Pete Youhill

Chevrolet Chevelle 427

Pete has risen swiftly to the top of his game and continues to get the car quicker. The original motor was a home-built 427ci, this made just under 500hp on John Sleath's dyno, but Pete’s new motor is a 582ci Shafiroff 'Ultrastreet', this made just over 760hp and there is probably a bit more in it with some fine tuning and the motor loosed up a little.

Pete has also rebuilt the back axle (a GM 12-bolt) and swapped out the 4.88 gears for some 4.10s. The gearbox is a built 2-speed Glide with trans-brake and a high-stall torque converter.

Pete’s old combo was good for consistent 11.2 second passes at 120mph, but the new motor now ensures constant 9s. It hasn't been easy getting there; Pete has been twisting, crunching and breaking his way into the 9s and he was experiencing some bad handling problems. "We found that the axle tubes were twisting where they fit in the centre section! After some re-fitting and some heavy welding, we managed to sort out the problem."

Dave Fox has recently been taking care of the driving duties for Pete's Chevelle.