Vintage Volkswagen Racing: The Beginning of Deano Dyno-Soar

Dean Raleigh joined Joe Vittone and his VW dealer Econo Motors in Riverside, California in 1955. After understanding how easy repair and service was, Volkswagen Dean learned as much as he could and improved his skill level. He decided to create a Volkswagen career and improve his performance on the dragstrip.

While working at Century Motors in Alhambra, California, Dean helped build a racing VW Beetle that races regularly for five months. He then built a drag star with a Porsche engine and launched campaigns at several local drag racing events.

Joe asked Dean to return to Econo Motors in 1963 and resumed work on EMPI performance parts. He developed the exhaust system, carburetor kit and valve kit. At this time, Dean produced the famous Inch Pincher Race VW, one of the most famous race cars.

In 1968, Dean left Econo Motors again and partnered with his brother Ken to launch his own VW repair and service shop in Santa Ana, California. The brothers wanted to devote themselves to the manufacture and repair of VW engines. This new business was called Deano Dyno-Soars after Dean’s nickname Deano or Dino.

The Laurie brothers stuck to the dinosaur theme throughout the business and adopted purple. They created a purple dynosore engine painted purple. The race car and its service shop were also purple. That became their trademark color.

Lawry’s often drag-raced with Dean’s daily driver, a 1954 VW sedan with a 2180cc engine. The car was lightened to make it lighter. Custom lightweight spun aluminum wheels were designed specifically for drag racing VWs and made their debut in the Dyno-Soar racing car. The best time was 11.62 seconds, which was a car to win in the NHRA H / Gas class.

One of the major advances in Deano Dyno-Soar in the world of VW racing was the development of an aftermarket crankcase that could accommodate up to 3 liters of VW engines in the rear engine compartment. It was known as the Ultra Case. Deano Dyno-Soar also designed and developed the first set of aftermarket cylinder heads for VW drag racing. They made it possible to use larger valves than regular VW heads.

After winning numerous races and trophies, they decided to retire from Drag Racing VW in 1972. Business called its door in 1972, and the brothers took different paths.