Iconic Panama Red! 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air
The concept of taking a street vehicle and turning it into a drag racer is not a new idea, but finding a decades-old well-preserved surviving gasser isn’t all that commonplace these days, especially one that made the rounds enough to be deemed iconic. The owner of “Panama Red” considers this 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air to be an iconic drag car, and while it may not have earned a legendary status like some of the Sox & Martin or Dick Landy creations, it did make quite a splash on the West Coast drag strips and was even featured in an issue of Car Kulture DeLuxe magazine. Panama Red is now looking for a new home, and if the thought of seeing this one parked in your garage makes you salivate with envy, this may be a great car for you. Located in Panora, Iowa, it can be spotted here on eBay with a current bid of $20,100. The reserve has not yet been met.
The seller says that Panama Red was born a turquoise and white 1956 Chevy Bel Air and was a family car in Los Angeles until 1961. At that time, local drag racers The Childers Brothers took it off the streets and made the transformation into a racer. It was raced mostly at Lions Drag Strip and Orange County until 1978 when it was sold and continued its career at Famoso Raceway until 1981. The car then exchanged hands a few times and is now located in Iowa, where it cruises the streets on summer weekends and attends random car shows.
Panama Red gets its horses from a 355 cubic inch Chevy Small Block with 10:1 compression, an Edelbrock tunnel ram manifold with a pair of 450 Holley carbs, an Erson solid lifter cam with Harland Sharp roller rockers, double hump heads, and Hedman headers. Shifting duties are carried out by a BorgWarner T-10 with a McLeod racing flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate. Outback, there’s an early-year Pontiac rear end with a 5.86 ratio plus Henry’s spool and axles. The seller says that the car starts, drives, idles, and stops just fine.
Inside is pretty much all business as well, with working period-correct gauges and early Chevy buckets. The body is said to still have its original rust-free panels with a Fiberglass Trends full tilt front end. The paint is faded on the front end, roof, and some areas of the quarter panels and trunk but it sure makes for a mean-looking patina! What are your thoughts on Panama Red? Any ideas on how much $ she’ll end up exchanging hands for?
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Comments
An associated piece of drag race history: Harland Sharp is a real person and the inventor of the roller rocker. The company is still in business, being run by his son, and an important part of our racing as we run two sets of their rockers in our race car engines as well as buy parts for the valve trains as needed. In the mid ’90s he teamed up with Dave Tabor of Comptune Engineering and Jon Stamps of Jon Stamps Racing and designed a pair of AH Sprite 948cc engines that produced 99 hp at 9,600 rpm with a compression ratio of 15.5 to 1. Those engines hit the track in 1998 and are still running, unaltered, today. I bought Jon’s car in ’03 and have run each engine through 3 refresh sequences and plan on putting one of them into the Vintage race car we are presently building. They have lasted this long because of the jewel like precision of the parts on the part of the original builders of the engines. Lot of development going on in those days as indicated by this drag car.
Not what I think of when I hear Panama Red. Cool old car though.
Back in the late 70’s my buddy’s parents went on vacation to Mexico. They came back with Acapulco Gold t-shirts for their two nephews ages 8 and 10. They liked the Mexican guys smiling face. They had no idea that it was connected to mariJuana. We killed ourselves laughing.
Ahh, the good old days. Red and yellow
Hey Mike, isatso? In case you’ve “forgotten”,,,it was New Riders of the Purple Sage( I DID forget who did that song,,,cough),,,”Panama red,,Panama red, it’ll steal your woman, then it robs your head”,,,I agree, someone did a nice job, and a handful to drive, I bet. I’m surprised it doesn’t have a chute, probably would do 11’s easy.
Good morning Howard, still a great tune! In the early 70’s a handfull of us had vans, my buddy had bright red hair. The murals on his van looked like the town Red rides into with a big Panama Red painted on it also. I can’t recall what happened to Red, but some fun times! Take care.
Pretty cool car but, running 11’s not likely. Fun ride either way.
I hear New Riders of the Purple Sage in the background.
Really……one of my favorite bands back in the day…….I think the song came after the car started racing. Hmmmm.. Stole my woman and robbed my head.
Wonder when it was straight axle, vintage pics on e-bay show it sitting low?
Had a 63 Nova with 327 with tunnel ram2x4. Love old school power
Ohhh sweet memories… I ran a similar ’56 Bel Air with a ‘glass nose, small block, 4-speed 4.56 posi back in the early 70’s. Low 12s was the best run, but man what a blast that car was! It wasn’t Panama Red, it was Primer Grey. This rig will bring someone lots of good times!
We had a similar set up in a 57, 557 Olds rear, ran mid 11’s all day long, this was late 60’s early 70’s, c/g class
I forgot all about new riders of purple sage….
Cool old gasser. I do enjoy seeinb these cars as they were.
An interesting 56. A lot of the body has been resto’d and the car looks solid. I can’t imagine street driving it with the solid axle and open headers. Hope it finds a good home.
My Friend Frank P ran the same car at Langhorne P.A. dragstrip in early 60’s. Ran D Gas with a 301″ t-10 4 spd and a locked 456 on a 1/8 mile strip. Car was called “BAD NEWS”
Hi John,
I grew up in Langhorne. Miss the old days! Are you any relation to the Highams from Ridley, PA?
5.86 out back must make for a fun launch at the stoplight.
He’ll steal your woman, then he’ll rob your head!
Not all car guys will make the connection, so here’s a reminder:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=you+tube+panama+red&cvid=fa1cb41473534367b76dac8a953a0946&aqs=edge..69i57j0l4j69i64l2.5276j0j1&pglt=171&PC=U531&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dyou%2btube%2bpanama%2bred%26cvid%3dfa1cb41473534367b76dac8a953a0946%26aqs%3dedge..69i57j0l4j69i64l2.5276j0j1%26pglt%3d171%26FORM%3dANNAB1%26PC%3dU531&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=5ED2926BAD97EB3886155ED2926BAD97EB388615&FORM=WRVORC
With that setup mid 11’s easy! THAT is very fast in a car like this! Wow! I had a 57 chev set up like this in late 60’s’s and it was a handful!
Sweet old gasser!! Seems the Gasser fad is hot right now.
Ended:Mar 01, 2022 , 8:07PM
Winning bid:
US $29,200.00
[ 61 bids ]