Beaver Springs Dragway – When you spend a lot of time hanging out at drag strips, you become familiar with a lot of the players. That’s why it becomes a special event when you see a car you haven’t seen before. And that’s what happened when Mike Wheeler unveiled his 1955 3100 Chevy Truck Gasser. How new is it, you might ask? “I’ve had it for about a week,” Mike said, while laughing. Technically, he’s had it more than that having bought it in 2023 in Massachusetts. When he bought it, it came equipped with a 396 cu.in. Chevy engine in it, but Mike thought the truck should be beefed up a bit. That’s where the one week comes into play as Mike explains, “I just got it back from the engine guy last Saturday, this is the 1^st time out at the track.” The truck was, indeed, beefed up with the removal of the 396. Currently under the hood is a 496 Big Block that displayed a healthy 736 hp on the dyno. Backing that up is a Turbo 400 transmission (shifted with a Hurst Lightning Rods ratchet shifter) and a Ford 9-inch rear geared at 3.70, all of which channels the power to 31-inch Mickey Thompsons.

Just starting out on the track, Mike is still sorting things out with the truck and that includes the overall look that just exudes hot rod from front to back and top to bottom. I asked him if he wanted to make it prettier (although it looks pretty good in its’ current state) in the future, and he laughed and replied, “Part of me wants to, part of me doesn’t want to. I go back on forth on whether I want to keep a patina and maybe put a clear coat on it or actually have body work done on it. My luck, I’d do body work and I’d end up dinging it, denting it or smashing it. I actually have a 300 year-old white oak that came down in my back yard and I’m going to eventually replace the slats in the bed with new boards from that white oak. Have to put a little piece of home in it. The previous owner did awesome work, it’s been an adventure.”

Unfortunately for Mike, his first time at the track didn’t provide a moment’s comfort at the line. “I had to race people like Denny, and against Billy, two of the best guys out here in the first two rounds,” Mike continued. Having to race the best will make only make Mr. Wheeler better. And he has little choice but to race the best because there are no slouches in the East Coast Gasser gang. With opposition like that, look for Mike Wheeler to be going serious rounds in the future once he gets this truck figured out.