A true piece of NHRA history has resurfaced, just as the sanctioning body prepares to celebrate 75 years of championship drag racing.
The red-and-white 1984 Chevrolet Camaro we’re highlighting isn’t a tribute or a replica; it’s the car built by Reher-Morrison and driven by four-time champion Lee Shepherd that helped define Pro Stock’s fiercest era, by capturing the 1984 NHRA and IHRA titles.
By the early 1980s, the NHRA Pro Stock ranks had split into two camps: Chevrolet loyalists led by Reher-Morrison-Shepherd, and Ford fans backing Bob Glidden. The two teams traded championships and records in what remains one of professional drag racing’s greatest head-to-head battles.
The Camaro is powered by a Reher-Morrison “Old Smokey” 498-cubic-inch Chevrolet V-8 engine that is topped with a pair of four-barrel carbs on a fabricated sheetmetal tunnel-ram intake manifold. Cyclone headers clear away the exhaust and a Lenco four-speed manual transmission with a multi-disc clutch and Hurst Lightning Rods shifter handles sending power to the rear tires.
The tube chassis is set up with an extensive roll cage and a four-link rear suspension that includes coilover shocks. Lamb Components struts are up front, and disc brakes are installed front and rear. Goodyear Eagle slicks, wheelie bars, and a rear wing complete the setup. The car is restored to its 1984 race trim and has been with the same owner since 1988.
Pro Stock cars almost never surface at major auctions. Indy, F1, and Lucas Oil Sportsman cars appear regularly, but rarely do NHRA Pro Stock champions. When this hot rod crosses the block at no reserve during Mecum Auctions’ Kissimmee 2026 event (Lot R940, Saturday, January 17), it will represent a defining moment in Pro Stock history, when the class was raw, mechanical, and powered by ingenuity instead of the electronics and high-tech components we see today.
As NHRA celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2026, the timing couldn’t be better. The Glidden-Shepherd rivalry embodied what the sanctioning body was founded on (determination, strong mechanics, etc.), and this Reher-Morrison 1984 Chevy Camaro was a benchmark. It showed that independent builders with sharp engineering could beat factory-backed competition, and it helped define what Pro Stock meant long after the class evolved.
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