Hot Rods Top eleven Favorite Gassers

That pic was taken at Redding,Ca in '86, Jack had a match race with Junior Thompson, (Tommy driving), quite a show on that rough, narrow track. A place like they would have raced on in the middle of the week, back in the 60's.

 

I love this one ........ I'd buy it today !
Sure would like to see more pictures of the car and or history.

 

When I was a kid growing up in the sixties, I would see those scoops on the hoods of Ford Super Duty trucks, and think that they had scoffed them off Pontiacs...

 

I guess I'm way too anal about old drag racing history, some get mad at me but I just want to preserve it as best as I can. I don't think it should be called a gasser unless it fit the NHRA rules. Those things didn't even have gas in the tank and that's where the gasser name came from. I'm not the only one that thinks this way, just the only one that says anything. Like I have said many times, people come to the hamb for the truth and believe what they read here because it's the best vintage car site in the world. Those cars stirred up a lot of stink back then but I still think they were cool just not gassers.

 

Years ago if someone posted something wrong on the hamb it would be like a pack of wolves on them. That's what made me love this site and join almost 10 years ago. A lot of times I was the one that got fussed at by the old timers. By them setting me straight it has made me a better historian and research things before I post to make sure it was right because it was embarrassing to get bitched at. We need to get back to that and keep this the best place to go for info on our past.

 

I know we sometimes glorify the "Gasser" name and yes it has been a bit watered down from a true historic perspective. But honestly, I have not seen a single vintage photo on this thread that has not had an NHRA gasser designation shoe polished on the glass or painted somewhere. If the complaint is with the direction the NHRA allowed them to evolve so be it. But me personally, I like to remember the Gassers as exaggerated straight axel wearing, nose up monsters, with radiused wheel wells: BUT NO WHERE are any of those specifications referred to in any gasser class rule book of the past. It is just how they developed and how they are remembered and maybe that is good thing. Because from a straight historic perspective this H/Gas is with out a doubt a true gasser car of the '60s. But again, not what I see when I say Gasser and close my eyes.

 

Herrera's Austin was campaigned in NHRA AA/GS starting in 1968.

 

Surely the Inch Pincher exceeded the 10% setback

 

Marty. Great to see the Jack Coonrod's 33 Willys in your shop.

 

Baron,
That shot was taken at Lonnie Gilbertson's shop, he races the '55. The picture you posted was Jack's last season on the road, as I remember. He stayed retired until the "Nostalgia Nationals" at Fremont in '86, when he returned with a bang !

 

You need to hear this 'cammer on a crisp winter's day. Pirotta/Caruana. Last I heard it is the longest continuously ANDRA registered race car. Lots of race win history too. I based this painting on it's 1982 form- it was, and I believe may still be all-steel & it did have working head/ tail lights.

 

A couple that do it for me.
Great thread, I like everything that`s been posted.

 

http://www.nostalgiagassers.com/category/nhra-rules/

I intend to follow a certain year set of rules so I don't stray too far from the real thing.

 

that's "AMBR" Lonnie Gilbertson, right?

 

@falcongeorge

I never realized that the Malco Gasser was a glass car. I like it because it brought an end to the mid '60s too tall to run on the big end cars. That had Ohio George behind the wheel and a cammer didn't it?

Any stump jumper built after that was just a street beast as far as I am concerned. Of course I am just the village idiot.

 

you had to see it run to understand. Not as famous as others but very impressive to watch.

 

The engine was in the stock location. I have no problem with the VW's of the 60;s. The ran in 4-6 cylinder classes, were amazing performers for their size. Fun cars. I'm as dyed in wool as they come, but the were also the real deal. Plus fun cheap cars of the day.

 

There were fifties cars in the gas classes...in the 50's and sixties. Practically new cars at the time. Ya can't blame Ohio George really, the gassers were simply victims of the passage of time, like altereds and front motor dragsters and smoking tires. Things changed, that's all. Just like you can't just cruise to the junkyard and buy a Willys for 100 bucks and a 392 for another 100.
It was 50 years ago! The equivalent in 1965 was...1915!
It was a fantastic and magical time in general, I'm glad I was around for it. Today is nothing like then, you can't go back. All we old coots can do is remember.

 

Here's a vote. The gazillion unsung gas class cars of the 60's!
The whole idea behind the classes was street driven modified cars....HOT RODS!
For years gassers had to be street legal!
There were Willys etc, but many were 55-57 Chevy's and other 50-s cars, hardly ancient at the time! Most didn't have straight axles, ran carbs, they started as street cars, became semi racers, ended up race only. Gas classes were FUN to race in and watch, ya didn't have to be rich to run. Many cars were flat towed, almost EVERY track had a few dozen assorted cars every week. Mega ET's and speeds? Hardly. many cars ran 13's to 11's! That was pretty fast! The classic Willy's of the "gasser wars" era ran 10's to mid 9's SUPER FAST THEN!
We tend to see pics of the pretty, big name cars, but there were HUNDREDS of anonymous little guy cars!
Racing was fun then, even if you won, what you got was a cheesy trophy, but people loved it! Not like today at all, even today's hobby racers are WAY more serious than then in that people spend money that very few guys had in the day!
I'll nominate Gary Parham's BEAUTIFUL red 55 as a better than average representative of the era!
Racing was every Sunday, sometimes mid week, TWO NHRA National events per year, the WCS series barely existed, you did it for bragging rights, fun and friendship, or as Don Ewald says: "We did it for love"!

 

From what I have read and not talking to OGM about it so it is second hand at best. The reason for the chop on his Willys was to try and make it push less air on the big end. It just wasn't enough, you can't streamline a bill board.

I think that using what your sponsor supplies or partially supplies for you to race with is what separates a professional from a porknbeaner. That could actually be seen as making it in racing going from eating good if you win and beans if you don't to actually making a living doing it.

I know odd way to look at it.

 

Well, I'm too ADD to find the pictures to list 11,
Certainly this one was pretty influential on ME

Lions Drag Strip by hotroddon posted Feb 3, 2011 at 4:47 PM

 

LLoyd Mosher's Little Giant Killer - low 11's at over 121

 

This one of course as well. The mold for this any many other famous Anglia's was made from my car

 

I think so even though Rich ran a Porsche 912, while Lloyd was VW powered. Rich's car was stock roofed and Lloyd's had a chop top. It probably was the evolution of the car though

 

Yeeeep those are it. Just a car owned by a couple of guys that liked to race and were good at it.

 

? Popper powered?

 

Not a gasser in ANY sense of the word!

 

Only in the sense that NHRA combined the street roadster classes with the gas classes in 1970??But it was more due to the lack of SR cars than gassers, but still,....another nail..

 

This thread is drifting worse than that Gremlin!