![]() Frank Iaconio (foreground) began serious racing in this ’57 two-door with 283 power and went on to become a name Pro Stock racer. The roster of those who carved their own drag racing legends beginning with 55-57 Chevys stretches to the horizon.Ī pair of Tri-Five Chevy legends square off here for H/Stock class trophy. Legends such as “Professor Pro-Stock”, Warren Johnson proudly points to a now yellowed, black and white photo with WJ posed in front of a ’57 Chevy Bel-Air at a weekend drag strip event, just one of many who trace their drag racing roots to the Tri-Five’s.įorever Chevy hero, the late Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins learned his craft by magically building and tuning Tri-Five Junior Stockers. This bad-and-blue ’56 sports a blown big-block Chevy, the “high and mighty” stance derived from a straight-axle front suspension and high starting line wheelstands that thrill not only the spectators but its owner-driver as well!Īlongside the cars and brand names were the legions of famous drag racers that got their starts in Tri-Five’s. Steve Crook’s Ohio-based ’56 Chevy 150 sedan is one of the most famous nostalgia racers on the east coast. This fanatical devotion actually began almost from the minute the first ’55 Chevy rolled off the assembly line until today, when any Tri-Five Chevy draws a steady stream of admirers armed with wistful comments like: “I had one just like that”. They also brought drag racing competition to the masses, whether it was on one of the hundreds of drag strips that appeared during the 50’s and 60’s, or in impromptu contests conducted daily at thousands of green traffic lights. Gasket and Hurst grew their companies and legends with products designed for 55-57 Chevy’s. Iconic industry brands such as Isky, Edelbrock, Crane, Cragar, Hooker, Holley, Mr. Lightweight, classically designed, sturdy, simple and infinitely modified, Tri-Five’s and the Chevy V-8 created the billion-dollar industry of aftermarket speed equipment manufacturers. Tri-Five Chevy’s were natural-born killer drag racing machines. The ’55 introduced the amazing small-block Chevy 265 CID V-8, the engine credited with creating the performance and racing parts aftermarket. The 1955 Chevrolet was such a radical departure from its previous Chevys that even the Indy 500 took notice, naming “The Hot One” the Official Pace Car for the race. They’re yearning for the fins, fun and tire scorching authority found only in a hopped-up, Chevy V-8 powered 55-57 Chevy. Be assured that when racers, car enthusiasts or baby-boomers wax nostalgic about the 50’s, they aren’t pining for a ’55 Ford, a Dodge Lancer or a Rambler. “Tri-Five” dream cars were arguably the high-water mark of the American auto industry. Like when private eye Phillip Marlowe was explaining the overwhelming lure of The Maltese Falcon, “Why, that’s the stuff that dreams are made of.” Not what the car factories called “concept cars”, but true dream cars because millions of young Americans dreamed of one day owning one. To millions of young Americans, Chevy’s were indeed “dream cars”. Ike was in the White House and gasoline sold for about $.30 cents per gallon. They happened smack-dab in the middle of the nostalgia-laden 1950’s. Part II plus more photos will be published next week. Carpenter’s latest ’55 shoebox is a six-second, 220 mph terror!Įditor’s Note: This story has been divided into two parts, due to its length and to allow more photos. That led to a full tube chassis with huge-inch big-block power and then into what is now called “Pro/Mod”. Next came a series of modifications based on the original ’55 chassis. His ’55 Chevy began racing in mildly modified form, in IHRA Sportsman classes. Charles Carpenter was one of the original racers to recognize the interest in nostalgia drag racing.
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