1,000-Horsepower Dragster Pickup Can't Outrun Bankruptcy

It takes lots of time and money to turn a 1968 GM pickup into an estimated 1,000-horsepower dragster, but both ran out when the truck was recently auctioned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to pay off the debts of New Frontier Bank of Greeley, CO -- the failed bank and pickup, two of the latest casualties of the U.S. real estate bubble. The truck had been repossessed earlier by New Frontier to pay off the loan debts of its original owner.

Confusing the sad predicament further, the heavily modified racer is an odd mixture of Chevrolet bowtie badging and GMC exterior styling. The auction pegged it has a Chevy pickup, though its double headlights and grille clearly identify it as a GMC.

Peering ominously through the hot rod's power dome hood is a Hilborn two-hole Shot Gun hat-style injector and fuel pump that squats over Brodix heads and a Merlin II engine block. Chevrolet-labeled valve covers apparently threw off the auctioneer when it came time to identifying this beast's pedigree. Other go-fast kit features include a Be Cool radiator, Hooker headers that run to custom side exhausts and Centerline wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson 30x13.50 slicks.

Inside, the safety-caged interior is a full cloth bench seat that's ready to haul your family with you down the track while you haul everyone's tushes. It also features a Hurst Pro-Matic 2 shifter, Mallory tach and water temperature and oil gauges mounted outside the cab at the base of the windshield.

Oh yeah, if you're wondering how much all of this quarter-mile wizardry went for, it could have been yours for only $13,500.

[Source: Worley Auctions]

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