Making news in 2005 is the nitrous-assisted, 737-cubic-inch Chevy powerplant nestled in the engine bay of Johnny Pilcher’s 1963 Outlaw Pro Mod Corvette because the 'Vette also features the latest version of Sonny Leonard’s hemispherical-type heads introduced two seasons ago to IHRA Pro Stock competition.

“I call it a ‘Chemi,’ and as of right now it’s the only one of its type on the planet,” Pilcher says. “We had been running his [Leonard’s] wedge-headed motor and he decided he wanted to try a nitrous version, so he and my dad got together and we came up with this program here.”

Pilcher says Steve Johnson at Edelbrock provided important advice on putting the nitrous system together. He also singled out Gordon Holloway at Comp Cams, Kurt and Randy at Barnett Performance, Matt at Lenco, and Boninfante Clutch Parts for their help with the car.

PILCHER IN PERSON Outlaw Pro Mod standout Johnny Pilcher was barely a teenager when he made his first pass down a dragstrip. “In 1976 we were at a local track and Daddy was running Modified Production and my mom was in a little ’66 Chevy II with a 302 and a four-speed in it and they let me make a pass in it and I went 8.40 in the eighth mile,” he says. “I’ll never forget that. I was 13 years old and just thought it was the greatest thing in the world.” Read More (Click Here)

After winning the season-opening ADRL event at Hattiesburg, MS, Pilcher obviously was impressed with the results.

“It looks like it’s going to be a real tough piece, a durable piece that if you slip up it won’t bite you quite as easy. I’m not saying it can’t be hurt, you can destroy anything, but we made about 20 dyno pulls on it, nine 1,000-foot runs and two full passes and all it’s hurt so far has been two top rings, and that was probably in the tune-up more than anything else. Right now, every pass we make is on a learning curve and data that we acquire is telling us what it likes and doesn’t like.”

The hemispherical head design allows for more experimentation, he adds. “You can try stuff that you normally wouldn’t on a wedge motor, put timing in it, take timing out, try different fuel spreads, just all kinds of nitrous stuff that you always wanted to try. You can do that with a wedge motor, too, but you know what it’s going to do. It’ll run, but it’ll eat itself up before it’s over with.”