Dragon Wagon Engine

[Filomeno Robles]

Heres my build. I built it 100% from scratch with no plans, no advice and no internet samples. I started the build in 2008. I was in a bad motorcycle accident and was laid up for 8 months. It gets real boring when you just sit around. I am in the automotive business for 33 years now. I've worked on, built and helped out friends with countless amounts of car projects. I like different and thought of this. It's a standard Radio Flyer wagon. Threw away everything but the tub. The frame is 1" square tubing. The front shocks (coil overs) are what you see in mountain bike frames. You can buy them new. I live in the New Orleans area and there's a race shop about an hour and a half away. I bought the threaded tubes and rod ends to make a 4 link front suspension with a panhard rod (track bar - track locator). I originally had shocks on the rear also, but, since I didn't put a chain tensioner, it would throw the chain when the rear had excessive movement. So, I cut the shock end off and welded a tube inside of another tube for strength and welded the ends back on. The back rest is the only thing left from my motorcycle. I build the steering column and steering wheel. It pivots on 4 bearings. The engine came from Harbor Freight back in 2008. It's not what they sell now. This is a Greyhound 196cc engine. It's a 100% true Honda clone. Harbor Freight now sells a 212 cc that looks the same, but, the internals are different. I removed the governor, re-jetted the carburetor, cut out every other fin off the flywheel cooling blade and added the K&N filter. The rear axle, disc brake, chain, sprocket, front steering and front axle ends are all go kart parts. i bought it all new. Same with the front & rear wheels & tires. I had a clutch on the engine at first, but, I bought the torque-a-verter and it made a world of difference. I build the wheelie bars from 3/8' tubing and casters. I used some left over tubes and rod ends on them for adjustment and additional support. The were just for looks, but, after changing out the clutch to the torque-a-vertor, they were definitely needed. The throttle & brakes are on the steering wheel. It's bicycle levers and cables. I made the exhaust as well and wrapped it with the heat wrap material. It goes 40 mph like it sits. I'm right at 200 lbs. It'd be faster is had skinny kid was on it. LOL. I have 2 other sets of gears. I have a 65 tooth on it now. I have a 60 and a 78 tooth as well. But, it's fun to ride like it is and definitely a head turner.

The wheelie bars.... I built the wagon using a centrifugal clutch at first. Then, switched to the torque-a-vertor. I had the bars built and bent them. I took them off to fix them and add reinforcements and paint them. I was in the grass and decided to see exactly how much lift it had. I squeezed the throttle all the way and immediately, I was 90 degrees vertical, in an upright position. The backrest from the seat kept me from flipping over.

Very true mndsm. I thought about adding weight to the front end, but, riding wheelies is way too cool. It handles good physician. I do lean forward when executing turns. I set the front toe angle to 1/8" in and it doesn't wander. It only has issues when riding in the center of the street. The street has a crown and it gets a little off center. On a flat road, it goes straight.

I have another true Honda clone. I have an older rebuilt GX390 clone. I'm gonna go a bit different. Not a wagon, but, maybe an old school slingshot dragster or an old school altered. Where the engine is in front of the driver. Not like today's jr dragsters. Something definitely old school.

Thanks guys. Yes, 40 mph. I downloaded the Speedometer GPS app for my phone. Turned it on and took off. It saves the data from when turned on until I stop it. 40.3 mph was the top speed. It might go a little faster if I didn't have to shut it down and watch for cars. I'll have to try it in an empty parking lot. If I swapped to the 60 tooth gear, it'll have more top end too.

The Dragon Wagon is a 1972 Ford Esquire modified with giant exhaust pipes and a custom fuel engine that runs by burning garbage. Throughout the course of the movie, the Wagon is abandoned by the Lee brothers after it suffers an engine failure, only to be recovered and restored by the Power Corps. The restored Dragon Wagon has a new paint job with dragon decals on each side. The movie ends with Abobo driving off the Dragon Wagon with the Lee brothers and Marian as passengers.

The Dragon Wagon makes a cameo in the Double Dragon fighting game for the Neo Geo, where Billy (when fought as a CPU-controlled opponent) makes his entrance by standing a top of the vehicle before it crashes into the side of a building. The car can be destroyed during battle by throwing the opponent onto it. The design of the Dragon Wagon in the game differs from its movie counterpart as it is completely gray.

When I was a kid, station wagons were completely different vehicles than they are now. My parents owned a few of them. They were dependable ways of getting me, my folks, and my older brother where we needed to go, but they certainly didn't fuel my love of automobiles. They were blocky, boring, and slow.

