Street Feature: All-Steel, 8-Second, 900HP 1951 Chevy Truck

1200-25 You would never guess just from looking at it that this is an easy 10.14-second truck. It just looks like a nice and well kept ’51 Chevy truck. The blue paint was done in 1964 and the current owner, Bob Gilbert of Parkwood, Washington, has owned it since 1960 when it was only nine years off the assembly line.

1200-5 — This is what remains of a time slip that Bob got without using his nitrous. Bob was so proud of it that he kept it in his wallet.

When bob bought it, he used it for clearing brush and at one point decided to start fixing it up. It just started as a fender here and a fender there and before he knew it, he had gotten himself into a full on restoration. It has seen several engines and transmissions through its life — starting as a six-cylinder, and ending up where it is today with a small-block 427 cubic-inch engine.

The truck only gets three miles per gallon, so you can’t get far on a tank of gas, but that’s not as important when you look at what you can get out of those miles. Built with a small-block 427 cubic-inch engine, four-speed manual transmission, locked rearend, dual Holley carburetors, and nitrous, this truck makes over 900 horsepower. “It’s like driving a keg of dynamite down the street,” Bob detailed.

Imagine that, an eight-second truck running the old-school generator instead of an alternator. Now that is cool!

“I put myself right out of business because I was going too fast,” Bob told us. “The guys at the track told me that I was going faster than some of the pro-street cars and I needed a roll cage.” This truck can run in the low tens, at about 10.14, without using the nitrous, but with the nitrous he gets down to around eight seconds!

1200-3 — This is an image that Bob has from before he fixed the truck up. See the dents in the fender and the back of the bed?

“You can really feel the nitrous, even going more than 100 miles per hour,” Bob explained. “That’s when the 300 horsepower kicks in and you really go!” This truck is a really unique take on a sleeper. It looks like a modestly restored truck that might give you a run for your money, but in fact it’s a wild ride that can run quite a bit faster than you’d ever expect!

These two images were taken back to back at the same track. The firs picture shows the truck lining up at the starting line, the second shows the opponent just getting started after the green light while the truck is already out of sight!

If you want your car or truck to be a part of our Street Feature series, all you have to do is shoot us an email and tell us about your ride and we will make it happen.