Jim Riley and The Rippin’ Rooster:

A Tri-Five Desert Dominator and the Man Keeping It Alive

Running a Tri-Five Chevrolet in the Baja 1000, the Mexican 1000, and a score of other desert racing events requires a special kind of insanity coupled with more than a small dose of masochism. This disastrous blend of personality traits have come together in one man, Azunia Tequila CEO Jim Riley, and year after year he wheels this big red behemoth out to any desert that will have him and he cuts loose.

The Rippin’ Rooster was originally built by another madman, Larry Schwacofer, and raced throughout the 80’s with no small measure of success. The Rooster took home 40+ class wins in various desert events including 5 at the Baja 1000. Unfortunately, desert racing is hard on vehicles, and when your race rig began as an antique, it’s harder still. Schwacofer retired the Rippin’ Rooster in the mid-90s, parked it in his garage, and in his garage it sat until 2013 when the Mr. Riley and his Azunia Tequila team found the car on Facebook and purchased the Rooster less than four months before it was supposed to race in the Mexican 1000.

Needless to say, after more than a decade of being thrashed around in the dirt and then a long slumber in a garage, the Rooster was pretty much shot. It wasn’t, however, totally beyond repair and to get it back into fighting shape Riley sent the Rippin’ Rooster to Matt “Shrek” Dowland who labored over it day and night, replacing the old engine with a Robert Simpson-built Chevy 350 with a custom MagnaFlow exhaust system. “Ever since I started my race team I’ve always run MagnaFlow exhaust. Even before we knew anyone at the company. We’ve been lucky to have built a relationship with those guys and we couldn’t be happier.” Matt also replaced the rear axle with a super strong Currie unit, and having the old Turbo 400 completely rebuilt with tougher components. The suspension got some modern upgrades as well with a full complement of FOX Racing shocks, American Racing wheels, and some meaty General Grabber tires.

Its first race was the 2013 NORRA Mexican 1000 where it took top honors in the vintage class, and had a repeat performance in 2014. The car ran into some problems during this year’s event when the motor began consuming huge amounts of oil, the Rooster was unable to finish the event under its own power, but Jim wasn’t phased by this. He and the Azunia Tequila Racing team are going to the rest of the year to rebuild the vehicle thoroughly and enter it into the 2016 1000. When asked why he spends all the time and money necessary to enter these events and keep a rig like the Rippin’ Rooster going, Jim Riley said, “It’s like bringing history alive in the form of a vehicle and reliving what other racers have done in Baja. The ’57 Chevy is so raw, you can’t help but realize what it was like 40 years ago.”

The Rippin’ Rooster could have just as easily ended up where so many old race cars do, in pieces with no hope of ever being driven in anger. Both it and the many rabid fans of these old desert racing machines are fortunate that there are guys like Jim Riley out there, keeping the dream alive.