That's not the case any more. Jaguar, Audi, Volvo, and Mercedes have made "longroofs" downright beautiful. Depending on how you option them, their wagons can also be as fast as some dedicated sports cars. For example, Mercedes-Benz offers two wildly different versions of its 2019 E-Class wagon. You can get the $64,200* E 450 with a 362-horsepower twin-turbo V6 and 4MATIC all-wheel drive or the $108,850* E 63 S, which has a hand-built twin-turbo V8 with more than 600 horses under its hood. There's no in-between E 43 model or a regular E 63 without the S and the extra output that comes with that letter.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that my E 63 S wagon press loaner was one of the most attractive vehicles I've ever tested. Fundamentally, the E longroof is a visually graceful machine, especially in profile. Its wheels perfectly fill their wheel wells, and the roof line slopes downward just enough to add a dramatic flair. The proportions are perfect.

Mercedes-AMG configured my test car in a way that enhanced its already attractive design. They went with a high-contrast color scheme of Polar White paint and a combination of dark accents. The AMG Night Package cloaked parts such as the front air inlet surrounds, window trim, exhaust finishers, and diffuser in High-Gloss Black. The forged 20-inch AMG wheels were also black and wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires (265/35 ZR 20 in the front, 295/30 ZR 20 in the rear). The AMG Exterior Carbon Fiber Package swapped out the regular splitter, front fender vent trim, and lower rear fascia for the lightweight, exotic material. Carbon fiber mirror caps were a standalone upgrade. The only parts of the E 63 S that weren't white, black, or carbon fiber were the brake calipers. Those were bronze, and they clamped down on massive 15.8-inch front and 14.2-inch rear AMG carbon ceramic discs.

If you look at this particular E 63 S and think "Storm Trooper", I can't blame you. I had my own nickname for it: "Dragon Wagon" (and I have 603 reasons why, which I'll get to in the Performance section below).

I didn't need the Mercedes-Benz star or AMG engraving on the Nappa leather performance steering wheel to tell me I was sitting in something special. Carbon fiber extended from the driver's door panel, across the entire width of the dashboard, down to the center console, and back up to the passenger's door panel. A pair of 12.3-inch widescreens told me vital information. The left one displayed the main gauges such as the tachometer, speedometer, and other readouts and the one on the right served the COMAND (Cockpit Management and Data) infotainment system. I could use a rotary controller to enter an address into the navigation module, adjust the balance and fade of the 590-watt, 13-speaker Burmester surround sound system, choose one of the 64 available LED ambient lighting colors, and more.

There was no real trade-off for the E 63 S's performance in terms of creature comforts. Both of the form-fitting AMG performance front seats were heated and ventilated. I'm 5'10" and found the back seat to be perfectly spacious. My press loaner was even fitted with an optional Acoustic Comfort Package that includes sound- and heat-absorbing material in the windshield and side windows.

Before I hit the back roads of the Texas Hill Country and discovered how athletic the E 63 S can be, I made sure to use it as, you know, a station wagon. Doing that, I discovered the 35-cubic-foot cargo bay behind the rear seats was more than capable of holding my briefcase, hard-sided camera case, partially extended tripod...and a large pizza box. Let's just say I got it home in 30 minutes or less. Way less.

High-performance cars can be a bit frustrating. On one hand, you get the satisfaction of knowing your vehicle has X horsepower, Y lb-ft of torque, and can hit 60 mph in Z seconds. On the other hand, you don't get to unload all of that power on public roads unless you're driving like an absolute maniac with no regard for the safety of others or your license.

Although I obviously didn't fully wring out the E 63 S's twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 and use every one of its 603 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, I didn't come away feeling as if I had let the engine go to waste. I completely enjoyed my time behind the wheel. The E 63 S's 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive put that firepower to the road with startling efficiency. When full power hit, the nose lifted, the back end squatted, and the car rushed forward as if pushed by a giant invisible hand.

The E 63 S was a joy on twisty roads, too. The steering was heavy and substantial, and its rock-solid stability gave me confidence. Shifts from the nine-speed automatic gearbox were quick and well-timed, and there was very little noise from the carbon ceramic brakes. I expected them to be overly eager to do their important job, but they were surprisingly easy to modulate and well behaved. I, on the other hand, was not. I freely indulged my right foot with heavy doses of throttle and my ears with the roar-on-demand from the AMG performance exhaust, which made the overrun after a high-speed blast into an addictive sound.

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