When the gasser craze hit the U.S. in the 1960s, many Tri-Fives were converted into drag monsters. And it's a cool fate to have as an old car compared to unwanted retirement at the local junkyard. Those days are long gone, but drag-prepped Bel Airs still populate the race tracks. But not everyone is racing a supercharged Chevy like in the 1960s. Glenn Hunter Jr., for instance, took the twin-turbocharging route.
Tri-Five purists may find this setup rather unusual, but it's quite a common layout in the modern drag racing scene. You just won't find that many supercharged Bel Airs outside gasser nostalgia events. They've all gone turbocharged. Most of them, at least. And the video below proves that it's the setup to go to if you want a Tri-Five powerful and quick enough to run the quarter miles in less than eight seconds.
Glenn recently hit Midwest Drags 2021 with his Bel Air and ran a handful of impressively fast sprints. You'll see no fewer than five seven-second passes, two of which show the Chevy smoking a Camaro and a Ford Mustang. But the "6SEC RAT" license plate isn't there just for kicks. This dragster is potent enough to cover the quarter-mile in less than seven seconds and you'll see just that toward the end of the video.
Shot at The Hail Mary Derby, the last two runs see the Bel Air cross the finish line in 6.9 seconds with trap speeds of 200 mph. It loses the final race against a beefed-up Toyota Supra, but only by a tenth-second. And we all know what those 2JZ engines are capable of.
But what I like most about this twin-turbo Bel Air is that it remains an unassuming sleeper. Sure, the wheels and the parachute give its true identity away, but everything else looks stock. It still sports all the chrome from the factory and the two-tone livery, while the stock hood still carries the iconic airplane-shaped ornament.
As much as I like Top Fuel racers and their insanely-fast runs, nothing beats a good ol' Tri-Five charging down the quarter-mile toward 200 mph.
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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