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1957 Chevy Tri-Five Drags Big Block 1948 Willys Jeepster Daily Driver, Someone Gets Smoked

Imagine driving your vehicle an hour and a half from New Berlin, Wisconsin to the Byron Dragway in Illinois and becoming the heart of the show. At an event like the Vintage Drag Racing Glory Days, more than anything else!
1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway 31 photos
Photo: Race Your Ride / YouTube
1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway1948 Willys Jeepster drag races Hot Rod and 1957 Chevrolet Tri-Five at Byron Dragway
Still, according to the description of the good folks behind the Race Your Ride channel on YouTube, that’s exactly what happened to one prototype engineer named Brian Galligan and his daily driver pride and joy, a 1948 Willys Jeepster. It’s quite easy to understand why once you check out the embedded video’s description.

But even if you don’t have the patience to catch a glimpse of the interesting story behind the Willys Jeepster series, the action clearly speaks for itself. In Big Block Chevy terms, primarily. This is because the little red convertible SUV is as close to a prototype as it gets, sporting a 396ci V8 engine under the hood in place of the meager “Go Devil” 134ci straight-four engine that offered just 62 hp back in the day.

It’s obvious that power has multiplied several times and now this collector’s daily driver (with a license plate reading “I’d rather be surfing”) also uses a Turbo 400 transmission, as well as a 12 Bolt Posi-3.55 rear end to cope. Interestingly, the skinny white-wall tires do wonders for the appearance... but not for traction as well.

This is probably one reason behind the ‘48 Jeepster’s loss in both races featured down below. The first one (from 1:10) is against a Hot Rod and the Willys almost catches up after a slower start. But the former still claims victory with a 13.37s to 13.87s result.

Then it’s time (from the 1:43 mark) for an even cooler encounter. The BBC Jeepster faces a spotless 1957 Chevy Tri-Five and casually gets smoked in front of a cheerful audience. Frankly, it’s no shame in going for a 14.17s quarter mile against the opponent’s hotter 11.97s ET when both racers are looking like this!

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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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