When talking about the 1960s drag racing scene, we usually think about factory Super Stock vehicles, gassers, and the then-new funny cars. But enthusiasts kept racing true-blue stock rigs at the time. The 1957 Chevy you see here is one of those cars.
Many of these F/Stock racers weren't particularly powerful. And because they had only minor modifications, they don't usually stand out. But this Chevrolet does, thanks to its two-door body layout. You just don't see station wagons at the drag strip very often.
Called "Xcellerator," this race-spec wagon was put together in the early 1960s with help from Bob Fulp, a noted engine builder from Ft. Lauderdale. The Chevy hit the dragstrip with a dual-carb 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) V8 rated at 270 horsepower. Records show "Xcellerator" ran the quarter-mile in less than 14 seconds, which made it the car to beat on drag strips in South and Central Florida in the mid-1960s.
Following its retirement from racing, the Chevy ended up in a backyard somewhere in Orlando. It was found decades later and restored to its track-day specifications. Wrapped in its factory bronze finish, the wagon rocks a two-tone interior and still has a rear bench.
However, the restoration also brought a new, more powerful engine under the hood. The grocery-getter now relies on a 383-cubic-inch (6.3-liter) small-block V8 paired with a five-speed manual and a nine-inch Currie rear end. The 467-horsepower engine was reworked to look like the original 283 V8, so this long-roofed Chevy is now a fully-fledged sleeper.
But is this racer a rare Nomad at heart? Not really. There's no sign of Bel Air trim work, so this two-door left the factory as a lower-priced version. It has too much chrome for a base One-Fity, so we're actually looking at a Two-Ten version. In short, this wagon is a Handyman.
The two-door was available in both 150 and 210 trims, both slotted below the range-topping Bel Air-based Nomad. And while it's not as rare as the Nomad, built in just 6,264 units in 1957, the 210 Handyman is also a scarce wagon. Chevrolet sold only 17,996 units that year, slightly less than 1.2% of the total Tri-Five production run. The Handyman is also the rarest version of the 1957 210.
But no matter how rare the wagon it's based on, this grocery-getter is one unique rig and a really cool piece of drag racing history. And at more than 450 horsepower, it's a great Sunday racer that definitely turns heads at any drag strip. Too bad we don't get to hear it running down the quarter-mile in the video below, but you might as well hit the play button for a full walkaround. If you're into F/Stock racers from the 1960s, you'll enjoy this one.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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