Box Chevrolets from 1977 to 1990 may be slowly turning into very cool rides today, but at the time, Impalas and Caprices weren’t exactly all the rage. Instead, these were seen as the standard sedans used by retirees to go to church or grocery shopping. Right now, though, we’re starting to get the hang of them, considering that souped-up examples can take up the challenge of quarter-mile skirmishes against modern rides like the Dodge SRT Hellcat and Caddy CTS-V.
The good folks over at the 1320video channel on YouTube were down for some drag strip action at the Street Car Takeover Charlotte event (June 24th to 26th) when they encountered a surprising appearance. It’s a 1987 Box Chevy fitted with huge wheels (donk-style, 26-inch up front, 24-inch wheels in the back with very sticky tires) that was proudly entered into the Heavyweight class.
It may be odd to go against some of the greatest modern racers out there in an old-school Box Chevy, but one can easily take a hint from the confidence exuded by the driver/owner/builder during the initial presentation part. It’s also where we can extract the first bits of information, but let’s just put things into the proper context.
We’ll do it with an initial drag run against a Caddy that ends in total annihilation for the modern luxury car as the Chevy makes do on the driver’s promise that it will run in the 8s. The battle was settled easily by the 8.95s Chevrolet, while the competitor in the left lane “only” managed a 10.62 pass.
Then it’s time to find out a little more about the secrets lurking under the hood of the Box Chevy, and the peek under the hood starts at the 2:10 mark, complete with the social media alias of the driver (a.k.a. BoostDoctor).
He’s someone who knows his way around these monster machines, with his Chevy sporting a 427ci LS swap with dual 72-mm turbos and more. It’s all been made in the spare time, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the owner works for Durham, North Carolina-based Mayhem Motorsports.
Keeping that in mind, it’s already clear that we’re dealing with a true heavyweight, so the great passes should now be taken for granted, considering the driver also spilled the beans on a dyno run that saw the Chevy put out some “1,380 (horsepower) or something.”
The same nonchalance seems to be exhibited when the tough gets going, as the Chevy meets a worthy Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat adversary at the 4:50 mark, and the skirmish gets settled with very close 8.99s and 9.24s passes.
Don’t leave just yet, because the donk-style Chevy also took on a modern sedan foe, a lady-driven Cadillac CTS-V, for another win with an even better 8.85s result against a worthy 9.35s performance (from the 7:15 mark). Then, it’s up for some “cruise around the pits” shenanigans... until track security intervenes.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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