October 2010 Hometown Hot Rodding

'62 Chevy Pickup
Concrete Build
Trucks come in all flavors: some are lifted and widened for rocky trails, while some are lowered and shortened for the quarter-mile. Michael Beck, foreman for a concrete company, had been drawn to the early '60s trucks, and wanted to build a serious drag truck that was legal on the street. He's owned the car since the beginning of 1986 and drove it as-purchased until the straight-six engine expired. He quickly put together a 350 small-block Chevy with a nice set of ported iron heads, rowdy solid cam, aluminum intake, and a double-pumper Holley carb. He raced this combination for over four years before one of the rods decided to leave the motor through the side of the block. With funds low at the time, he had to park it for 10 years before he could get back to it.

In the meantime, Michael bought a piece of land and built a 1,200-square-foot metal building to begin work on his truck again. In 2000, Michael went full steam ahead on the build. Since he dreamed of a real drag racer rather than a stock chassis with a pumped-up motor, he started from the ground up. All of the factory suspension components were yanked to make room for Chris Alston's Chassisworks tubular components including rack-and-pinion steering up front, and a four-link out back. The frame was heavily modified to incorporate an extensive rollcage to meet the demands of the NHRA. With the freedom to place the floor wherever he wanted, the truck got a low and mean stance, traditional to the street/strip theme.

The motor-plated 565-inch big-block built by Steve Schmidt pushed the dyno needle past the 1,100hp mark quite effortlessly, which should propel the truck deep into the 8-second quarter-mile bracket. Better pack a parachute!