This Seven-Second ’67 ProCharged Chevelle From Canada Is Making Waves in Drag-and-Drive Competition
There’s just something about an unfinished project; seeing the vehicle completed in your head that makes a sane person fork over the asking price money when a completed car might make better financial sense. In the case of this 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle, Pat Myker ended up with a car that will grab your attention by sight or sound, leaving you wanting to know more.
What has become a brutally quick muscle car for Myker began with an ad in the back of a popular racing publication.
“I bought the car as an unfinished project from an ad in National Dragster back in 2008,” he said. “After a few years of building a new chassis at home, I found I didn’t have the time to complete it.”
Making the call to enlist a chassis shop to tackle the foundation in 2012, the Chevelle returned to Myker car came home as a painted roller in the late spring of 2013, ready for him to tackle the rest.
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The ‘to-do’ list was lengthy: wiring, fuel system, fabrication, trim items inside and out, and of course the engine and transmission assembly. It’s not uncommon for a project to grind to a halt at this stage, but what started as a helping hand for Myker got him to the finish line.
“During this time, I met Bob Guido,” said Myker. “He dropped over to lend me a hand, and provided the encouragement needed to get the car completed and ready for the car’s first event.”
That event would be Hot Rod Drag Week 2017, and Guido would occupy the passenger seat for the Chevelle’s first drag-and-drive experience.
While keeping all the trim, emblems and body lines to keep the Chevelle looking clean and proper, Myker took the steps to make sure no one would mistake this classic Chevy as just a show pony. Although Myker used to race a Chevrolet Nova that clicked off high eight-second passes in naturally-aspirated trim, he decided the Chevelle needed a boost in power.
That boost came by one of the largest units in the ProCharger catalog, a crank-driven F3-139 supercharger, which when added to the big block 540 cubic inch combination, leaves no doubt that the Chevelle is packing a lot of potential.
To back up that level of power requires a stout driveline, and Myker chose to funnel the power through a Lenco four-speed transmission, coupling the two with a triple disc Ram clutch from Black Magic Clutches and completing the driveline with a Gear Vendors Overdrive and a PST carbon driveshaft. The rear end is a Mark Williams 9.5-inch modular design with a 3.90 gearing ratio inside.
With the car complete, Myker and Guido unfortunately found it was not up to the complete task of that first drag-and-drive, as their adventure ended one day short of the finish line.
“We had lost a lifter, and damaged a journal on the crankshaft,” said Myker.
Dejected but not defeated, the duo returned to home base, where along with help from friend and machinist Darcey Clark snatched the big block from the frame rails, rebuilt it back to new condition, and once again set their sights on Hot Rod Drag Week.
The 2018 event would deliver far better results, and Myker and Guido not only completed the week, but took third in the Ultimate Iron class as well with an 8.74 average, and a best pass of 7.85 at 177 miles per hour.
After a couple years away from drag-and-drive events, Myker got the Chevelle dusted off for an appearance at Miles of Mayhem in 2021. His return to competition was short-lived, as valvetrain issues stopped him short of day two. Myker tried again one year later, but it turned into a ‘second verse, same as the first’ as the Chevelle was once again sidelined by day two.
“With our issues corrected in late summer of 2022, we went back to Edmonton to make some test passes,” said a determined Myker. “We found the beginning of some tuning success, managing to run some passes at 7.6 at 178 mph.” That gave him some confidence for the 2023 season.
“After a busy winter and spring working, I completed the prep on the car for Sick Summer, and loaded it up untested,” said Myker. After making a four-day 2500-mile trip from Grande Prairie Alberta to Cordova, Illinois for the start of Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, Myker and longtime friend Dennis Sanboe in the co-pilot navigated the first three days of Sick Summer with 8-second times on the scoreboards.
After handing in an 8.37 at 181 mph time slip at Tri-State Raceway, Myker and Sanboe navigated the road to Cordova with a renewed vigor. “During the course of the week, the car had issues going a bit right off the launch,” said Myker. “This required a quick pedal to bring it back straight.
Day four of the event, we made a few small tweaks to the chassis setup, and found some improved times on one of the more challenging tracks of the week.” Back in Cordova for day five, the duo was still making adjustments to the EFI and the triple disc clutch, trying to find what the Chevelle wanted. The reward was the car launching straight and true with a 1.18 60 ft time and running out the back to a new personal best of 7.50 at 185 mph!
“Back at the pits, I heard over the loud speaker that with that pass we managed to average 8.002 ET for the week,” said Myker “A quick review of the data log, I noticed we drove through the clutch the entire run, and the EFI tune-up was still off by quite a bit on the upper rpm.”
For the next pass, Myker made the call to make adjustments and add some counterweight to the clutch, and tweak some fuel settings on the Big Stuff 3 EFI. What would that do for round two at Cordova?
“The second pass of the day, the car launched a bit slow with a 1.22 60 ft time. But then it found some steam, improving the remaining incremental times to new personal bests, resulting in a 7.28 at 190 mph. What an awesome way to top off the event.”
This gave Myker a 7.94 average, and the second-place result in the Unlimited Iron class!
Building on that success, Myker hoped the third time at Miles of Mayhem would be the charm just a month later back in Canada. The Chevelle would indeed prove it was up to the task, as Myker was the star of the Outlaw class contingent, rolling to multiple four-second time slips in the eighth-mile standard during the week.
By the end of the week, Myker not only snagged the class win with a 4.84 average, but also earned the record for Miles of Mayhem quickest pass ever, a 4.63 on day four at Central Alberta Raceways.
“After completing several drag-and-drives, I’ve learned the keys for longevity on these events starts with a well-planned car,” said Myker. “This includes enough cooling for long waits that can happen in traffic, a well-designed engine that needs minimal maintenance on valvetrain components, and good street manners to drive it through small towns at slow speeds, or highway speeds for long distances. Plus, one thing that is sometimes overlooked is enough focus and rest to be able to think through any issues that will arise.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Miles of Mayhem and Pat Myker.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com