New archive photos coming soon.
Bill “Maverick” Golden’s Dodge Magnum was built to run alongside the Little Red Wagon. Its surviving body and owner-held archive are the center of an ongoing restoration investigation.
Mike Burghart, the current owner, is trying to restore the car and would like any photos and information on the car.
The Cullman Times-Democrat documented Rick Mehl’s July 1978 Magnum Illusion body-separation incident in Jackson, Mississippi, and his July 15 return at Baileyton — read the full story and original newspaper reports.
Watch the two wheelstanders in action.
A chronology from period coverage, later listings, photographs, and the current owner’s account. Approximate dates and photograph locations remain open to further documentation.
Pencil sketches on tracing paper show the idea for the Magnum Illusion body and frame. The owner’s archive also preserves logo and promotional artwork; their exact dates remain unconfirmed.
Magnum Illusion appears alongside Little Red Wagon at Lakeland International Speedway in Memphis, Tennessee. See the period article.
The May 1978 cover of Quartermile Countdown advertises “The Wheelstanding Battle of the Decade!”—Little Red Wagon versus Magnum Illusion—on Sunday, May 21. The cover also promotes the 1978 Speed Shop Cash Bash beginning that day.
The flyer’s provider confirmed the venue as U.S. 30 Drag Strip in Hobart, near Gary, Indiana. The cover advertises the appearance; whether the scheduled appearance took place remains unconfirmed.
The Gadsden Times announces a July 4 match race between Little Red Wagon and Magnum Illusion at Green Valley Dragway, a drag racing track near Glencoe in the Gadsden area of Alabama. This clipping documents the scheduled event, not its completion. View the cleaned clipping (Google News Archive; AI-cleaned display copy).
Photo of Magnum Illusion with “Captain Ken Nelson” painted as driver on the side of the car.
An indexed Cullman Times-Democrat report describes Rick Mehl and Harold Mullican performing the preceding Saturday, likely July 15, at the Baileyton drag racing track in Baileyton, Cullman County, Alabama. Baileyton Drag Strip is a possible location for Magnum Illusion; the full page is needed to confirm the car’s identification. See the newspaper index.
A later Draglist index lists Jim Curtis with Magnum Illusion in the 1979 season; no time, speed or event is documented there.
Promotional flyer featuring Little Red Wagon versus Magnum Illusion. It is believed to be an ad in the Hattiesburg paper for an event at Hub City Dragway in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Magnum Illusion performing a wheelstand. Possible event flyer, promotional ad or magazine article. Listing sponsors seems to imply it was an event in the Memphis area. Saying Dodge Magnum is similar to the other promo ad calling it 1979 Dodge Magnum, suggesting a Dodge dealer may have been a sponsor, as Bill Golden would have called it the Magnum Illusion, not the car model.
The Daily Item names “Smokehouse” Curtis driving Magnum Illusion against Bill “Maverick” Golden’s Little Red Wagon in its preview of that evening’s NHRA Dixie Finals. This is contemporary evidence of Curtis’s advertised driver role; the clipping does not confirm that the exhibition was completed. View the clipping and original screenshots.
The Draglist index continues a Magnum Illusion / Jim Curtis listing into 1980; its dates are index entries, not verified event results.
Mike Burghart reports that James “Jim” Crumpton purchased Magnum Illusion from Bill Golden in Searcy, Arkansas, and that Golden later confirmed the sale in a recorded call. As recalled to Mike, the purchase came a few years before Crumpton’s Air Force retirement in 1985. The purchase and the handover may not have happened at the same time. Crumpton may have bought the car while it was still with Golden and taken possession after the engine and transmission were removed. By July 1980, Hot Rod magazine reported that engine in Golden’s Dodge Super Wagon (D-50 “Littlest Red Wagon”). No written sale record is known to exist, and both men have since died, so the exact timing is unlikely ever to be confirmed. Golden’s recorded call is the surviving firsthand evidence of the sale. Read the provenance notes.
According to the current owner’s account, Magnum Illusion’s engine and transmission were moved to a Dodge Super Wagon (also called D-50 Littlest Red Wagon) owned by Bill Golden and driven by Rick Mehl.
A photograph shows Magnum Illusion in the first paint scheme for James “Jim” Crumpton’s proposed Air Force sponsorship.
James “Jim” Crumpton photographs Magnum Illusion in front of the Capitol building in Topeka, Kansas.
A photograph shows the second version of James “Jim” Crumpton’s Thunderbirds-themed paint job.
Mike Burghart reports acquiring Magnum Illusion from James “Jim” Crumpton’s estate after Crumpton’s death. Burghart identifies an estate bill of sale as the surviving document for this transfer. It remains private and has not been independently reviewed for this website.
A photograph documents the newly purchased Magnum Illusion leaving Altamont, Kansas, James “Jim” Crumpton’s final residence, for its new home with Mike Burghart in Topeka, Kansas.
Track reports, advertised appearances, store displays and the car’s later travels. Map numbers and the guide follow each location’s earliest dated appearance. Repeat visits stay together in date order. Records without an exact day and build/ownership locations follow the dated appearances. Select a numbered pin for details. An advertisement establishes a scheduled appearance; it does not confirm that a run or display took place.
Dates below refer to events or displays where stated; newspaper publication dates are listed separately as evidence. Dates inferred from weekday wording remain attributed to the supplied clipping report. Driver names are assigned only where the relevant record identifies them. Metrocenter advertises Little Red Wagon only. Golden Triangle is excluded because the original clipping assigns the Magnum match to Green Valley.
