Stefan Gustafsson Refines Sick Week Winning Corvette for 2024, And There’s a New Car in The Works?
After attending a pair of Hot Rod Drag Week events in 2018 and 2019, Stefan Gustafsson struck paydirt in 2022 with the 1985 Chevrolet Corvette at the inaugural Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
The car referred to as ‘Bitter Tears’ put together a solid 6.67 average to earn the coveted first-ever Unlimited class Sick orange helmet.
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After suffering his first-ever Did Not Finish at Hot Rod Drag Week that same year, Stefan looked to rebound at the 2023 edition of Sick Week. Although he improved his average to a 6.59 result, it would finish second to fellow Swede Michael Westberg.
“We ended up struggling at Sick Week, and ended up at a frustrating second place,” said Stefan. “We called that end of season and started out a plan for 2024.”
That plan started with trying to refine the Corvette a bit for the 2024 season. “We took the car to Customs by Biguns shop after Sick Week,” Stefan said. “We flew over in July, and started testing again.”
Included in the testing process over a week’s time was a new converter, shock valving and 4-link settings with plenty of runs at Mooresville Dragway.
“After testing we took out the engine, transmission, and third member,” said Stefan. “We sent it to Harrel Engine and Dyno, as well as Midget Diesel and Slack converters for service.”
The engine is now ready to rejoin the car, and Customs by Bigun has setup a new door, paint and a lower engine placement. The engine was also converted by Harrel Engine and Dyno over to a dry sump.
Despite the change to refine the Corvette, Stefan has an even bigger plan in the works: A carbon fiber-bodied 1970 Camaro for the 2025 drag-and-drive season.
“After Sick Week 2024, we will take our Corvette home to Sweden and take its drivetrain,” said Stefan. “With help from Forced Induction Solutions (FIS), we are trying to keep the fastest single turbo drag-and-drive record.”
The Camaro will get a pile of parts that Stefan relies on, including Holley EFI, MSD 600 CDI, TBM Brakes on all corners, and of course the FIS turbocharger to feed the HED powerplant.
“Once we get it done and back in the US, it will be headed to Customs by Bigun for chassis setup, and a Fireade fire suppression system.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Motion Raceworks and Stefan Gustafsson.
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