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FACTORY DRAG CARS Exposed! The Holy Grail from GM, Ford and Mopar

Published on Mon, Jan 22nd 2024 Autos & Vehicles Rectangular HD

Factory drag cars are fascinating because of the rarity and extremely high value, but also for the WILD combinations that the big 3 manufacturers (General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation) threw at these race cars. All of them were built to meet the homologation requirements set by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) for inclusion in Stock Eliminator categories.

Recently, the Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville, Georgia put together a Factory Drag Cars exhibit, assembling nine amazing cars to represent what the Big Three brought to the table from 1963 through 1968. By no means does this cover ALL of the factory drag cars in existence, but it does hit the high points, and also covers a couple of outlying muscle cars. Here's a list of the cars you'll see in this video:

1963 Chevrolet Impala Z11 - Production Numbers: 50 - 427ci - Wally Bell's New York Shaker

1963 Pontiac Catalina "Swiss Cheese" - Production Numbers: 14 - 421ci - Arnie Beswick

1964 Ford Fairlane "Thunderbolt" - Production Numbers: 100 - 427ci - Steve Honnell, original owner

1964 Ford Galaxie 500 Lightweight - Production Numbers: 50 - 427ci - Larry Davis

1965 Plymouth Belvedere A990 - Production Numbers: 101 - 426ci - Steve Atwell

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS Z16 - Production Numbers: 201 - 396ci - Technically not a factory drag car

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle 300 COPO - Production Numbers: 1 - Also not a drag car, but special ordered with 396/425hp, M22 Muncie 4 speed and 4.88:1 gears

1967 Mercury Comet Cyclone - Production Numbers: 60 - 427ci - Steve Honnell, original owner

1968 Dodge Dart LO23 "Hemi Dart" - Production Numbers: 80 - 426ci - Mr. 4 Speed, Herb McCandless

This display of Factory Drag Cars was awesome, and we were able to experience it on a "hoods up" weekend to get the full experience of these super rare cars.

Z11 FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/K6kHPM3xkBc
Swiss Cheese Pontiac FULL VIDEO: https://youtu.be/5eOA7jGs928

00:00 Intro
00:29 Ford Thunderbolt
03:53 Galaxie Lightweight
09:14 Mercury Comet
10:52 Swiss Cheese Pontiac
12:49 Z11 Impala
14:45 Z16 Chevelle
16:54 COPO Chevelle
18:17 A990 Plymouth
21:23 Hemi Dart

#dragracing #history #dragcar