April 22–23, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: The Commercial Appeal: April 22, 1978 p27; April 24 pp14,18; October 19 p40; May 12, 1979 p30. Source notes & archive
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: The Commercial Appeal October 19, 1978 p40. Source notes & archive
May 13, 1978
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: Newark Advocate May 13, 1978 p9. Source notes & archive
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: Newark Advocate March 30, 1979 p19. Source notes & archive
June 10, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: The Daily Gazette, Sterling–Rock Falls, Illinois · June 8, 1978 · page 19 · “The Newcomer.” Source notes & archive
June 16–17, 1978
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: June 16–17, 1978 Decatur Daily Review pp43,32 and Herald and Review pp19,15. Source notes & archive
June 17, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: June 16–17, 1978 Decatur / Herald and Review advertisements; July 19–21, 1979 advertisements; July 23 Decatur Daily Review p8 and Herald and Review p12. Steve Jackson photograph. Source notes & archive
July 4, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Gadsden Times July 1, 1978; Cullman Times-Democrat June 30 p7; Birmingham Post-Herald June 30 p19. Source notes & archive
July 7–8, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Clarion-Ledger July 8, 1978 pp18,30 and August 11, 1979 p19; Cullman Times-Democrat July 14, 1978 p3. Source notes & archive
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: Clarion-Ledger July 8, 1978 p18. Source notes & archive
July 15, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Cullman Times-Democrat July 21, 1978 p8. Source notes & archive
August 12, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Times-Union August 10–12, 1978 p36; Buffalo News p20; Democrat and Chronicle pp49,36 (report groups several publication dates). Source notes & archive
September 23, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Muncie Evening Press September 20, 1978, “Jets, wheel standers here Saturday”; September 22 p16; Star Press September 23 p14. Source notes & archive
September 23–24, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Pensacola News Journal September 21, 1978 p21. Source notes & archive
September 30–October 1, 1978
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Johnson City Press October 1, 1978 p45. Source notes & archive
April 1, 1979
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Newark Advocate March 29, 1979 p14 and March 30 p19. Granville Sentinel June 7, 1979 p6, “Summer begins with Spring Nationals.” Source notes & archive
May 6, 1979
Track / event evidence
Evidence: May 3, 1979 notices in nine Wisconsin newspapers, cataloged in the supplied clipping report. Source notes & archive
July 19–20, 1979
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: State Journal-Register July 19–21, 1979 advertisements, pp2,4,41,39,31. Source notes & archive
September 9, 1979
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Courier-Journal September 7, 1979 pp9,37,10,11; owner-identified October 7 photograph. Source notes & archive
September 15–16, 1979
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Beaumont Enterprise September 14, 1979 p16; American Press September 15 p20 and September 15–16 advertisements. Source notes & archive
Advertised store / mall / dealership display
Evidence: American Press September 15–16, 1979 advertisements, pp21,3,42. Source notes & archive
October 6, 1979
Track / event evidence
Evidence: The Item / Daily Item October 6, 1979 p11. Source notes & archive
1979 · exact day unknown
Track / event evidence
Evidence: Owner-identified archive photograph. Source notes & archive
Late 1977–1978 · build / ownership context
Ownership / archive location
Evidence: Owner account and provenance notes. Source notes & archive
1979–80 to 1999
Ownership / archive location
Evidence: Mike Burghart’s date correction; owner archive and provenance notes. Source notes & archive
2000–current
Ownership / archive location
Evidence: Mike Burghart’s date correction; owner archive and provenance notes. Source notes & archive
In a later phase, the car carried Thunderbirds and Air Force graphics. An owner-held promotional board reads “THUNDERBIRD II — Wheel Standing Exhibitionists” and names James “Jim” Crumpton.
The exact date of Golden’s sale to Crumpton remains unverified. The date a scan was made is not the date of the original photograph or board.
Explore the photographsThese reproductions preserve the distinction between a dated newspaper photograph and later images whose original dates are still unknown.
James “Jim” Crumpton’s changes to the car included changing the engine location (the car came with no engine), adding a military transfer case, and adding T-38 jet brakes with dual brake calipers. These allowed the brake pedal and the left/right brake levers to operate separately, depending on whether the car was performing a wheelstand or needed regular braking on the ground.
The current owner is preserving the original body as evidence while studying its shape, artwork, repairs and mechanical history for a future reconstruction.
The body shows extensive filler, deterioration and repair work. The owner’s account describes a past wreck and rebuild, but the date, track and driver have not yet been established. The original Star Wars-inspired artwork was not repeated in the later paint scheme.
The owner reports receiving original design artwork and related photographs directly from the painter’s wife. Those items await positive matching to the archived scans and master files.
Photos obtained so far show that the Little Red Wagon and Magnum Illusion made at least four separate runs.
Verification of previously provided information and sources is now unconfirmed, as those websites and third-party messages no longer exist, including the MagnumGT website and others. If you are still around, contact us at info@magnumillusion.com.
Owner recollections provide valuable leads, including conversations with Golden about hiring drivers for side-by-side appearances. The owner also reports the car was never state titled or registered, so Golden’s recorded call, estate records, photographs, and dated public sources such as the 2011 MagnumGT page are the relevant chain-of-custody evidence. Read the research and citation guide.
Period reporting, owner-held photographs and later historical indexes form the research trail. Some links lead to archives with their own access restrictions.
Thank you to the people and communities who have helped preserve the history of Magnum Illusion through information, photos, articles, and hard work.
