This 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air is the rolling embodiment of everything that inspired many of us to build fast cars and seek competition. Car owner Dennis McCarthy (Visual Effects) grew up banging gears as a high school drag racer and later found himself busting knuckles in a SoCal Speed Shop. So, when Dennis got the opportunity to own this car, it was a no-brainer. He pounced on the “shoe-box” Chevy. The rest – as they say – is history.

The heart of this beauty is a carbureted small block Chevrolet with double-hump heads (haven’t said that in decades) and a solid lift camshaft. It’s mated to a Muncie M-22 Rockcrusher 4-speed tranny. The rear end is a narrowed Ford 9-inch with a Detroit Locker diff and 4.88:1 gears.

No power steering or power brakes on this vintage racer, but there are discs on all four corners. The fat rear wheels are wrapped in Mickey Thompson BAT (see the video) rubber.

At 450whp, this is not a super-fast, modern dragster. It is a dependable piece of nostalgia designed to take old street racers back in time and introduce young ones to a piece of history.

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