Plueger - Drag Racer

Plueger Feeds His Addiction
Building Funny Cars the Way he Used To

Written by Randy Fish

Page 1 of 2

Throughout his storied career as one of the most innovative Funny Car chassis builders on the planet, Steve Plueger has never really gone out of his way to seek the limelight. He never had to - the limelight always found him. Those in the know are quick to credit his chassis design for being copied many times over, as new builders opened shops from coast to coast. Early on, Steve worked on NASA's Apollo 11 Space Program, built Gassers for Chuck Finders, and also worked for Don Long. His attraction to being even more involved found Gary Densham partnering with Plueger on an AA/Gasser that was campaigned in Southern California before the Funny Car revolution kicked in. Following that was a '69 Corvette Funny Car - a collaboration with (and driven by) Lil' John Lombardo.

From 1972 to '75, the vaunted Plueger & Gyger Funny Car was not only one to watch, but one that brought innovation after innovation to the class. This successful Donovan-powered Mustang was the first Funny Car to feature side-by-side, fuel and dry-sump tanks, reportedly a decade before anyone else used (or copied) the concept. It won national events, match races and points meets, and was driven by Gerry Glenn, Dave Condit, Fred Mooneyham, and Dale Pulde.

Most recently, Steve Plueger built a contemporary Funny Car that turned out to be one of those "dare to be different" entries. Before the advent of mandatory rev limiters, Plueger engineered his own proprietary clutch and fuel management system that cost several thousands less than a "conventional setup." The car had a single mag from MSD and a giant fuel pump, specially developed by Plueger and his longtime accomplice, Steve Leach. It was beginning to show promise right about the time when those aforementioned electronics became required by rule, and that took the fun out of it for Steve. He retrofitted the car (spending huge dollars), but running as a self-funded deal, the handwriting was on the wall.

After selling the car, Plueger still had the itch to thunder, so he applied his vast talents towards building two Nostalgia Funny Cars, the first of which is a joint venture between himself and Bucky Austin, a.k.a. The Northwest Hitter. The second car will be a virtual twin to the old Plueger & Gyger car (in appearance), but sharing in the fun will be Canadians Ed and Mike Grekul, with Mike doing the driving. We hope you enjoyed seeing what it's like to visit Steve Plueger, one of the most amazing characters in drag racing. DR

After initial body support fabrication (notice the temporary Cleco panel fasteners), Steve Plueger stands in front of his new Plymouth Arrow Nostalgia Funny Car. The first of two, this car is actually a collaboration between Steve and Bucky Austin.

Plueger's second creation will sport this Mustang body shell. Neil Bonham helped reconfigure the body before it became the master. Paul Trabue, George Spillers and Frank Aldana all helped out, as well, and Mike O'Brien did the finish bodywork. Plueger sawed the nose off and added a 10-inch extension (behind front wheel opening). Then, a wedge was added to the side of body, which allows the car to be as low as possible without having to notch for headers.

This shot was taken the night Paul Trabue had just about completed most of the finish-welding. That's Steve on the right, assisted by George Spillers and Frank Aldana.	This shot was taken the night Paul Trabue had just about completed most of the finish-welding. That's Steve on the right, assisted by George Spillers and Frank Aldana.	Frank Aldana, originator of Aldan Shocks, lent his talents in tinwork to this project. Here, he's shown installing the freshly anodized fuel and dry-sump tanks.
(L to R) Paul, Steve and Frank discuss the tooling that's necessary to flange the tank strap, so it has a nice radius around each filler cap. The consummate tinkerer, Plueger was wielding his trusty micrometer.	Meanwhile, Steve's arsenal of aluminum bullets was awaiting their turn in the 'firing order.'	Back in the chassis shop, four new frames were under construction. Oh, and if you order a Plueger car, be prepared to wait. Steve built all of John Force's cars for many years, until John's staggering number of chassis needs far outdistanced Steve's desire to be a 'production line welder.' Jim Dunn, Gary Densham and a select list of racers still use Plueger chassis exclusively, though they order well in advance.

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