Ron's Racy '56 Chevy Coupe

Hi All,

I just thought I would send in a couple pic's of my '56. I have been an Inliner since the mid-80's (#820) and have always loved the inline 6's but have not had the time to really do anything with them until the last few years. I've owned the '56 for over 30 yrs and drive it some on the street and do a little drag racing with it as well. Most of the racing we do is at our local 1/8 mile track in Sturgis, SD (of motorcycle rally fame). We do try to make a few trips to ¼ mile tracks during the season. One that we always try to hit is a long haul but worth it. It's the Gasser Reunion out in Thompson, OH and we attended many years before deciding "Why not bring the old white car? It could be fun!" And it has been!

Some spec's on the car:

Engine - 292 bored .30 over; Ross flat top pistons; "Inliners Special" head job by Mike Kirby; Crower Cam; Clifford intake; Edlebrock 650 carb; Clifford headers; Roller rockers and 3/8 push rods; Mallory ignition; Running Gear - Muncie 4 speed; original rear end with Moser axles and 4.56 gears; Bolt on traction bars. Other than the engine/trans the car is all original. It is kind of fun. It still looks like it should be grama's car so it surprises a lot of people. The best 1/8 mile time is a 9.05 at 76 mph but is almost always good for nineteens or twentys. The best ¼ mile time was at the Gasser Reunion when we turned a 13.81 and our best mph was 98.

We have run a Tremec 5 speed and that makes it much nicer on the street but we couldn't seem to find the right combination to make it work on the strip as well as the 4 speed. I also didn't like the way the 5 speed shifted. It shifted OK at 5,000 or 5,500 rpm but not so good (as in poor) at 6,800 or so. We are still playing with some different tire/gearing combinations to see if we can't improve on those best times.

We finished off the 2006 season about as well as a person could hope for. There were 23 cars in our ET class and we just started working our way through the field (the 1/8 mile track in Sturgis). The car was running well and we embarrassed a few big blocks along the way and I even managed to cut a few decent lights. Well, we got all the way to the finals and had to race a very nice '66 or '67 Plymouth. It wasn't a "race car" but had a 440 with headers and slicks. The first part that was kind of fun - I had to spot him just over 3 tenths of a second! The lights came down, he left and I charged after him. I had already caught him in second gear and had pulled away so far that it made me nervous so I hit the brakes hard just before the finish line. It was a good thing I did. When I got my time slip I had run .007 over my dial in and cut a .017 light (he had a poor light, went too fast and broke out). That was about as good a way to end a season as I could imagine. We are hoping to start the upcoming season with the same momentum. What are the odds?

Thanks for the great club and excellent 12 Port publication.

Ron Plender #820 Box Elder South Dakota

Modified 292 engine