Wheels Galleries

Mike and Vickie Cooper's 1963 Pontiac LeMans evolved from two earlier steel-bodied drag cars into this 195 mph carbon-fiber-bodied beast. It can be seen in action on the Kansas International Dragway strip at next weekend's big GTO national convention.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Seen from this angle, the Coopers' LeMans reveals just how low and slick it is. Ground clearance is a minimal 3 inches, just within the rules.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

To accommodate the huge rear racing slicks, a pair of carbon fiber wheel tubs fill up the area normally occupied by the back seat in a more conventional LeMans. The two red buttons control the onboard fire control system.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The quality of the Jerry Bickel-built chassis is readily apparent when the beautifully fit doors are opened to reveal stainless steel door bars and carbon fiber interior appointments.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Cooper's work station includes a single floor pedal to engage the torque converter the three push buttons mounted on the vertical bar to the right of the steering wheel are used to shift the 4-speed Lenco racing transmission pneumatically.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Massive 17-inch wide Goodyear Eagle slicks are mounted to Weld Racing Wheels in the back. The soft rubber is held in place by special bead lock rims, to keep the wheels from spinning inside the tires.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Wheelie bars help launch the LeMans straight down the track; twin parachutes help bring it to a stop at the end of each run.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Vickie Cooper, a graphic artist and crew chief for the car, designed the full rear wing that stretches across the back of the car and provides downforce on runs approaching 200 mph.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

Cooper chose to run old-school mechanical injection by Enderle; note the fuel lines plumbed directly into the supercharger -- eight more port injectors feed into the intake manifold's individual runners.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

The business end of Cooper's LeMans features a 500 cubic inch Pontiac engine topped by a 14:71 supercharger shoving methanol into the combustion chambers.

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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle

An estimated 1,700-plus horsepower allow Cooper to do impressive burnouts as he warms the tires for a sub-7 second pass at more than 190 mph in a quarter mile.

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/ Photo courtesy Vickie Cooper

Mike and Vickie Cooper

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/ Photo courtesy Vickie Cooper

Arnie `the Farmer' Beswick in action in his `Tameless Tiger' GTO. The 80-year-old Illinois cattleman/farmer has made countless passes down the drag strips of America during a career that spans more than 50 years.

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/ Photo courtesy Gary Gibbs