Zach Beasley and Bobby Quackenbush’s 1966 Chevelle, aptly named “Bones,” is as raw and unorthodox as its moniker would suggest. The Louisiana natives, whose conglomerate is referred to as “Always Send It,” transformed the classic A-body from a forgotten wreck to a no-prep and street racing machine through pure DIY ingenuity and a focus on performance over polish. Bones is a stripped-down designed for one thing: going fast, no matter the surface.
The Chevelle was originally a factory big-block 396 car, but became an 8.50 bracket car in the 1980s. After a drunk driver hit it while parked out front of the owners shop, leaving it beaten and battered, it sat abandoned for nearly two decades, Zach and Bobby eventually pulled the car from a junkyard and began its radical transformation. “It’s been a slow evolution,” Zach shares. “From sitting out back to becoming what it is now—it’s a completely different animal.”
The Always Send It gang started with the tried-and-true turbocharged LS platform, running on the street and backside no-prep tracks where its lightweight setup thrived. Over time, however, the competition’s larger cubic inch big-blocks necessitated stepping up their game. “We had maxed out the LS,” Zach said. “Even with nitrous, we couldn’t keep up. We needed more power.”
The Chevelle is now Powered by a potent Pro Line Racing 540 cubic inch big-block. “The Pro Line engine gave us the power we needed, but it also introduced new challenges,” Zach explains.
The switch to the big-block, despite the power gains it presented, also brought about a dramatic shift in weight bias, leading to traction issues and unwelcome wheelies. Their solution? Relocate the turbos. In a move that defies convention and has already turned heads despite only being tested privately, the team mounted the twin VS Racing 80/104.5 turbos above the rear decklid, running charge pipes up and over the windshield and down the length of the roof to the turbos. “A lot of people doubted it would spool, but that big-block doesn’t care,” Zach says with a laugh. “It’s all about math and leverage. Getting the weight where we needed it was key.” The car was already unconventional enough with a dragster-style rear wing, but this was over-the-top —literally.
With Bobby handling most of the fabrication and tuning, and Zach taking charge of wiring and crew chief duties, the pair operates as a well-oiled machine. They’ve already tested the new combination extensively, refining the setup to balance traction and stability while keeping the Chevelle’s nose on the ground. “That rear wing at 10 degrees adds 440 pounds of downforce by the 330-foot mark,” Zach explains. “The further it goes, the more stable it gets. Now, it’s just about keeping the wheelies in check.”
Despite its rough outward appearance and very unconventional modifications, Bones is a solid-running piece from a mechanical standpoint. It has a built Powerglide and Circle D converter sending power back to the 12-bolt rearend, delivering competitive performance at no-prep events around Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond. “This car was built for the streets and the backside. We’ve tried front-side, but back-side is where we thrive,” Zach says.
The Chevelle has long been without its front half, a result of the unfortunate incident decades earlier. Beasley says he and Quackenbush indeed have a set of front fenders for the car, but the exposed front end has become part of the car’s identity and they aren’t about to change that now. “I can promise you that it’s not an aerodynamic advantage,” he assures.
Bones and what the Always Send It duo has done with it embodies the spirit of true grassroots drag racing, where going fast and finding ways to do it on a budget is everything, “We’ve always done things outside the box, and Bones is just the latest proof that thinking different works,” Beasley closes.