Long before PHR’s Project Street Sweeper, Randy Geister’s street-driven ’68 Chevelle ran 9s.

There are a lot of people following our ’68 Chevelle Project Street Sweeper, so for a split second, you might think this blog is about that. The color—Tripoli Turquoise Metallic—is the same, as is the model year (1968), but these PHR stories are separated in time by some 28 years! I was cruising the PHR archives the other day, and found this story on Randy Geister’s ’68 Chevelle. It’s a really good snapshot of the street machine scene in 1980.

Randy’s Chevelle featured a blown 468-ci big block, with 7.5:1 compression. The low CR was because he had a Dyer’s StreetCharger blower with dual Carter 750cfm AFB carbs on top. A Turbo 400 trans with B&M guts and a HoleShot converter fed a 12-bolt with 4.56 gears. The car was a relatively lightweight 3,400 pounds on the street, and ran 9.90s at 150.

At the time, most of the drag strips didn’t allow blown cars in bracket classes, so Randy spent a good deal of time street racing his Chevelle in the Chicago area. Indeed, the lead shot in the story shows him unlimbering his “Endless Summer” Chevelle on the street, firing up a wide pair or 15-inch Goodyear slicks.

As for the car’s aesthetics, we’d probably never build one with the front skinnies pulled so far into the body. The mailbox hood scoop would have to go away, and the rear tires would need to be more narrow and fit better into the wheelwells. The interior of Randy’s car is gutted too, which is a no-no nowadays. Still, it’s fun to look back and see how much things have changed, and how much things have stayed the same.