Oreo Speedwagon may be one of the best automotive name puns of all time.
Story and Photography by the Staff of the 24 Hours of Lemons
As recovering auto journalists, the 24 Hours of Lemons staff appreciates a good pun. And they especially appreciate a good pun when it comes in the form of the OREO Speedwagon. And if parsing that kind of wit seems a bit strenuous–even for the weirdos in Lemons–let’s give a (very) brief history of Michigan racers A Quart Low.
The team first turned up to Lemons with its Honda del Sol completely converted into a 300% scale Radio Flyer–aka the Racing Failyer–with its builders dressed up as Calvin & Hobbes. The team repeated that spectacular effort the following year, hoping the Lemons judges would overlook its now turbocharged engine.
It turns out that, yes, converting your already overweight roadster into an incredibly non-aerodynamic shape will allow you to slip by your turbocharger, intercooler, and enough piping to generate all of the lag without serious judicial inquiry. The boost lagged enough that the turbo’s main feature is its characteristic “whoosh” sound. Of course, that can’t be overlooked when it comes to Lemons tuning.
But hey, what’s a Lemons event without one-upping yourself? The following year, A Quart Low figured that its not-even-remotely quick del Sol needed even more aerodynamic drag in its quest for thematic domination. Yes, the result was the OREO Speedwagon with a 6-foot Oreo replica aboard. That earned the team the Organizer’s Choice trophy and a challenge: “What can you do to top that?”
A year later in 2019, they rolled up to tech with their Radio Flyer hauling an 8-foot spray-foam Rat Fink that was jamming gears on a big-block Chevy V8 (at least, if you believed the hood-mounted velocity stacks and valve covers) in proper Ed “Big Daddy” Roth style. Spectacular, and again prompting the question “What’s next?”
Oreo Speedwagon may be one of the best automotive name puns of all time.
Disappointed in distributor placement if they're using bbc valve covers.
Dist correct...it's front wheel drive, engine rotated 180 degree! 
Just like a Maserati Citroen with the backwards Maserati V6
I've seen this car up close at the races and it is very well done theme each time they come to race in Lemons. They would have won IOE their first time out but for the '48 Plymouth of Bad Decisions Racing showing up to that race as well. How can you not award an IOE to a car and engine designed back in the '30's!
First I marveled at the detail of the Oreo...then I saw the Rat Fink
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