Originating on the drag strips across the nation back in the late 1950s, the gassers quickly became the fastest stock(ish)-looking hot rods in the days before the arrival of the Pro Stock class. They were mean, they were lean, and they were traditionally modified with all sorts of tricks. Including bright and colorful paintjobs.
Such as this rather unique 1957 Chevrolet 150 Business Coupe that was reworked as a B/Gas car sometime back during the early 1960s. It was successfully raced for years until its fame dropped and other cars became the masters of the drag strip. Then, it was stored for around three decades (or more) and finally made a drag strip comeback with help from a new owner that never lived life a quarter mile at a time... until now.
That’s the story of this genuine barn find, a very rare “Nickey” gasser, in a nutshell. But let’s elaborate a bit since the good folks over at the Race Your Ride channel on YouTube were kind enough to have a chat with the owner to find out a bit more. According to what he could find and the provided documentation, the ‘57 Chevy was turned into a gasser by a mechanic at Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago, the “Original Super Car Headquarters” of the muscle car world.
It was raced all over the country as part of a duo of cars that were nicknamed “Shake Rattle n Roll / Shake Rattle n Run,” and the original modifications were quite bonkers at the time. You can check them all out in the description, but the highlights include a swapped 397ci Pontiac mill, Paxton supercharger, ‘57 Oldsmobile rear end, engine relocation toward the rear by 18 inches (45 cm), methane alcohol and racing fuel mix, and more.
The interesting thing is the car sat forgotten since the 1970s for three decades or more (accounts get a little blurry here), and new owner Jim Thurston got the ride this very year after it was repainted to the original Hugger Orange livery. Funny thing: Jim is now in his 70s and never drag-raced another car in his life! And his first race was against an expert and a legend, as he lined up with “Mr. 56” Eddie Hawkins who owned his 1956 Chevrolet for no less than 55 years.
As such, it’s no wonder the latter took the victory... but we can see the “Nickey” gasser is slowly and steadily trying to get back into shape with the solo run delivering a much better ET!
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. Full profile
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