No stranger to drag-and-drive competitions, Big 3 Racing co-owner Chuck Stefanski is readying his 1981 LeMans station wagon for Sick Week, which kicks off in Orlando, Florida, on January 29.

Stefanski owned the wagon a while back, and purchased it back in 2019. He’s been rebuilding it for the Unlimited Iron class at Sick Week and is planning for 6-second elapsed times and speeds over 200 mph.

Truth be told, Stefanski’s wagon started life as a 1981 Malibu, but the Pontiac fan has rebodied it with LeMans parts and even had custom Pontiac valve covers made for the 540 cubic-inch big-block Chevy engine that sits between the tubular front framerails of the car.

The powerplant was machined by RPM Engine and Machine and assembled by Big 3 Racing. It consists of a World Products block that has been fitted with a Winberg crankshaft, MGP aluminum connecting rods, Wiseco pistons, Manton pushrods, BAM lifters, Crower rockers, and a Brian Tooley Racing-spec camshaft. Atop the short-block sits a pair of Trick Flow cylinder heads that are fed the incoming atmosphere via a Shearer Fabrications air-to-water intercooler manifold. Stefanski is expecting around 2,000 rear-wheel horsepower from the supercharged combination.

Boosting power output to the E85-fed and Holley EFI-managed engine is a ProCharger F3-112 supercharger that is connected with a custom crank drive setup that will allow Stefanski to remove the supercharger for the driving portions of the event.

Backing the potent powerplant is a Powerglide two-speed transmission with a billet bolt-together torque converter from 501 Performance, and Stefanski has equipped the faux LeMans with a Tank Fab 9-inch rearend that is suspended by Merillat Racing components and stuffed with Moser axles and 3.50 gears.

The wagon’s chassis features the original frame that has been modified with a tubular front end and Viking Performance shocks at all four corners. The car retains its factory-style suspension, and Stefanski narrowed the rear framerails to accommodate the 12-inch wide Billet Specialties Comp 8 wheels and Mickey Thompson 275 Pro tires. Perhaps most important is the 6.50-certified roll cage that was installed by Afterhours Performance.

We certainly hope Stefanski and his three passengers — yes, he has four seats sitting amid the 6.50-certified jungle gym of bars — have some good noise-cancelling ear protection, as the Big 3 Racing staff fabricated a set of zoomie headers in-house using Stainless Works material, and they are exiting the front fenders just in front of the side mirrors.

“They were definitely difficult to build,” Stefanski explains. “You can’t really go underneath with the stock frame, especially if you want to drive it on the street.”

The Ohio-based shop also used a host of products from Summit Racing Equipment, and a pair of parachutes from White Safety Equipment will be deployed at the top end of the track.

“The last three drag-and-drives I used my wife’s 8.50 Trans Am,” Stefanski says of his 2022 Drag Week effort and previous Sick Week attendances. “I tried to do Drag Week this past fall, but the wagon didn’t get done in time. We just now put it on a diet. It weighs just over 3,300 pounds with me in it. I got rid of the useless stuff.”

Even with the weight savings, Stefanski managed to include an 18-gallon fuel tank and seating for friends.

“It was really important to have four seats in it to take other guys with me,” he says. “I can take three friends instead of one. We also built a 7-foot-long roof rack — I want to get the fastest award without a trailer.”

Overspray Kevin handled the paintwork, and Stefanski is having the hood finalized while he rewires the car this week. He’s already run it on the dyno to ensure the cooling system is functioning properly and plans to be back on the rollers to fine-tune the calibration at the end of the week. In the weeks leading up to the event at the end of January, Stefanski also needs to hit the track and upgrade his NHRA license from the 7.50 certification he currently holds.

“The goal is 6s at over 200,” he tells us. “I don’t know if that will happen on Sick Week, but it should go quicker than 7.50 pretty easily.”