In the early years of drag racing, Gassers were among the rules of the sport, thanks to their performance and often ill-handling characteristics. One of the most influential Gasser racers was George Montgomery, also known as “Ohio George.” Montgomery earned his spot in drag racing history with seven different NHRA titles in a variety of classes, and by developing some wild rides, including this twin-turbo Funny Car that Nick White has restored to its original glory.

Montgomery racked up numerous wins during his racing career at some of the most famous tracks and events in drag racing. It didn’t matter if it was behind the wheel of one of his many Gassers or a Mustang, Montgomery’s ability to make horsepower propelled him to victory. Montgomery became one of the early pioneers of turbocharger technology in drag racing and he used it in several of his racecars over the years.

In 1972 Montgomery built this Mustang Funny Car with a twin-turbo Boss 429 engine that provided the power. This was the second car he created that used the big cubic-inch Ford engine and a pair of turbos for motivation. After the car was retired from racing, it fell victim to the same fate as many racecars do and was neglected. That state of neglect would change after Ford fan Nick White caught wind of the car and saw an amazing opportunity to bring it back to life.

“A friend of mine named Mike Roth was in my shop and I had another Boss 429 engine on an engine stand. Mike asked if I was into the old Ford stuff and he might have a cool project for me. He said he found an Ohio George car at a swap meet in Springfield, Ohio that needed help. It sat outside but had all the documentation to do a restoration. One thing led to another and soon the car was mine and it was time to get to work making it great again,” White says.

The chassis was built by Chapman Race Cars and shows off the 496 cubic-inches of Ford engine perfectly. The Switzer turbos are an amazing sight to see as they are plumbed into the engine. A Bendix fuel injection system and Mallory ignition assist in sending power to the three-speed transmission. White said the engine will eventually run as it originally did when Montgomery owned the car.

Putting the Malco Boss-Turbo Mustang back together wasn’t an easy task at all. There were many parts that needed to be recreated, but White wanted to be sure the car was perfect in every way, so he was ready to do what it took to make that happen.

“When we got this car it was in parts; the engine was in one place, the rest of it in another, and George had a lot of the parts. I’ve had it for about four years total and that includes restoration time. Shawn Dill from Alchemy Engineering restored the car in a painstaking fashion and I would say it was a forensic restoration. Steve Dekkenga of SD Enterprises laid down all of the paint. We made some parts up to four times to make sure they were correct based on the documentation we had. George is proud of the restoration and we made a deal it wouldn’t come out until it was done. I sent him lots of pictures of the car and he said “good job Nick,” so that means a lot to me,” White explains.

Now that the car is finished White can step back and enjoy all the hard work that went into this remarkable restoration. White takes pride in the fact that the car turned out so well and is ready for the world to enjoy it.

“This will be a show car as it sits as long as I own it. Without George, his son Greg, and Shawn there’s no way the car would have turned out this good. A lot of times when you finish a project you built you’ll sit back and think of all the things you would change…with this car there’s not one thing that I would change,” White says.

Drag racing has a rich history and some of it has already been lost to the sands of time, but with people like Nick White standing watch, there’s hope that drag racing’s heritage will solider on for decades to come. White took a historic car that most would have written off as a lost cause and turned it into a show-stopping work of art.