Low budget. I ran a derby in Florida and meet Zane Baird from Paducah KY. His dad was an ARCA racer back in the days.. derbys were the best...
74 - You may agree that the term gasser is enough to get a discussion going! The Gas class racing designation and the home grown machines that raced in it's breakdowns were beyond cool IMO. It's influenced a lot of builds. Unfortunately, over time the the term ''gasser'' has been watered down. 1st street freaks then the 80's. The HAMB strives to keep things accurate. So there are strong opinions on the matter. Since you want a fun driver, with a few trips down the strip, build that. A '56 Chevy. Some would call my '57 a gasser. I don't. The 3'' forward axle relocation negates that. But I build what appeals to me. Back to your car. Let's see some more pix and hear your plans.
Lots of ideas floating around in my head for the 56. One thing for sure it's eventually going back to a 6cyl 3 on the tree, hub cap grocery getter. So no plans to alter firewall or wheel wells. And WOW, the term gasser starts a fire for a conversation....
Hey, just noticed you said it's a 150. Hope you're running the side trim, the smooth quarters with the front spears is a clean look.
Been busy on 47 pontiac. And yes planning to use all trim. Wanna keep it for lack of a better term. Close to original
A six with a 3 speed, not a thing wrong with that. The picture that comes to mind is a stocker with black steelies, 7''slicks. Speed parts and goodies like an intake & headers available for a six. You'd get a lot of looks vs. SBC
74Kingpin, there are clearly lots of opinions. Rest assured your opinion is the only one that matters. The new style gassers are better than ever with old school and new school parts. Until someone else's name is on the title or they are writing the checks, do what you want. Nose up attitude looks cool on the TriFives and always have. Classic cars with classic lines and they look good virtually any way you build them. Personally I love seeing gassers with huffers sticking out of the hood, but I am biased because that's what I grew up around. Buiild it, enjoy it, inspire others, and hand it down to your kids to keep the sport alive. Sent from my SM-G900R4 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks gasser57. No kids at this time to pass it to. But definitely hope to inspire with everything I build
If you use a straight axle you will have to weld spring perches to your frame no matter how you do it it will be a lot harder to look "stock" again after you grind them off a lot of cars in the day used longer springs, spring spacers and blocks to get the nose high back then....If you go with a 6 use the Pontiac 261 and 3 spd. o/d everything will bolt in and look completely original the '55 Pontiac was stout competition for the first Chevy 265 small blocks and could even out run them when set up right....not all straight axle cars were in the "gas" class and not all "gas" cars ran straight axles the purpose was to lift the front of the car high so that A) the time a car took to "rise" while taking off from a standing start is eliminated thus B) the weight during momentum gets "transferred" to the rear wheels....once tire technology superseded the minor gains these "old school" methods (altered wheel bases etc.) of gaining traction they were dropped because of drawbacks like twitchy handling, lack of good sight lines etc....These modern "gassers" miss the point running straight axles and fat tires too kind of an oxymoron
Thanks nailhead.. that is great information. Got to do some research on the pontiac 261 and 3 spd. o/d..
As long as you get rid of those stupid gangster wheels that are on it now. Build it anyway it floats your boat. Be different put a quick change and wide fives all the way around with a bad solid lifter small block ,4 speed and big brakes and go mess with sports cars.
I have been to a number of gasser drags and the cars are more fun to look at then to watch them haphazardly race. Build the 56 Gasser and I would be happy to admire it.
How often did you see a clutch-flite do it back then ? My point was not all gas racers were 4 spds or straight axles for that matter back then.
Rolled out 56 today to make room to work on 47 Pontiac inside. Thought I would post a couple pic's for ya...
The Jalopy Journal
