opinions wanted

if you were going to build a car for nostalgia gasser racing. and you had your choice of a '40 ford coupe or a '37 chevy coupe. what one would you use and why?

thanks for all the opinions. should be able to let you know what i am doing in a couple of weeks. will have another question than. gene

 

Neither, I'd use a 69 Mustang. The Mustangs aren't good for anything else, while the 40 Ford and 37 Chevy make nice grocery cars.

 

hot rod the ford
gasser the chevy.

 

The 37 Chevy. It just "looks" like a gasser. Keep your options open. Some people want stupid money for some real crap.

 

I'd build a 37 Chevy gasser because I built a 37 Chevy gasser model when I was a kid. I would paint it blue for the same reason.

40's are so cool looking low up front with bigs and littles and ford hubcaps. that's the only way I'd build a 40. Maroon or black. all the trim except the trunk handle.

 

37 gasser.

 

yup!

 

Which car is lighter? Smaller frontal area? And so on? Gary

 

I got to go with the 37 Chevrolet..they make great looking gassers and that 40 would make a cool hot rod.

 

.....It's just the right way to go. I remember seeing far more '37-'39 Chevy gassers back in the day than '40 Fords.

 

Being a Ford Guy and the Ford is more Aero, I'd pick the '40 Ford with Ford HP under the hood though. Interesting this one I found on the web has the same logo on the door as the '37

 

Definitely the 37 Chevy......How could you beat the look Head Hunter pictured above!

 

Don't get me wrong. I love '40 Fords, have owned mine for more than 22 yrs., I just seem to remember far more Chevies done into gassers. Besides '40 Fords look sooooo good down low in the front.

 

It's kinda funny...there's one of each called "the Head Hunter". It'd be the 37' Chevy for me. The 37' in post #6 looks like the evil twin to Leadsledmerc's 37'. Could be the same color too !!!

 

While the Ford makes an awesome rod, I think the 37 chevy makes a mean looking gasser, it just has the lines for it.

 

You never mentiond what shape they were in. If the chevys solid. I would make a nice custom hot rod and butcher the ford.

 

I'm a Ford guy and I have a 40 Ford in the garage right now but it's a no brainer to me, the 37 Chevy. One of the few Chevys I've owned and loved was a 37 Coupe with the straight axle, flip Ai fiberglass nose, big block. That was back in the late 70's when gassers weren't cool! I'd love to build another.

 

This is the sole valid comment.

 

I think the weight and aerodynamic (or lack thereof) differences between the two are negligible.

 

I would suspect that a scientific analysis would reveal that to be a fact. As for me the Chevy would get the nod for a race car. That way I could combine my favorite marque in a body/ chassis/ drivetrain combination. I love my Fords (with Chevy power) for street use hot rods but I prefer Chevy/Chevy for competition use.

Frank

 

I like both cars, but I'd only gasser the '37 Chevy. Mike

 

There are probably more '37 Chevy than '40 Ford racecars, but if you want to be different put a Ford in the Chevy?

 

1940 Ford's wheelbase was 112 inches, and weighed 2,791 lbs.

1937 Chevy Master wheelbase was 112.3 and weighed 2,770 lbs.

Me? I love a gasser-style '40 Ford but if I was actually going to race, I'd probably run the Chivvy... I don't know why, it just seems more natural.

 

another vote for gassin the 37 and roddin the 40 allthough both would work as a gasser

 

Gasser the 37

 

I'd go with the Chevy as a gasser and run the 40 as a nice dropped to the ground rod.

I'd have to think though that so many 37-8-9 Chevys ended up as Gassers because in the late 50's early 60's 40 Fords were already a lot more expensive as they were sought out as rods, customs and the restorers were already hard after them. You could get a solid 37 Chevy coupe for a hundred bucks or so and drag it home but a 40 Ford was usually several times that. And it was and still is very easy to re-arch the stock springs and or throw a straight axle under the car and get it sky high in the front.

If you are thinking mid late 50's anything with an engine swap and stock body was a gas class car at the drags. The 52 Ford Vic with a 56 Thunderbird special 312 under the hood held a couple of track records in C gas before my mom ended up with it as a daily driver for about three years. In those days gas class cars weren't even jacked up in the air.

 

Definitely go with the Chevy gasser. Fords make prettier show/street rods/customs. I used to go up against some mean 37 Chevys over the decades, and they always look tough. They can be created to have a fabulous appearance based on stance, hood scoops, headers exposed, bright paint, terrific lettering. I got hooked on them when Doug "Cookie" Cook ran his out of his house in Compton, just a few blocks from my N Long Beach home as a kid. He and Gene Adams were my idols at the drags.

 

I've seen some 40 Fords done gasser style and they are ok, but if I had the choice it would be the 37 Chevy. They make an exceptional gasser.

Don