Vintage 1959 Bocar XP-5, Fuel Injected Chevy V8

Written by Ken Altes

At the the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, racetrack, I found this very successful 1959 Bocar XP-5. It weighs about 1,800 pounds, originally powered by a 283-FI Chevy V8 with around 365 horsepower, later replaced by a Chevy 350 with the same Rochester fuel injection unit, now making 418 horsepower. Body is glass-reinforced polyester with a welded moly-tube space frame. Some used a beefed-up Volkswagen rear suspension up front (is this possible?? from wikipedia). A few XP-5s had Triumph frames with their original suspension and brakes. In 1960, it set a speed record of 175 mph on the beach of Daytona.