While not as iconic as the Chevrolet Bel Air, the Pontiac Star Chief is one of the most beautiful GM car built in the mid-1950s. A highway cruiser offered in various body styles, the Star Chief was hot rot material too when fitted with the optional, 317-horsepower, 5.7-liter V8. It wasn't a popular choice with drag racers back then, but someone saw potential in a beat-up Star Chief and created "Joker," a full-blown gasser.
The car you're about to see below is a nostalgic drag racer that looks like it came from the 1960s NHRA racing scene. But it's actually a 1957 Star Chief shell recovered from an old garage and mounted on a straight-axle chassis. It's been rebuilt a few times since 2018 and it now features an aluminum floor, aluminum trunk, and a big-block Chevy V8 engine.
Built by Butch Patterson of Competition Products, the V8 cranks out around 1,000 horsepower through a four-speed transmission and a Moser nine-inch Ford rear end. That's a good enough setup to run 9.5s according to the owner, but the plan is to take it into the 8s.
The footage below shows the "Joker" doing a 9.84-second pass at 124.96 mph (201.10 kph). Not its best quarter-mile run, but still an impressive display for an old-school gasser.
If you're into vintage dragsters, Greg's Speed Shop, which built "Joker," is campaigning the two-tone green Star Chief at various events this year.
It will hit the Motostatic Car Show in Dalton, Wisconsin on June 12, but you can also see it at Out A Sight Drags Union Grove on June 25. If you don't plan on hitting drag strips in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio this year, "Joker" will also be featured at the 2021 SEMA Show starting November 2.
Until that happens, check out Greg's 9.8-second run at Great Lakes Dragaway. You wont see many Star Chief like this one out there.
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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