Parts, an honest to god speed shop and parts store. They had a huge intake valve from a GM locomotive engine as a front doorstop, and there were a couple of Packard Merlin pistons on the counter used as ashtrays.
Steve Hight was the owner, and he ran a Volkswagen bug with a SBC stuffed into it. Guaranteed was "the" place to hang out and talk racing. I spent hours there learning tips from the racers on how to build and tune SBCs. Steve Brule mentions Guaranteed in the Hot Rod magazine story I have linked below. A photo of the bug:
.
The 1957 Chevy 210 post car below has a McClintic SBC in it, it's likely Steve wrenched on it at some time. The car was owned by an employee of my dad's company and my dad gave them some sponsor dough. I think it was 1976 when they built it. It ran the half mile at Albuquerque Raceway, which I believe is now known as Duke City Raceway. You can see the Sandia mountains in the background of the photo. I was surprised they used the big '57 body when everyone else was going to smaller cars. It ran like a sumbitch, redlined somewhere close to 8K.
Check out how clean the metal is. This was taken the night of the season opener, so everything was straight and shiny. The car was really in nice shape when they bought it, it was rolled into the shop and the cutting started.
.
.
This link is to a Hot Rod magazine article about Steve. He moved to Southern California in 1998 to work at Westech.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/take-5-with-steve-brule/
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