I am still going through Dad's old car photos, and lucked out with two images of his Ford Anglia Gasser from the late 60s. This car has a bit of a sordid past, and although some details are fuzzy, I'll share with you what I know of it. My da... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Sounds like your Dad took a wild ride in the Anglia. I remember a few Anglias in the 60's around Nashville. They were fun to watch go down the track but I bet they were a bit** to drive.
We ran one in A/G in the early 60's. It actually handeled quite well.Maybe because we weren't going fast! They were banned from supercharged classes then.90" wheelbase would have been a bear. Ours looked just like that one.
Thanks for sharing, cool story. They are quite a handful even when setup right. I know mine was much easier to drive when it was an automatice car then the original, and now current 4 speed. 90" is just so short!
Not at all - Many ran Blown Chrysler's in the day. Just make damn sure the chassis is well designed and sorted !
I keep catching myself lately as well. I think we get sloppy with our spelling the more we are on this thing Carla calls "the clackety box"
The trick I found to driving mine was to line it up straight, brace your right forearm against the door panel and never steer it no matter what ! The car would leave & jump around shifting gears but always wound up going straight at the end. I ran in H/G with a 310 inch Ford 6 so obviously wasnt carrying the speed you guys were in the higher classes and this was in the early 70s. Your results may differ !
Mine ran 11.50s/120mph and you could take your hands (make that hand-4 speed) off the wheel and it would still go straight------------until you took your foot off the gas and started slowing down. Then it'd run through a couple of "shudders", but they were always they same. When you got used to them, no problems! It's getting a bunch of chassis work before it ever sees the track again. It'll probably never go straight again. Larry T
My neighbor has a 1948 Anglia was runner up at Kentucky last year. You all might know the car Mighty Mouse it runs 8.62 at 168 thru the quater mile and 5.30 thru the eighth He said its like driving a phone booth for you guys that still remember them!
I put my Anglia on it's left side at a Goodguys Indy event. Slidin through the thousand foot timer, I was still going 111 mph. In the traps, I was down to 44 mph. The car had very little damage . I got the body in guide coat and sold it to a guy in Cincy. He is getting close to unveiling it at the track as a recreation of his old Anglia"Ruby Tuesday" that he raced in the late sixties to early seventies.
i have some shots of the ruby tuesday copy ....it looks nice from the pics i have.....as for anglias and unstable....a antiroll bar is probably your best friend on one of those.....
hmm note from above driveit fast, never slowdown, hands off the wheel .. be ready for roll over .. thats a gasser .. short wheel base remember all most all the cool pictures are taken at at the starting line or being drug onto a stretcher
Let's see ... Short wheelbase. Narrow track. Jacked way up in the air. The aerodynamic qualities of a tall filing cabinet. No wonder they're prone to unstable behavior and rolling over.
Spent a fair bit of time at the Drags during the 80s/90s. The Outlaw Anglia guys here always put on a good show! Little cars...BIG Balls! As shmoozo already said, short wheelbase etc, makes for a wild ride. I remember climbing out my tent in the pits to be greeted by an Anglia sliding through the 1/4 mile lights on it's side! Thankfully the driver and car weren't too badly beat up!
i built one for a customer with a crate 514 ford,it went wherever it wanted to when you jumped on it,4 link,pro street,strut front end etc.,,but,it sure was fun!!,,,,,,now that i have one with a straight axle,hilborn injected small block,4 speed etc.,,,cant wait to drive it
Brandon, Chuck and I talked about this a little. Isn't a rearend with ladderbars one big sway bar? They might have at least one advantage over a 4 link setup. Maybe two if you consider room. Larry T
As an "Old Drag Racer" told me, "Never race something that you can touch the front and rear wheel at the same time, it will only cause you trouble".
Hey, I'm over in Lebanon. I remember Joe Stewart's "Double Trouble", Jimmy & William Griffin's "Caspers Nightmare", not Anglia but just as fast the Madden's "Chicken Picker" Willys from Alabama. They sure impressed a 18 yr old kid in '67 &'68.
you ever hear of a guy named dave nelson from knoxville....? had a couple anglia's ....one went 5.80's (1/8th mile) on one front wheel...
Not quite an Anglia but a Gasser! 102" wheel base, Tube axle, 4 link. and she handles Very well. I always get asked how dose it handle? Aim it and go... Always wanted an Anglia but the good ones are big $$$ so what can you build CHEAP! the Vega. a little different = how bout a real 68 DZ302 built by Dougan, a stick - M22 4 speed, 9" Ford out back w / 5.00 Old School Cool meets 71 Vega REAL GASSER's have 3 pedals!