Projects Gasser it!!!To do or not to do?

This is something I have been thinking about for a while and well I think I am going to do it. But it will be a project for late summer or next winter. I have this 55 Chevy just hanging around and I thought about making it a gasser. But I already went out and got steel fenders and hood and so on. I new disc brake conversion installed , but I think I want to straight axle this car and radius the rear wheel wells. So I am asking what is the proper method of doing the rear wheel wells?

 

Get that bitch up in da air!!!!........then again I just bought a 56 axle car.......ya can't go wrong..then again why cut the wheel wells

 

might be able to fashon a straight solid edge to the center of the wheel to a pencil/marker, put it out so that its at the top corner of the existing wheel well then follow it around-- sort of like a pencil compass for making circles on paper

 

Ok, but what about a lip around it?

 

Meatballthe 56 is bitchin, I am not sure if you remember but I still have to do the caddy bubbletop idea first, so I will be busy this summer. But this 55 is a keeper car for the wifey and the wheel wells on the 55 looks killer when they have a radius.

 

i love gassers but that ones for your wife, what does she want?

 

She don't care she said is long as it looks good...................lol..............she likes the way they look

 

Gasser!~

 

3/8" steel rod on the back side??

hah- not proper.

 

My 55' has mint quarters so I'm opting to get it up in the air, not radius the quarters, with the right stance and wheel choice they still look boss. However, when radiused and the cheaters hanging out just enough, that is tuff. So, the only sane thing to do is build two, that's the only way I'll be satisfied, one each way. I'll be on the phone today securing the second 55. I know this is a sickness, but its a healthy sickness, and at least you can get on the H.A.M.B. and get some medicine. How to radius? I would figure tire size, factor in your gap, make a template and go from there. My buddy put Nomad quarters on his sedan and it gave him the opening and a lip but it sacrificed some of the roundness of the wheel opening. Good luck. Look on Fotki Redlinetoys for ideas, there are a lot of pics of 55 gassers there.

 

G'day Lockwood fancy meeting you here. Remember Reggie Jackson's purple '56 ?
Wife might like that ( would'nt have to have the blower) ..

 

Hey Spoggie, you never know who you will run into on here................lol............NO!! I never saw the 56 of Reggie Jackson's. Anypics of it?

Oh yeah do you know Arty from your side of the globe? (Relic Restorations)

 

gasser!!!

 

Copy this one and rule the world:



Check out the Hot Rod article.

 

You can use 55 Nomad wheel wells. They are not round, but they are much more open than a sedan wheel well...and they have the lip.

 

I like the round look. If I cut these quarters I hope to get a look like the yellow 55 that is posted on the HAMB. I am not sure who owns it but it is mean looking.

 

Car would fall into the gas class as is. (No bumpers). It has a purposeful stance as is; I don't think you will improve its overall look much by changing that stance. Make sure whatever suspension and drive train you have under it is ready, and go wear it out.

 

Gassers are the new flat black and red wheels

 

Hey Lockwood . Of you need some help , i can give ya the pointers to what ive done so far. Here is mine and here is a thread here about it . Rear wheels are 15x11 fenton gyros and tires are 15x30x10w's , Rear springs are in stock location , rims have 4 inches of backspacing.

thread
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=333244

 

Dddooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This is how i radiused mine.

Tools , a big square, string , sharpie , tape measure plumb bob ,and some electric shears or a cut off wheel , dont use a torch or plasma cutter , rough edges and the heat will warp the quarter .


Jack up the car , preferably on a concrete floor. Take the wheel off and hang the plumb bob from the center of the axle , Mark the dead center on the floor , you will need this mark out away from the car a bit so your square can sit on it and touch the quarter in the center also . Figure out what tire size you want. you will need to know this before you do cutting . So here was my formula. Once i had my center mark i sat my sqaure on it and used a level so it was 100 percent straight up and down . my square has inches on it so it made it easy.

Now my tires measured right around 30 inches standing. So i knew 15 inches would be almost in the center of the axle. So i went on my square at the 15 inch mark and taped a string to it , now i knew it was another 15 inches to the top of my tire plus i wanted an inch or so of clearance so that would be 16 inches , so on the other end of the string taped to my square , i tied a sharpie marker to it at exactly 16 inches , no with your sqaure sitting on the center mark on the floor and straight up and down , you pull the string tight with the marker and draw your radius on the quarter panel , then step back and look and make sure thats what you want , then start cutting.

There may be better ways but thats how i did mine. I have not done the lip oyet , ill let ya know when i figure that out , may just do the old conduit trick.

 

As for the wheel lip, I just cut strips of sheetmetal about 2 1/2" wide and formed them around the radius with lots of trial fitting. Once I had them even on both sides and looking good I just started tacking around the wheel well with the wire welder allowing plenty of time for it to cool off. When the welds were complete I use a product called all metal to seal the weld followed by the plastic filler of your choice. Depending on how you want the lip shaped you may have to experiment with different round sanding blocks to get the shape you want. I used this method on my 55 and my 56 and they both look great. Good Luck

 

a piece of 3/8" conduit would work for that

 

Check out my advitar. I think you know what i would do with it.
Gasser Girl

 

jump on the wagon and do it

 

Get it in the air!

 

dare to be difference and go custom.

 

Gasser the living dog shit out of it.....and never look back.

 

nose bleeeeeeeeddddd !!!!!!!!!!

 

Now you are going to laugh, however; weren't guys using the front wheel well lip from a Volvo station wagon for radiusing the rear wheel wells of 55's ?