CARPENTER'S NEW '55 CHEVY NEARING COMPLETION; ORIGINAL SHOEBOX HEADED TO EUROPE
Tue, 2008-02-12 04:53
Charles Carpenter’s race shop is set to become a veritable showroom for
classic “shoebox” Chevys as he takes delivery of his brand new Terry
Murphy-built ’55 Chevy. The car will join Carpenter’s original
full-size ’55 and Pat Doherty’s menacing ’57 Chevy, but will take the
place of one of the most unmistakable Pro Modified cars in recent
history: Carpenter’s purple and yellow ’55.
After capturing two Pro Nitrous wins in the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League presented by the National Guard, Carpenter decided it was time to part ways with his trusty ride in favor of a lighter car purposely built for ADRL competition. That decision has ultimately benefited a fellow “shoebox” fan halfway around the world: Henri Joosten of Holland.
“It’s going to be tough to see her go, but I think she is going to a good new home,” Carpenter said of Joosten’s purchase. “Henri has been racing a ’55 over in Europe for quite some time, and I feel certain he will be thrilled with the car.”
Charles Carpenter’s race shop is set to become a veritable showroom for classic “shoebox” Chevys as he takes delivery of his brand new Terry Murphy-built ’55 Chevy. The car will join Carpenter’s original full-size ’55 and Pat Doherty’s menacing ’57 Chevy, but will take the place of one of the most unmistakable Pro Modified cars in recent history: Carpenter’s purple and yellow ’55.
After capturing two Pro Nitrous wins in the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League presented by the National Guard, Carpenter decided it was time to part ways with his trusty ride in favor of a lighter car purposely built for ADRL competition. That decision has ultimately benefited a fellow “shoebox” fan halfway around the world: Henri Joosten of Holland.
“It’s going to be tough to see her go, but I think she is going to a good new home,” Carpenter said of Joosten’s purchase. “Henri has been racing a ’55 over in Europe for quite some time, and I feel certain he will be thrilled with the car.”
“Henri actually called me about two years ago to ask if the car was for sale,” Carpenter said. “The answer then was an emphatic ‘no’. Once he saw the car was actually for sale now, he began communicating with Mike and I and arranged a visit to North Carolina. After seeing it in person, I think he was very impressed with it. It will be on a boat to Holland in a few short weeks, and his crew is extremely excited about the performance gains they should see with this new car.”
Carpenter has the same level of optimism about his own new ride. “The car is looking awesome. Derek Smith has done an incredible job with the welding, and Howard Pyle’s fit and finish work looks great,” said the Pro Mod pioneer. “A lot of people are going to be surprised when they see the level of detail and craftsmanship on this car. I’m particular when it comes to a lot of things, and especially particular about my race cars. Murphy and his crew have surpassed my high expectations for this project.” The photo gallery has been updated with the latest photos from the build.
Carpenter expects to have the new car rolling in at about the same time the other car is rolling out. “We hope to have the new car around the end of February,” said Carpenter. “If everything falls into place, we will shoot to make the ADRL Drag Illustrated Dragpalooza IV race in Houston. If not, we will just test at Buddy Boozer’s Orangeburg Dragstrip in Orangeburg, SC and make our debut at the Shelor.com Spring Drags in Tulsa. With soaring fuel prices and no primary sponsorship to help foot the bill, that doesn’t seem like a terrible option at the moment.”
“We would love to make it to every ADRL race and run for a championship again, but it just doesn’t seem like a realistic option at this point,” Carpenter added. “One of our goals is to attract a primary sponsor with this new car, and if it runs anything like it looks, we hope to be successful in doing that. Until then, we just have to plan our season one step at a time.”
After capturing two Pro Nitrous wins in the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League presented by the National Guard, Carpenter decided it was time to part ways with his trusty ride in favor of a lighter car purposely built for ADRL competition. That decision has ultimately benefited a fellow “shoebox” fan halfway around the world: Henri Joosten of Holland.
“It’s going to be tough to see her go, but I think she is going to a good new home,” Carpenter said of Joosten’s purchase. “Henri has been racing a ’55 over in Europe for quite some time, and I feel certain he will be thrilled with the car.”
Charles Carpenter’s race shop is set to become a veritable showroom for classic “shoebox” Chevys as he takes delivery of his brand new Terry Murphy-built ’55 Chevy. The car will join Carpenter’s original full-size ’55 and Pat Doherty’s menacing ’57 Chevy, but will take the place of one of the most unmistakable Pro Modified cars in recent history: Carpenter’s purple and yellow ’55.After capturing two Pro Nitrous wins in the Flowmaster American Drag Racing League presented by the National Guard, Carpenter decided it was time to part ways with his trusty ride in favor of a lighter car purposely built for ADRL competition. That decision has ultimately benefited a fellow “shoebox” fan halfway around the world: Henri Joosten of Holland.
“It’s going to be tough to see her go, but I think she is going to a good new home,” Carpenter said of Joosten’s purchase. “Henri has been racing a ’55 over in Europe for quite some time, and I feel certain he will be thrilled with the car.”
“Henri actually called me about two years ago to ask if the car was for sale,” Carpenter said. “The answer then was an emphatic ‘no’. Once he saw the car was actually for sale now, he began communicating with Mike and I and arranged a visit to North Carolina. After seeing it in person, I think he was very impressed with it. It will be on a boat to Holland in a few short weeks, and his crew is extremely excited about the performance gains they should see with this new car.”
Carpenter has the same level of optimism about his own new ride. “The car is looking awesome. Derek Smith has done an incredible job with the welding, and Howard Pyle’s fit and finish work looks great,” said the Pro Mod pioneer. “A lot of people are going to be surprised when they see the level of detail and craftsmanship on this car. I’m particular when it comes to a lot of things, and especially particular about my race cars. Murphy and his crew have surpassed my high expectations for this project.” The photo gallery has been updated with the latest photos from the build.
Carpenter expects to have the new car rolling in at about the same time the other car is rolling out. “We hope to have the new car around the end of February,” said Carpenter. “If everything falls into place, we will shoot to make the ADRL Drag Illustrated Dragpalooza IV race in Houston. If not, we will just test at Buddy Boozer’s Orangeburg Dragstrip in Orangeburg, SC and make our debut at the Shelor.com Spring Drags in Tulsa. With soaring fuel prices and no primary sponsorship to help foot the bill, that doesn’t seem like a terrible option at the moment.”
“We would love to make it to every ADRL race and run for a championship again, but it just doesn’t seem like a realistic option at this point,” Carpenter added. “One of our goals is to attract a primary sponsor with this new car, and if it runs anything like it looks, we hope to be successful in doing that. Until then, we just have to plan our season one step at a time.”
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