August 15, 2013
UPDATE: THEY HAVE DONE IT!!! BOB JOHNSON, KENT WATERS, and KEITH DORTON MAKE A STOCK BODIED ’55 CHEVY RUN 200+ AT BONNEVILLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. Last week we told you that this beautiful little ’55 Chevy was ready to run at Bonneville this year and would be looking for a the first ever 200 mph run by a stock bodied Tri-Five Chevy. It sounds weird to say, but there has never been a recorded 200+ mph run at Bonneville by a ’55, ’56, or ’57 Chevrolet that still had a stock body size and shape. And considering how hard these three, and their teams, worked to reach 200, we know why it never happened until now. These things are bricks!
It’s a fast brick though, as Bob drove the ’55 to a 202.078 yesterday in one of the last passes of the day. Now that the car has crested 200 there are a couple of small safety items that the rules require changes on, most notably the replacement of the factory glass with Lexan. This car is so pretty, that it just might be a shame to do that kind of thing to it, so we’ll see what they decide. The team was so stoked yesterday morning when making their first attempt of the day and had run as fast as 198 mph the day before.
One thing to note. The Keith Dorton Chevrolet under the hood of this car makes 800 horsepower. Several late ’70s and up cars went over 200 mph on the salt at Bonneville this week with 650 horsepower or less. Drag is measured in horsepower in a wind tunnel, and this shows that the Tri-Five Chevy, like many old classics, is down by hundreds of horsepower in the aero department. Maybe it’s time for a rules revision within the SCTA that changes the current Classic Category model years that will create a completely new area of competition. We’ll put some thought into how we might do that and fill you in later in the week.
Until then, CONGRATS! to everyone on the team. Great job, kick ass car, kick ass people.
August 7, 2013
Bob Johnson, longtime Bonneville Racer and all around character has been running a super bitchin’ ’55 Chevy at Bonneville for the past couple years. The guys at Kent Waters Originals are putting some finishing touches on the car for this years Bonneville Nationals and hope to be the first Stock Bodied ’55 Chevy to run 200mph. We dig that. A lot. So do the guys at Kent Waters Originals, and they have put together this cool video showing their shop, the people, and more. Hell, they even rip on the Fast and Loud guys which makes them totally cool in our book.
We’ve shot the hell out of ’55 in years past and plan to shoot more great photos of it at Speed Week in a few days. Until then, check out the photo below and this great behind the scenes video at Kent Waters Originals. These guys are certifiable bad asses.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COMPLETE FEATURE ON THIS CAR
CLICK PLAY TO WATCH
very inspirational very nice shop!
Nice shop, but I expected more info on the 55
I think it’s CandyAss for you to whine that the Tri-5 Chevys need special rules to help them be competitive. The ’53 Studebakers don’t need special rules! Any change in the ‘Classic’ years would still include the Studes against the Tri-5 Chevys and the Chevys would still suck hind tit.
The Studebakers are a very ICONIC car at Bonneville specifically because they were very unique in design and aerodynamic for their time…I love them and Alan Johnson built 53 Studebaker owned by Paul Gilliam is by far and away the best one ever built in my opinion..Alan is also building Paul a kick ass 53 Street car that is awesome as well..But nevertheless, I want to see all the other 50’s cars compete against each other..The main problem with the Classic Coupe category it is dominated by the jelly bean Monzas or sister GM Brands..I would love for someone to explain how one could think a Monza is a CLASSIC…they weren’t when they were made, never were and never will be…only redeeming quality is they are very aerodynamic..I don’t get excited when I see one, no matter how fast it is..don’t know what the FASTEST 53 stock bodied Stude is..would li,e to know..might just move the Chevy off that hind tit..she was handling pretty good for a BRICK…
wake up … huge difrence in frontal area …!
I was at Bonneville Speed Week racing this year and talked to some of these guys. I liked what I saw in their “55” the and the way they interacted with me on the salt. I asked specific questions about the front end alignment on their car and they gave me specific answers back. I definitely feel that these guys are the real deal and hope to meet them again next year. Congrats on going over 200 MPH from Eugene OR.
Always great to see shops that are under the radar that do great work and concentrate on that work instead of selling t-shirts. got curious though, wonder who/what he referred to when he said he didnt think much of their work…
Fast and loud – the discovery team/ show
I was forgetting that the speed is the AVERAGE of the last two miles run…on the 5 mile course, the speeds between the 4 and 5 are usually closer..I ran like 188 at the two so to get the average to 202, I have to be running in excess of say 205 or more when I cross the end of the track….Kent had set the tach for my speeds and I was running thru the tach so I was a little puzzled that my speeds were not higher than the speeds the tach setting was on..The I woke up and remembered, that the speed recorded is the AVERAGE between the last two miles…they don’t offer a out the back door speed on the SHORT track (3 mile) like they do on the 5..the out the back door speed is several miles per hour faster than the average speed for the last two miles…
damn, if ego was water there would be no drought
Nice ’55, wasn’t it in HotRod mad a few years ago?
How’s the Green Z28 doin’?
Hello! I just would like to give you a huge thumbs way up for the fantastic info you might have here with this post. I am coming back to your blog post for more soon.