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History 1955 Chevy Gasser ... White Lightnin

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Searcher, Nov 2, 2008.

  1. SOHC427
    Joined: Apr 5, 2009
    Posts: 1,048

    SOHC427
    Member

    Great car, and history. Sure hope you find the cars location.
    Eric
     
  2. DE SOTO
    Joined: Jan 20, 2006
    Posts: 3,857

    DE SOTO
    Member


    I dunno, Maybe its cus were in So.Cal :D

    But i remember as a Kid in the early '70's every gear head in my Little town had a Bad Ass Ride.

    Not like the Tonka Trucks & 40 thousand dollar Euro box's Kids have today.

    I have an Uncle that was in his Late teens & early 20s then and he had some BITCHEN stuff, Wish i had his Pics.

    One that stand out was a '54 2dr Post Bel Air, 2x4 409, 4spd, & Posi .. Crome front suspension, Straight axle, Fat & Skinny Cragars Painted Forest Green Metallic.

    They striped a REAL 409 Impala for the running gear !!!
     
  3. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    More pic's.... Some aren't very good...but they are a glimse into the past.

    These were taken at San Fernando also.

    59 ? Elco tow vehicle....no trailer :D old school. Cragars all around.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    I know it was Aluminum...
     
  5. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Searcher, Great to see more shots of the '55. Before we put the big block in I cut out the firewall to clear the heads and Vertex mag. Made the throttle linkage out of aluminum blocks with oil-lite bushings. Actual pedal was a freeze plug brazed to the rod. I had the roll bar bent by Mercury Tube in Glendale and Dave Bettis, who was associated with the LA Roadsters, welded it in. Dave and his shop are long gone but he was located in the Los Feliz area east of Hollywood. Bettis had worked for old man Walker in the Walker's Muffler shop on Hyperion Ave. Still hoping someone locates the old gasser. The FOGGER
     
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  6. whatever
    Joined: Oct 27, 2006
    Posts: 116

    whatever
    Member

    the hamb rules this is truley cool
     
  7. vintagedrags
    Joined: Aug 24, 2008
    Posts: 314

    vintagedrags
    Member

    1960 elco.

    Man I hope someone finds this car, Bitch'n!!!
     
  8. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    Couple more....

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. Mr Haney
    Joined: Jul 17, 2008
    Posts: 1,000

    Mr Haney
    Member

    the real deal......thanks for sharing ! ! nice build
     
  10. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    I got together with "Fogger" today at the Road Kings car show, and he brought out a bunch of pictures of "White Lightnin". It was great meeting him ( super nice guy ) and also getting to see his 32 3 window.

    This is a picture of him at Lions getting a bit of air.

    I hope he will elaborate on this shot.

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. HFKND1
    Joined: Apr 18, 2006
    Posts: 231

    HFKND1
    Member
    from Peoria, IL

    Hey Fogger was that Ron Brown's shop that did the front end? I have made contact with him on myspace. Great guy love pick'n his brain.
     
  12. ironandsteele
    Joined: Apr 25, 2006
    Posts: 5,918

    ironandsteele
    Member

    all i can say is wow.
    cool story.
     
  13. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    Bumping this shot to this page....
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2009
  14. thirty7slammed
    Joined: Sep 1, 2007
    Posts: 886

    thirty7slammed
    BANNED
    from earth

    Damn, what a cool thread, thanks Searcher & Fogger...........................
     
  15. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    Heres something I thought was cool....the heads off of the small block that was powering the "White Lightnin" in the above pic are now on the SB in his 32.

    Tell us a story " Fogger " :D
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  16. thirty7slammed
    Joined: Sep 1, 2007
    Posts: 886

    thirty7slammed
    BANNED
    from earth

    Very nice 3W, & very cool history. Fogger, whats with the spacers under the vette valve covers? Must be running a pretty radical cam...........
     
  17. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    The shop that did the front suspension and frame was Dick Fletcher and Ted Brown. Ted's still around the hot rod scene and was well known for his T-buckets. Fletcher/Brown Race Cars was in Lakewood, Calif. The front end on my car was a straight tube with Willy's spindles and gutted brakes. Stock '55 Chevy steering. The FOGGER
     
  18. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Cam isn't that radical but to clear the Comp Cams roller rockers and poly locks I had a shop tig the spacers onto the valve covers then had them surfaced for a positive gasket seal. The SB is 360 inches, 10-1 compression, the old GM 461 Mondello heads are off the '55, 10 lb Schiefer flywheel, Muncie M-20 4-speed, narrowed '58 Olds rear axle with Henry's axles and a Dana posi. I still have an old Chet Herbert #50 roller cam and may put it back in someday. The setup is basically what I ran in the '55 except more cubic inches and the mild cam. The FOGGER
     
