Westen Champlin is a man with simple tastes. Big turbos, bigger engines, and lots of long, straight Kansas roads surrounded by cornfields on either side to do burnouts in. But for no other reason other than a lust for something to tow with his beloved Cummins diesel-swapped late model Ford Mustang, the "Smokestang," he decided to get a boat.
And so, a 1986 Cobalt river boat with a small-block V8 under the rear hatch appears before Westen as if by YouTube magic. He actually got it from his mom, bless her heart. To Westen's surprise, the small-block engine is topped off with oil and fluids. They can even get the thing started with a liberal dose of starting fluid. But again, when it comes to anything on the water, Westen might as well believe they're all called Boaty McBoatface.
The point of bothering with this shag-carpeted aquatic embodiment of the mid-80s is to use it as an excuse to tow something with the Smokestang while doing a big smokey burnout. Western accomplishes his main goal with flying colors. One can only imagine how much he spends on tires each month. But now, it was time for the moment that, deep down, Westen was clearly dreading.
With a tank full of gas and some gawking stares and compliments from passers-by, the old Cobalt boat was ready to take to the water for the first time since Westen was still in grade school, maybe even longer. Hours of towing his friends along behind him in rubber rafts and in the passenger seats end with the obligatory engine failure that no barnfind vehicle video could be complete without.
In the blink of an eye, the boat's engine lost oil pressure began and started knocking like the percussion section of an orchestra. It left our favorite V8-swapping farmboy and his buddies stranded out on the water. For all we know, they're still stranded out there. (Not really). Check out Westen's video down below.
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