So many horsepower junkies grow into this wild world from being around cars at a young age, but in some cases it comes later in life; for Tracey Holtzclaw, it’s the ladder. Tracey didn’t became interested in performance cars and drag racing until 2015, when he bought an interesting car, a Chevrolet Caprice, specifically a police issue version. At first, he enjoyed toying with the 2015 PPV Caprice at local races and then at the Street Car Takeover events, however, now the build has gone in the direction of bigger power no-prep racing.
Take a good look at the car and you soon realize why it’s known as “The Fridge” – it actually looks like a fridge! Not to mention that four-door family sedans aren’t exactly light, so the name stuck on many levels. This specific car is a 9C3 addition, meaning it came from the detectives unit. Tracey bought the car in very good condition for a bargain at $4,500 with 55,000 miles on the odometer, knowing that it needed a motor.
Holtzclaw went through the entire vehicle in search of pounds to shed, and an excellent place to start became the chassis and suspension, which needed updating anyway. A tubular k-member from Maxxed Out Garage shaves weight off the nose and gives ample room for the turbo pipe plumbing. Viking drag coilovers mounted on JCR Chassis Works strut mounts allow the front end to extend to plant the rear tires. From the factory, Chevy equipped their four-door V8 rear-wheel-drive cars with independent rear suspension. These setups work well under the right conditions, but a straight axle is a must-have for no-prep racing. A chromoly tubular steel cradle replaces the factory setup, saving weight in the process. The Ford based 9-inch straight axle conversion, complete with a custom triangulated four-link suspension, rests in the cradle, all of it from the guys over at SkyView Racecars. Strange 35 spline axles and spool sit inside the housing while their double-adjustable coilovers suspend it.
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