“The Vette was so nose heavy when it had those big, monster turbos on it, but these new Innovative turbos took off I think about 55 pounds from the nose of the car and then it started working like it should,” Summer says. Still, despite the car’s new-found success, Summer’s team began reconsidering the ’57 rolling chassis that was lying idle in a corner of their race shop.
“One day we had everything out of the Corvette and decided to switch it over and when we put it on the scales it wound up being about 300 pounds lighter. So, given that the ADRL is the only place I can run a circuit and it’s eighth-mile racing, we thought maybe we could be competitive with a lightweight car—even though a turbo car usually is not competitive in the eighth mile.”
The ’57 now weighs in at just over 2,650 pounds, which just happens to be about the minimum it probably would need if approved for IHRA Pro Mod competition. According to Summer, that’s no coincidence.
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PARTS LIST GENERAL CHASSIS & BODY ENGINE INTERIOR |
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“I’ve been talking with (IHRA Technical Director) Mike Baker probably about a year and a half now, we e-mail, talk on the phone, and he wanted me to come last year and make exhibition runs. But I told him, ‘Until I can be competitive and the car can make repeated runs I’m not going anywhere. But I’ll keep you posted on what combination I have in the car and what it does and everything about it.’
“We’re trying to base it on the guidelines of a blown car,” she continues. “He (Baker) knows what clutch, what size tires, what transmission we’re running, etc. There’ll be a little bit of difference because the blown cars have a gear ratio rule and other minor things, but we’re just giving them (IHRA) data now so they can make the rules for the future.”
And the future, like it or not, lies in turbocharged powerplants, states Vern Summer. “The kids like it, the factories like it—I don’t have to like it—but I do now,” he quickly adds with a smile. In fact, he no longer even seems to mind all the trials and tribulations he’s been through to make the turbo combination work. “I was talking with Darrell a little while ago and he pointed out if we hadn’t had all this trouble we wouldn’t know as much as we do now.” The man knows what he’s talking about. 