Art & Inspiration Gassers, a can of worms?

I don't think we were scheduled for another "Gasser" Bitchfest until mid September.

this one was started in error. please delete.

 

Great car! Thank you for sharing.


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Here is mine (I’ve posted it before)
Not a famous car but was raced in Southern California, then taken apart to build a more serious car but never finished. Hopefully I’ll get to it soon.

No straight axle but spacers.
283 block
461 heads
Solid roller
Chrysler 4spd
57 Pontiac rear
5.38’s spool.


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Dover Dragstrip opened in Wingdale, NY in 1961. These are the type of cars I watched back then. I had just graduated from high school in '60 and this is what I wanted (but couldn't afford). Lot of Chevy coupes, many of them street driven like the ones from the Drag-N-Runs, a CT club.

 

Always liked a gasser and have been collecting parts for that someday car which will probably be a gasser.

 

There were plenty of gas class cars that were not track winners, but ran pretty quick. Plenty of them were also so nice they could (and did!) win car shows also back then. Nothing wrong with a gasser type build that isn't the fastest car on the strip, or even has to go down the strip. I do agree they should be pretty quick, but they don't have to be a strictly strip car. Lots of them back in the 50's and 60's were driven on the street, and raced on weekends. Of course the most serious cars were strip only, but a lot of also rans weren't.
I've always liked my gassers well finished, and complete with shiny paint, and interior. There were more years when NHRA required full interior than there were once they allowed entries to strip out backseats, and some other trim. So finished gasser is period correct.
My old Austin gasser:


My '63 Falcon gasser:


And my current '39 Chev coupe build:

 

Yep! Grandma always said, a real gasser has a clutch pedal damn that woman could drive!

 

The car had NJ plates when I saw it here in CT, Rumblers show in Terryville. Car body was gorgeous, front springs in pic look lighter duty than what I saw!

 

You all know the story but for the record, here is the birth of the gasser. Guys coming home from 'the war' had money and the urge to go fast. They opened up the old, now idle military runways to get the guys off the street. Started off as run what you brung but the GIs were crafty and figured if a P51 took off like bat out of hell with alcohol and a splash of nitromethane, must be good in a modern V8. Guys running gas couldn't keep up so they divided the classes into 'fuel' and gas, thus the gassers were born.

Then the always creative GIs figured out the 61 series diesel scavenging pumps could be adapted to the modern V8 as a supercharger and get an almost fuel result. To keep everyone competitive they had to divide the gas classes into regular and supercharged. The resulting /GS supercharged classes are the only ones ever to be specifically designated as supercharged.

Gassers started as hopped up family cars but as guys figured ways of making them go faster, they morphed into dedicated race cars. The regulating associations tried to keep them fun but affordable by requiring street dress but can't stop progress. Hold your mouth right and you can make the case that gassers became today's funny cars.

 

Only a handful of competitive Supercharged Gassers used stick transmissions, Ken Dondero in the Panella Trucking Anglia, comes to mind.

 

Big SEGA fan................this fella is one of my favorites!
"back-in-the-60's" THIS would have been one of the "Big Dawgs" at The Starlight Drag Strip........One of my favorite Ford models too.
This is why "boomers wrote the book on cool"!
6sally6

 

1977-78 2020 !

 

It wasn't easy to make a manual transmission live behind that much HP, was it?

 

Remember going to the drags late 60s, every event at least 1 manual transmission or clutch or driveshaft grenade d, some times in 2 or 3 different cars , also engines they were revved to the moon with out limiters back then, but it all sure did sound good banging gears

 

Gassers are the new rat rod. I'd rather see a poser-built straight axle street driven car over a RR anyday.

 

So the car's back in the 60's, did they turn quicker passes than the cars running in Sega today? Pardon my question but i was born in 69, so i wasn't there.

 

First serious cars to use planetary gear trannys. GM Hydramatics were the best choice since they came bullet proof from the factory. Designed for military tanks and didn't change much when put in passenger cars.

 

did someone say can of worms Gasser?

 

They make a lot more power now, 50 years improvements of traction, head flow, cam lift, metallurgy ect.
How fast are the Sega cars going ? Do they allow superchargers?

A.B.C. Wide World of Sports would occasionally cover drag racing, at that time the nitro burning front engine dragsters were running in the 7s and smoking the tires the full 1/4,
The host stated that scientists determined it was impossible to go quicker. L.O.L.

 

I posted this picture before but my buddy's 57 screamed gasser the summer he had it till it was sold.

 

Pro Stock cars of today would have won Top Fuel championships in the 70s.

 

Perhaps strength might have been a factor, but the lack of traction was another aspect, as those cars left the line, off idle.

 

I once heard an interview with the great Jesse Owens (Olympic Sprinter who won the Gold @ the 1936 Games). This was in the 70's, he said "I thought I was a fast runner back then, now there are 8th grade girls, beating my times"! However, I think you are a little off on your statement, the current Pro Stock record is 6.45, I watched Big Daddy run two 5.95's back to back in 1973 @ Portland. In 75, he set the record @ 5.63 - 250.69.

 

Actually I think it has been a pretty good thread. I made the point that I like gassers and then I simply asked a question. Not a statement, a question.

I think we need to look at things.

If someone is considering a gasser project, first they need to actually know what a gasser is.
It's been a pleasure to look at the great cars that have been posted on here.

We have learned some things too, namely that a gasser is hard to define. When you have something hard to define you need to get into specifics. These specifics being, Time, Place, Style and Equipment.

I for one am fascinated with the early gassers. The latter 50's gassers are hard to define. There's a rawness there. My favorite car featured on this thread has to be this 292 powered Chevy.


What a great car.
Do you think when (for lack of a better term) a newbie who is going to "build" a gasser envisions the car above?

Is he thinking about this car?

Is he thinking about these coupes.

Or is this it?

 

I knew both of The Gratteri Bros Ken and Len, their Dad ran the local OK Tire Store, and they did well in the tire business. They ran that car at the Winternationals in 65 or 66.

 

In 1969 Ohio George's turbo Boss 429 AA/GS Mustang would turn 8.40's @ 175 mph. A recent interview with him he mentioned they had to take around 400 hp out of it so it could be driven safely. The Mustang was still running on the 33 Willys chassis.

I have no idea what a SEGA A/G car runs.

 

This one...

reminds me of this one from 1961-1962.

 

Gene Schwartz’s E/Gas cars
Then:

The second one was built because of a towing accident that wrecked the first.

and now:

 

This one was for sale in Mich. a while back which peaked my interest.