The Term Pro Street has been everywhere for years now, maybe close to 30 years. But there is still much confusion to what exactly is a Pro Street Car. I have heard many definitions and many origins of where Pro Street came from. Same say Pro Street started in the early 80's when people started taking there Street Legal Novas and made them look like Pro Stock cars but for the road, others say Pro Street started in the early 90's when Hot Rod Magazine started their "Fastest Street Car Shootout" Drags and eventually Pro Street became a Drag Racing class. The other story I heard of Pro Street was that people started to build street cars that looked like Pro Stock cars but used them for Street Racing.
To me, Pro Street cars are kind of like Gassers, many people know the term Gasser and have an Idea of what a Gasser is but most don't know what a Gasser really is.
A Gasser was a Full Bodied car meant for NHRA Drag Racing in the Gas classes which each class featured slightly different rules, some Blown, others N/A. The Gassers started in the late 50's and were around till some time in the 70's. The Gassers featured altered wheelbases, different Engines usually much larger that the stock Engine, large Drag Tires, straight axels so they could lift the engine in the front for better weight transfer to the rear of the car on launch. Common cars used as Gassers were the early 40's Willy's Coupes, the early 30's Willys, the early 40's Chevy's and 40's, the 50's Henry Js, the 50's Studebakers , the Tri-Five Chevy's and many other cars were also used.
Gassers were mainly a forum of Drag Car but the Gasser look has also been used on Street Cars and Show cars as well. Gassers were something that started out as a Drag Racing class but made its way to the street.
Now Pro Street Cars started in started around 1979 when Scot Sullivan a hot rodder built a Street legal Nova that was meant to look like a Pro Stock car for the Road. Through out the 80's many people started taking thereold muscle cars and Hot Rods to make them look like this as well adding Drag Radials, back halving the cars, modifying the engine with superchargers and other drag racing mods. Soon these Pro Street cars wanted to race, some started street racing, and soon Drag Streets started hosting events for Pro Street Cars to keep them off the streets. The Pro Street Drags got so popular that in 1992 Hot Rod Magazine wanted to find out who had the fast Street car so the Fastest Street Car Shootout was born, a drag racing invitational event for the top Fastest Pro Street cars. Soon the NMCA was born making Pro Street into a drag racing class and since the early 90's the NMCA has grown and Pro Street cars have gotten faster and faster now running in the 7's on a quarter mile, however most of this Pro Street cars actually look like true Pro Stock cars complete with Parachutes, wheelie Bars, slicks, tubbed frames, etc. Many people even confuse them for Pro Mod or Pro Stock cars! However the "more streetable" Pro Street cars still exist.
Pro Street cars are the closest thing to modern gassers, they have the Drag Racing look, most have the Horsepower, they are streetable (even the 7 second ones, though I would drive those on the street) however Gassers started out as a Drag racing class and made its way to the street, Pro Street started out on the streets and found its way to the strip over time.
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