1963 Diesel Corvette Split-Window With Billet Cummins Engine Meets Its Drag Racing Twin, Takes the Win

The iconic collector car status of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Coupe means the aftermarket has a thing for this single model year legend. And while a Cummins diesel swap would normally be the last thing that comes to mind when this legendary Chevy is mentioned, a recent drag racing even saw not one, but two such oil-burning ‘Vettes balancing the mix between tire and exhaust smoke.

The event in question is the Ultimate Callout Challenge that took place earlier this month at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. And while one of the ‘Vettes, which comes dressed in white, was a familiar sight to many attendees, the blue Chevy made its competitional debut on that occasion.

Now, these mechanical monsters a Pro Mod drag racers (the fastest class with doors that still open), so their only connection to street cars is an approximate resemblance of the body.

As you can imagine, this slice of the drag racing pie isn’t all that large. So, the two not only share their original chassis builder and chassis modder, but also the provider of the billet aluminum Cummins engine (Waggler).

White vs. Blue

Run by Ben Shadday, the white car still uses the factory 6.7L displacement, albeit with this being a two-piece aluminum block rather than the iron stock unit. As for power adders, the setup mixes a super-sized 102mm turbo with “a lot of nitrous” (think: 8 lbs for a 1/8-mile run). However, all that hardware is well hidden under a generous cowl hood.

Unlike its non-identical twin, the Blue Chevy, which is run by Johnny Gilbert, exposes the billet Cummins via a hood cutout. The build, which had been in the making for about 18 months, used to sport a Big Block Chevy and a Powerglide tranny. As for its new setup, the billet Cummins is mated to a Turbo400 transmission.

The engine is mated to a GTX take on a Garrett GT55 98 mm turbo. And the exhaust is quite something. Not only does this pack zoomies, but four of the five side pipes are linked to the turbo outlet, while the remaining one is connected to the wastegate (actually, the vehicle sports a pair of 45mm Turbosmart wastegates).

The eighth-mile adventures of these two diesel beasts

The velocity-addicted crew over at 1320video covered the Cummins Corvettes as they were handling their 1/8-mile business. Initially, it seemed like the white car would pursue the victory, thanks to its sharper numbers (e.g., 4.2s pass).

Alas, a brutal backfire caused the head gasket to let go, so the machine had to retire. However, the Blue unitโ€”note that the two didn’t seem to compete directlyโ€”ended up grabbing the class win on its shakedown appearance, despite its times slipping from the somewhat promising 4.48s pass recorded early in the event.

Now, if this story has you wondering what other unorthodox 5.7 Cummins swaps are out there, here’s a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville street car that recently stepped out into the world.

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