Vice Grip Garage and Derek Bieri Bringing Big Block Powerhouses to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive
Although he has a long-time love of cars, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive of 2022 would mark Derek Bieri’s first delve into the drag-and-drive world.
That first year, the man behind Vice Grip Garage rolled into Bradenton Motorsports Park with a pair of classic Chevrolets: the ‘Independence’ 1971 Chevelle with a ProCharger-fed big block, and a NASCAR-themed 1974 Monte Carlo.
For his third-straight Sick Week appearance this year, Derek will bring a new pair of rides to the party, both sporting big-block Chevy power in cool blue hues.
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The first is the 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle known as ‘Liberty’ that Derek picked up in December 2022. Sporting a 406 cubic inch small block with factory Chevrolet ‘double-hump’ cylinder heads, an Edelbrock single plane intake and Holley carburetor for power, Derek was hoping to bring it on Sick Week in 2023, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“It really needed the engine and transmission gone through and re-sealed, and that’s what kept us from bringing it last year,” said Derek. “We also needed to change the rear gear, seats and belts. We just didn’t have enough time.”
Being an old school drag racing car, the Chevelle also had 4.88 gears in the original 12-bolt rear end. “Cruising speed was only 44-48 mph,” said Derek. “So it would have taken a while to complete drives between tracks.”
For 2024, Derek has changed up the plan a bit for Liberty. “I 540 big block swapped it,” he said. A naturally-aspirated 540 cubic inch big clock replaces the previous small block, and Derek also upgraded the transmission of choice to a Turbo 400.
The 12-bolt rear end was also eradicated for a new Strange Engineering 9-inch rear end. “I’m currently working on adding a full set of Baer disc brakes,” Derek said yesterday. “I had until Sunday night to finish thrashing before heading out to work today.”
The Chevelle will sport nearly the same exterior look as 2023, but Derek upgraded the wheels to the set of Billet Specialties Street Lites from the ‘Independence’ Chevelle, and will toss the keys to good friends Chad and Hayley to pilot the Chevelle.
“On the first Sick Week I attended, it blew me away how many cars are there being driven by someone other than the owner, and in some cases the owner brings a second car,” Derek admitted. “I dug that idea, as it gives you a chance to bring more friends along.”
So with the Chevelle in good hands, Derek needed a ride for himself, and it came from the drag-and-drive enthusiasts at Motion Raceworks in the form of a 1991 Chevrolet pick-up.
But as we’ve come to expect from Motion Raceworks, their shop truck is packing a plethora of upgrades, the most noticeable of which is a 632 cubic inch big block crate engine from Chevrolet Performance Parts.
“They sent it up to my shop a little bit ago, and we put a super truck exhaust on it, and we tightened up a few other things,” said Derek. “We lettered it up, and of course put the ‘Vice Grip Garage’ clear coat on it with some blue candy. I sent it back, and Doug Cook said ‘no one is better suited to drive this than you,’ so I jumped at the chance.”
“Some people have a super figured race program from doing these crazy great events more than once a year,” Derek continued. “We don’t have the time for it, but we’re going to be at Sick Week to have fun and enjoy the journey, and meet the people. The biggest reason we attend is to show people if you have something in the garage that can drive 800-ish miles, bring it out and have fun. You’ll make some great friends.”
Derek Bieri and Vice Grip Garage will join other drag-and-drive personalities at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, including PFI Speed, Steve Morris, BoostedBoiz, Alex Taylor, SXS Blog, Kevin Smith of KSR, and over 300 more drag-and-drive competitors looking to enjoy a week in Florida. Also, we’ll have a large group of people in the Sick Ward portion of Sick Week, literally a rolling car show! For more details, a schedule and how to get your advance tickets, visit https://www.sickthemagazine.com/sick-week
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Vice Grip Garage and Motion Raceworks.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com