  19. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Searcher, Good meeting you and your friends today. The above shot was one of the last times I ran the small block at Lions. The car was initially set up for bracket racing only and was very consistent so easy to run the right number. When we put the big block in my partner wanted to run B/Gas NHRA. Problem was the wheelbase was stretched about 2" thus making it an Altered. So during the '67 Winter Nationals we moved the front axle back to make it legal for the gas class. The best run with the 427 was 10.80 @ 129 mph at Lions. It was a fun ride power shifting at 8000. That was real old time racing, no rev limiter, no ignition box, no stab and steer automatic trans. Thanks for posting the shots. The FOGGER
     
  20. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Ok Searcher, I've had the 3W since '82. Built the chassis in the late '70s and found this Ford body at the Pomona swap meet in '82. Been driving it since '86. It is all Ford sheet metal. In '99 returning from the Bakersfield March meet an old man in a Dodge van ran into me hitting my car twice. Fortunately no one was injured and the CHP determined that he was 100% at fault. So with the help of the body man that I had purchased the body from and the insurance settlement we straightened the fenders, bumpers, hood and grill shell. Then chopped the top 2 1/4" and filled the roof with a '64 Mustang coupe top. All the body work and chop was done in a backyard in Culver City by one of the best metal finishers to ever work on old Fords. I painted the sheet metal in my garage with black acrylic lacquer. I've always enjoyed this car and to me looks much better with the chop. See you guys at the LA Roadster show. The FOGGER
     
  21. SteadyT
    Joined: Sep 11, 2007
    Posts: 482

    SteadyT
    Member

    Great thread, and great to see another 55 from the days at Lion's.
     
  22. five five
    Joined: Dec 1, 2008
    Posts: 13

    five five
    Member
    from SoCal

    Like everyone, I am enjoying this thread very much. The picture find and the timing of the replies are amazing.

    As an aside to the topic here, it might be of interest that the very last pass, ever, down the Lion's quarter mile was made by a '55.

    It was months after The Last Drag Race, and for sure was the very last pass, made by a garage-built drag car driven on the street illegally.
    The pass was made in the left lane as the bulldozers were tearing up the starting line area of the right lane.
    The hardhats on the 'dozer crew were yelling and making a big scene, and it was drizzling, but the hook was there and the 13:1 LS-7 / M-22 / Olds was speaking through a set of Lakewood Pos-A-Tractions and it found its mark halfway through second gear and made 7,400 in 4th at what would have been the lights at the big end.

    I always thought that it was very appropriate that Lions was finally shut down not by a construction crew that day but an open-header owner-built '55 running low 10s at OCIR and driving there and back on its own tires, in true hot-rodder style.

    I don't get to post much due to time but it's so cool to read thoughts written by people who I understand and can relate to. Great membership here, for sure !

    Long live the postwar-style junkyard-built American Hot Rod !!

    Eric
     
  23. Track-T
    Joined: Feb 25, 2003
    Posts: 366

    Track-T
    Member

  24. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    Heres a couple more shots of the 55.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  25. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Searcher, The above pictures were taken before I removed the vent windows and replaced all the side glass with Lexan. The hood also is steel and when we installed the big block I used a fiberglass unit. These were probably some of the last shots taken when I was still running the small block, which belonged to Dave Christie. Car ran 11.21 @ 121 at Carlsbad. Dave went on to work on Mopar pro-stock cars and was very successful. Again see you guys at the Roadster Show. The FOGGER
     
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  26. Searcher
    Joined: Jul 8, 2007
    Posts: 620

    Searcher
    Member

    Thanks for the added info, Fogger. My buds and I have been enjoying talking about the old gasser. Where were the last pictures taken ?

    It would be cool if it turned up someplace. I'll keep after it.
    I was thinking because it was a pretty nice car and build it might just be out there someplace in a backyard or ?

    And yes, see you at LARS...we're ( me and the two guys that were in the San Fernando pic ) are going to Limeworks tomorrow.
     
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  27. Fogger
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 1,804

    Fogger
    Member

    Those shots were taken at the shop we rented on Rowena Ave near Silverlake. There were 8 of us that shared the shop. Carl's was the body shop next door our shop was to the right. I had access to a spray room (not a booth) where I painted choppers and hot rods. Doing paint jobs and changing automatic trans Chevys to 4-speeds was how I could afford the '55. I'd work 40 hours a week on customers projects and 40 hours a week at night on the '55. Those were the days.
     
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  28. falfas55
    Joined: Apr 21, 2004
    Posts: 288

    falfas55
    Member

    What a great story.I love those 55 chevys.I'm building my 7th one as we speak. It is gasser style.FALFA
     
  29. Fogger and Searcher,what a great thread.Love that injected big block.Thanks for the story and pics of the cool 55 ....White Lightnin.
     
  30. ShakeyPuddin55
    Joined: Dec 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,906

    ShakeyPuddin55
    Member

    Just found this. Great post!!
     

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