Chevrolet Monte Carlo Used to Be a Street Sleeper, Now It's a 1/4-Mile Winning Machine

We handpicked every one of the vehicles in Kiskunlachaza that we wanted to feature on autoevolution. Each one had something special going on. The Volkswagen Golf had set a new World Record, the "Predator" could run a six-second quarter-mile (402 meters), and so on. What about this 1979 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS? Well, it had one of the biggest engines of any car onsite.

I loved the smell of gasoline

You're looking at 620 cubic inches (10.2 liters) of American Muscle! The man behind the wheel is Oliver Krautberger, an Austrian Pro drag racer that is more than passionate about speed. Of course, there's more to the story than just that, but more on the specs of this monster machine in the second part of the story.

Having seen the car up close, I wanted to learn more about the driver and how his love for racing started in the first place. "I was always interested in American cars and V8 engines since I was young. I loved the smell of gasoline and the sound of 6+ cylinder engines. I was around ten when I walked through the streets with my grandpa"

"A brand new Honda Prelude was starting the engine, and at idle, you could hardly hear the engine running (a little bit like the electric cars nowadays); it was so quiet, and I was very disappointed because I had eight more years to wait until I was allowed to drive a car and asked myself what would be the sound of them then?"

"Luckily, it was not too bad at 18 when I got my driver's license in 2000." It didn't take long for Oliver to go on a trip to the Hockenheimring with one of his close friends, where he came face to face with the massive event, the Nitrolympx.

I thought I would never afford this hobby

"It was amazing seeing all the powerful V8 cars on track and in the paddocks, plus the amazing sound and feel of the Top Fuel Dragsters were awe-inspiring. But it looked like we could never afford this hobby; it all looked so special to us." I was curious to learn about Oliver's first street car at this stage.

"I didn't own a car when I first got my driver's license, as I couldn't afford one. I crashed my dad's old 70-hp Volkswagen Passat B3 during the winter, so he had to buy a replacement vehicle to get to work. The 50-horsepower Volkswagen Golf 2 ended up in my possession."

"I would have never bought a car like this if I had the choice, as I had always dreamed of something with a big V8 inside. But honestly, it was quite a good car; we had lots of fun with it; I sold it for more than I paid, even after driving it for some years."

But I guess you all yearn to learn more about the Monte Carlo, so let's get to it. "It was May 2005; these were the days when you could still make bargains on eBay when my girlfriend (now wife) auctioned the 1979 Monte Carlo while I was on a trip with the company. It took a while to pick it up because the car still needed repairs."

That was the beginning of my drag racing addiction

"There were several issues on the long drive home, like overheating the engine. Still, we didn't see it because the instrument panel wasn't working. There were also many rusty spots I had to repair and lots of work to get a registration verification report." We've included a photo of the Monte Carlo before its conversion started. You'll be amazed at the differences.

Armed with a dream, plenty of enthusiasm, and minimal mechanical skills, Oliver was about to embark on a journey of a lifetime. " Somewhere around 2006, I met Jonny Niesner because of our shared hobby – US Cars - he told me his story and that he is doing drag racing in Hungary, Austria, and at the Nitrolympx in Hockenheim. His problem was that his engine was powerful but too weak to be competitive in Public Race (12,00-sec index class)."

"Because my stock 305 ci (5.0-liters) engine needed some repairs anyway, and I liked the idea of having a powerful 300HP engine in a stock 145HP car, I bought his motor and put it in the Monte Carlo. It was lots of fun driving it on the street – it was quite a sleeper – with the look of a grocery-getter. That was the beginning of my drag racing addiction. I also tried to run it on the racetrack, but without any mods, and it was not competitive – so this is how the journey began."

On June 21, 2008, Oliver got his first real taste of what it feels like to live life a 1/4-mile at a time. The Monte Carlo needed 14,65 seconds to cross the finish line, with a trap speed of 101 mph (163 kph). Both man and machine have come a long way since, and there's a good chance they will never part ways.

The connection between man and machine

"It's part of my life," noted the Austrian Drag Racer, and anyone who has ever built his racecar can attest to having similar feelings. Most normal people can't understand this connection between man and machine, but then again, we are all built differently.

Let's look at its current setup before I tell you how fast this car can go down the 1/4 mile. You might be surprised that Oliver is still running the all-steel stock body, except for the cowl induction hood and the factory-spec aluminum trunk lid. The rear frame is now narrower to accommodate the huge Hoosier 29.5/10.5-15 D06 drag slicks and Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels.

The same wheel setup is present upfront but with Mickey Thompson 26.0/4.0-15 tires instead. To name a few upgrades, the team has performed much of the bodywork in-house, including the raised transmission tunnel and the rear wing. I was shocked to hear how heavy the Monte Carlo is: 3,293 lbs (1,494 kg), driver included, with a weight distribution of 44,4% on the rear and 55.6% in the front. A quick look at the rear end will reveal a Quick Performance rear axle housing with a Strange (Ford 9") third member. Power goes to the rear wheels via a Coan Racing Powerglide transmission and a Mark Williams 4,125" Carbon Fiber driveshaft.

Even a Chevrolet engineer would be amazed by all the parts that make this car what it is. I'm sure you'd like to know more about the engine. The 620 ci Chevrolet Big Block V8 should have a maximum output of around 950 horsepower, running on E85 fuel. I would describe the exhaust note as menacing, but that would still be an understatement.

It took years and years of hard work

I'm not usually a V8 guy, but this car has made me consider going down this route in the future. I have you covered for those who would rather see more numbers than a massive list of parts.

In 2009, the Monte Carlo had a best ET of 13,483 with a trap speed of 103 mph (167 kph). Switching to a 383 ci (6.27-liters) Short Block Chevy V8 meant a leap forward to an 11,521-second pass in 2010. Oliver's Nitrolympx adventure became even more exciting with nitrous onboard and a fast run of 10,669 seconds. After several years of fun, it was time for a grim moment. The car had received a 427 ci (7.0-liters) V8 swap for the 2013 season. Using an undersized fuel pump led to a total disaster, and the season ended with just one run in the books.

Throughout 2014, Oliver still couldn't improve on his 2012 results, but hard work and patience always pay. So in 2015, he joined the 9-seconds club, but it took him a couple more years to move on to the more elitist 8-second area. "As you can see in the timeline, it took me nine years to improve more than five seconds to come to a low 9-second car. And now it has taken over five years to improve by 0.222 seconds- the faster you get, the harder it is to improve."

As another drag racer mentioned in a recent interview, drag racing teaches humility. And despite being so fast down the 1/4-mile, Oliver is a very down to Earth guy, and you can tell that he's been in the game for years and years by just chatting with him for a few minutes. I've just begun to scratch the surface of his story here, and I'm sure there are many more things to be said about him and his passion for racing. He came close to breaking his record in Hungary but faced some minor problems throughout the weekend.

"I had eight runs during the weekend, and my best result was an 8,946 @157 mph (253 kph). We still have issues at the start line because of the stock-type suspension, small tires, and weight distribution. I had to do a very soft start, with more nitrous later down the track, but also bumped into some electrical issues."

Oliver's target for the Monte Carlo is to bring it close to an 8.5-second run, which is also the safety index of the car. He still has three more races on the calendar for 2023, and we hope he gets that wish. Our interview with the Austrian Pro Drag Racer didn't stop here, so we'll revisit our discussion in a future story soon.