HOT ROD Drag Week, presented by Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive
Mike Wenzler doesn’t know why he traded his ‘62 409 Impala for this Pro Stock 1987 Camaro built by Willie Rells in San Diego, that has bashed and gashed most of its life in AHRA Top Sportsman, with two Pro Stock passes at birth before landing on its lid. Michael got the car as a roller, then wondered what to do with it. Drag Week looked like fun, and so the shop owner from Battle Creek, Michigan, got the Camaro into Drag Week trim over a two-year period.
Starting with a Merlin III big block with 4.600-inch bore and 4.500-inch stroke, Wenzler assembled the 598-inch engine with J&E pistons and Total Seal rings. The crank and billet rods are from Ohio Crank. Interestingly, the compression is 9.49:1. Mike swears it is. Heads are Dart Pro1 380s that are right out of the box with the exception of being O-ringed. He says, “All I did was gasket match them and bolted them on, that’s all.” Headers are a Dynatech kit put together by Mike. Valvetrain, including the cam, are Comp Cams components. The intake is a Dart tunnel ram un-ported—“not smoothed, not cleaned.” Two Dominator 1050 Pro System carbs crown the intake. A quick corner-to-corner stagger is the extent of the carb tickle. The nitrous system is what Mike calls a hodgepodge, with a fogger and plenum by NOS, with solenoids and other pieces controlled by the grid. He uses a Racepak UDX log-on dash system for that.
The distributor and belt drive is by Jessel, in conjunction with an MSD crank trigger, with the controller and alternator by MSD. Transmission is a Rossler 210 Pro Mod Turbo 400 hooked to a Gear Vendors overdrive. The fab’d 9-inch is by Willie Rells and runs a 4.10 gear. Rear shocks are Pro Stock–type Koni electrics and controller from Lamb, which Mike says was very helpful with advice and setup. Afco made a trick radiator that contains two 16-inch electric fans.
Mike’s Camaro came in 2nd last year in Drag Week’s craziest class: Unlimited. This year he’s also in 2nd behind Jeff Lutz. Best times have been 7.52 at 188-plus mph. He wants to see how close he can get to 200mph, and is thinking about air conditioning for those hot, 200-plus mile treks, blitzing strip to strip on Drag Week. “The car has been good to us at Drag Week,” says Mike. “Sleep deprivation is the problem.”
At the US 131 track in Mike’s home state of Michigan he had over 50 friends and relatives in the stands. His wife was surprised when fans from different countries came by to root him on or offer advice. She had no idea Mike and his “grey ghost” Camaro were famous worldwide. Well, at least Drag Week famous.
See the Live Stream, Photo Galleries, Videos, and Event Coverage from Hot Rod Drag Week 2016 Here!
September 11 – Registration, Test and Tune
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
September 12 – Day One Racing
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
September 13 – Day Two Racing
Summit Motorsports Park
1300 OH-18
Norwalk, OH 44857
September 14 – Day Three Racing
US 131 Motorsports Park
1249 12th St
Martin, MI 49070
September 15 – Day Four Racing
Lucas Oil Raceway
10267 US-136
Indianapolis, IN 46234
September 16 – Final Day Racing
National Trail Raceway
2650 National Rd SW
Hebron, OH 43025
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