The x275 craze has been sweeping the nation for a couple of years now, and it seems like every day we hear about one or two or three new cars being built for the class. Last week we had the opportunity to check out Bob Demelo Jr.’s Elite Automotive shop in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and talk to him about the GT500 he’s putting together for the class.

The car actually started life as a V6 car that has had all of the GT500 body parts installed, and by the time it’s finished, you’ll never know the difference. The chassis is self-built, right in the Elite Automotive shop, and came into being after Demelo realized that he didn’t need to pay someone else to do work he could accomplish himself. Lots of planning and thought went into the chassis construction, and Demelo has worked lots of late nights to get the car to where it stands today.

The car has been designed to fit into virtually any stock-suspension class, and he plans on competing at all of the X275 events at New England Dragway this coming season. The car will wear an x275-spec turbo, but Demelo also has a 106 in the background for other styles of racing – he designed the car so that he would have multiple venues for competition.

387 cubic inches of small-block Ford was assembled in-house by Demelo after being machined at a local shop. An R351 block provides a stable base for the LA Kryptonite crankshaft, Crower connecting rods, and CP pistons, while heavy breathing is done by a set of NASCAR-castoff C3 Yates cylinder heads through an owner-built sheetmetal manifold. Comp Cams put a special turbo grind camshaft together for the engine, and Big Stuff 3 will control the works when it’s all finished. The entire turbo system was also built in-house at Elite, consisting of custom stainless-steel, forward facing headers and will exit through a small set of bullhorns.

Bob also put the Powerglide transmission together at the shop, and sourced a custom torque converter from Joe Rivera at Pro Torque in New York. Racecraft is on board for all of the front and rear suspension parts, while Demelo built a custom rear-facing wishbone to keep the Racecraft sheet-metal housing in place. A set of Weld Racing V-Series wheels ride on M/T rubber, and Demelo is hoping to make a mark in X275 this season.

Many people help out with his program, but he was quick to credit crewmembers Paul Cardoso, Timmy Baptiste, and “Father TIG” Dave Dias as integral members of making the project happen. Look for a complete car feature on this ride once it’s out at the track.