Earlier in its life, this gorgeous 1968 Chevelle owned by Wisconsin’s Dean Roanhaus was flogged regularly on the dragstrip. In fact, it’s even appeared on the pages of Super Chevy previously, way back in the May 1987 issue, when Doug Marion snapped a shot of the car – named the Blue Mirage – at Super Chevy Sunday at Great Lakes Dragaway and subsequently put it into the magazine.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s explain how the car came to be in Roanhaus’ hands to begin with. He grew up in the 1960s, drag racing with his older brother Ken and had an opportunity – which he couldn’t turn down – to buy the car from his brother back in 1983. The decision to go full-speed-ahead on the sport of drag racing wasn’t taken lightly, either.

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“I bought the frame, body, and engine — minus the drivetrain — of the Chevelle from my brother Ken in 1983 for $1,500. The body was in dire need of work. My brother and I removed the steel front end and replaced it with a painted fiberglass lift-off front end to make it as light as possible for racing, and to make it easier to work on the engine,” Roanhaus explains.

At the time, Burt Zadler of Charlie’s Auto Body in Pell Lake, Wisconsin, shot the Ditzler Light Blue Metallic paint, and gave the car its subdued but muscular appearance. The exterior graphics were applied by Mark Signs in Chicago, and then it was time to turn the attention under-hood, as the plan at that time was to exploit the local bracket racers and try to take home a few bucks in the process.

Every good bracket racing car needs a name.

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“I came up with ‘Mirage’ because it’s at the starting line one minute and gone the next, but my daughter thought it needed something more so we agreed on ‘Blue Mirage.’ I also added my two daughter’s names to the car and ‘Takin’ it Home’ on the trunk lid,” says Roanhaus.

At the time, the car was powered by a 402 big-block Chevrolet that motivated it to low 12s at the strip. But, Roanhaus had bigger aspirations. The 402 was replaced with a 439-cubic-inch, blueprinted, rectangular-port-headed big-block machined by Bob Patzold and Fritz Barels of Power Built, Inc.. Roanhaus assembled it himself and it eventually powered the car to a 10.84 at 123 mph on the strip, winning him cash and trophies in the process. He also spent time at local car shows with the car, trailering it in and winning trophies there as well.

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One memorable experience came as the elapsed times started dropping. “The first time I broke into the mid-11s at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin, was a big moment for me. It hit me pretty hard when I got my time slip. I realized all the effort and work me and my family put in at the racetrack was finally paying off,” says Roanhaus.

And then things changed.

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How does a car become lucky enough to end up on these pages more than once, separated by 28 years and countless modifications in the process? It’s simple, really. Roanhaus made the difficult – and expensive – choice to turn the Blue Mirage back to a real street-driven car.

“In 1997, I decided I wanted to get out of racing and put the Blue Mirage back on the street. I figured I would have more opportunities to drive it and be able to enjoy it with my wife and two daughters,” Roanhaus says.

Two years and $4,000 later, he achieved his goal, but the transition wasn’t without its challenges.

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The rollbar was removed, the carpet replaced, back seats added, and bucket seats placed up front to cast the racing seats aside. One of the largest challenges was refitting the car with all the street-going equipment: wiring harnesses were built by friend Bob Merkel to power the brake lights, headlights, backup lights, and blinkers. The rest of the racing parts were discarded and sold off to help fund the swap, because the car needed a new set of Centerline wheels, Hoosier Quick Time rear tires, and front tires.

Other street equipment that was required for legality included a speedometer, horn, window cranks, window regulators, wiper arms and transmission, armrests, and a full exhaust system. Some of these items were not easy to source, as there are no aftermarket reproductions for items like the wiper arms.

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The 12.5:1 439ci engine is still in the car, with the 0.060-inch overbore block filled by a Chevrolet steel crankshaft and TRW pop-up pistons topped by the aforementioned rectangular-port heads. The engine is fed the air/fuel mixture by an Edelbrock Torquer 2-R intake manifold and an 850-cfm Holley double-pumper carburetor. A Crane solid-lifter camshaft measuring 0.580-inch lift on the intake side and 0.600-inch lift on the exhaust side drives the valvetrain. Roanhaus estimates the engine makes 600 horsepower at 7,000 rpm based on its elapsed times at the dragstrip.

A set of 2-inch-primary Hooker Super Competition ceramic-coated headers combine with FlowTech Warlock mufflers and a custom 3-inch exhaust built by Randy Crisman of RPM in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to create the gratifying big-block Chevy rumble that turns heads at every show.

Jim Rousch assembled the ’70s-vintage Turbo 400 transmission and equipped it with a reverse manual valvebody controlled by a Mr. Gasket Pro-Matic ratchet shifter. One of TCI Automotive’s 3,000-stall torque converters transfers the power through the 4.10-equipped 12-bolt rearend, assembled by Bob Davis. Davis equipped the housing with a Moroso Brute Strength Posi unit.

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Suspension modifications are few—Moroso Trick Springs in the front with 1.5 inches removed, NAPA Gold front shocks, and a set of Koni SPA-1 rear drag shocks. A set of polished 15x4.0 front and 15x8.5 rear Centerline Auto Drag wheels wrapped in Hoosier Quick Time 295/60/15 tires complete the look. The interior appears mostly stock with the exception of the Auto Meter water temperature, oil pressure, tachometer, and speedometer gauges, and the Grant steering wheel. And when asked if the car was equipped with an audio system, Roanhaus explained that he had the “I listen to my engine” model, manufactured by the big-block division of Chevrolet.

He says that if he had the chance to do it all over again, the engine would be 572 cubic inches, and there would be wheeltubs in the rear capable of housing a set of monster meats.

“My work on the car is never truly done. It’s an ongoing project where I’m always looking for new modifications and improvements. I’m grateful for all the help I received from my wife and two daughters. They spent a lot of time at the track helping and supporting me. Now that the car is back on the street it’s great I get to spend more time driving it, and the family can ride in it too,” Roanhaus concludes.

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