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Gilmon 'Gil' George
BUILDER

Gilmon 'Gil' George

In 1967, Gil George began fabricating tube framed buggy chassis for the fledgling sport of off-road racing. He called his company Funco, short for “Fun Company”. Over the course of the next 15 years, George’s Funco chassis was the dominant force in desert racing, winning the coveted title of SCORE Chassis Manufacturer of the Year five times.

Along the way Funco introduced innovations for buggies such as long travel rear suspensions, the first independent rear suspension, the first disc brake systems and developed the “Char-Lynn’ power steering system for buggies. In the early 90’s Gil partnered with son Grant to create the “Big 5” Buggy, which is one of the best handling vehicles in the sand car market, today. A true family business, there are three generations of the George family in the shop every day working with Gil on what has become the entire family passion. For Gil, it has never been about the money. Whether he is in the shop welding, at home with a scratch pad designing a new steering box or chassis, or out playing in the dunes with the family, he is always thinking about how to make off-road machines faster, better or safer. Editor’s note: Gilmon ‘Gil’ George passed away in October 2019.