Does it need a straight axle to be a Gasser?

Incorrect. The gas classes which were the A/Gas, B/Gas, AA/Gas etc were a set of rules (that did change over the years) that dealt with cars that were "Street Equipped" (lights etc.), full fendered cars, with a 10% engine set back allowed. The different classes dealt with a cubic inch per weight formula, with a factor for supercahrged. The rules relaxed some what over the years, originally they had to have full interiors and complete exhaust, but the basic premise of a recognizable street car remained. Near the end they were pretty much full blown race cars, but the basic rules remained.

A/FX etc were the factory Altered Wheel base classes - the FX stood for Factory Experimental and they were more radical than Gassers (at least in theory)

Altered were a step above both of these and were around before FX cars. Full blown race cars that could run with the Top Fuel cars of the early days. Wild to watch with big blown motors and short wheelbases.

Pretty much all three classes were killed by the emerging Funny Cars, but they never "went with the flow and renamed itself" - they were very distinct classes running at the same time.

 

So close - Chop Tops were allowed in the Gasser classes. just not in the very beginning

 

I won't argue, and like I said, I wish someone could chart the whole thing out. But this pic has me wondering. EDIT: I've heard different things from different people, and just trying to sort it all out.

 

What are you wondering? Looks like a D/Gas car to me. stock wheel base, radius'd wheel wells, Tear Drop hood scoop - pretty basic stuff, and a cool car.

 

One of the main things that separated a gasser from an FX car or a modified production car as well, was that a gasser did not have to have the same type engine as the body make.
Top chops were always allowed, as long as I've been racing (1963), and again MOST gassers did not have straight axles, but most of the upper class cars did, as they were mostly Willys, Anglias, etc.
Tunnel Rams? By the time tunnel rams came out, the gas classes were just about gone, if not completely gone from the books.
Who are these people who come up with these fanciful notions with no basis in fact?

 

Some even had torsion bar front ends.

 

Well said. I like the old gassers, when they really were. The gasser fad look for street cars misses the target in about 95% of them, lameness at a high level IMHO.

 

Hotroddon...perfectly stated.

 

NO! i ran gas with one of my 57 chevy's, ball joint spacers, up lift shocks. soft front springs out of a 6 banger.
it was all in the motor and suspension and what was done to it.

 

You want it charted out? Here's the rules for different years in black and white.
Larry T

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334715

 

Not all the REAL gassers back in the day had straight axles. Alot of the tri5's had stock frt susp raised up alittle. Give it alittle nose high additude and call it a gasser. Dont do a DONK gasser.

 

Gassers had engines set back up to a certain percentage of the wheelbase (10%?) Most gassers of the day had the firewall cut out and the rear or the block was inside the car, covered by the new "boxed" firewall. Some had straight or tube axles without brakes, to reduce weight, and were high to improve weight transfer, as was previously said here. I remember the ones from the earlier days had Hurst shifters (handles turned backwards) so the driver could comfortably reach all the gears with the set back engine. Without the set back engine or straight axle, they could run Modified Production classes. A "true" gasser has a setback and I never saw one without radiused wheel wells. Spindle mounts??? Most gasser didn't have front brakes, but I don't recall any but the Pro owned blower motor cars havin' spindle mount wheels, AA/GS- BB/GS, etc. I like 'em ALL!!

 

A lot of the real gassers were't even lifted.

 

Gassers needed 4 wheel brakes from at least 1964 (^^^^^see link to rules).

Lots of Gassers in the 60's could have been turned into MP cars with a days work. A lot of them ran the engine in the stock location. On the tri 5 Chevys, the engine is as far to the rear as possible without a lot of firewall work. Many of the gassers had injection and the MP cars carbs, until the developement work with tunnel rams surpassed the hp available with injectors (probably late 60's).

I've posted this car more times than I care to admit, but here's a typical lower class gasser from the mid 60's.
Larry T

 

Well, it probably didnt have the rear leafs mounted to the top of the rear axle either! Man, what are you trying to PULL??!!

 

Ooops. Somebody just fell into a sarchasm...

 

Well you can pick 'em up in a gasser, but it only takes a few minutes and they want out!

 

Don just for my knowledge since I wasn't around then correct me if i'm wrong and I probably am but wasn't '66 the first year tops could be chopped and why Ohio George did it on the willys for its last year before the Mustang changeover??

 

I'm not Don, but the 64 Rulebook (link above) says "chopped, channeled or sectioned, but not more than 4 inches".
Larry T

 

It's just a car.

Unless you're drag racing in a Gasser class.

 

I always thought that was what a Gasser did. (G)
Larry T

 

I confess I didn't read the whole thread. The OP isn't going to race it?

 

I don't think he really said if would be raced or not, but it looks like it's gonna be a street car.
I'll admit I was being a little bit of a smart a**, but I do believe that if you're gonna call a car a gasser it should be able to pass tech for the gas classes and nor completely fall on it's face if you went to the strip. But that's just me.
I'll go sit in the corner now.
Larry T

 

And that's precisely why I want to get everything right for my '62. Thanks for the link, Larry.

 

here is mine with a arms and spacers

 

O/k,

straight axles
front guards
Jacked up both ends
fenderwell headers
tunnel ram
roll bar
big tach on the dash or hood


Sounds like a Monster Truck to me. Bwahahahahaha.................

 

Must be the Fosters. Just say'n, one wise crack deserves another

 

i thought a gasser was a silent fart that you let go in a crowd, and then walk off.

 

Thanks for posting the link with the `64 rules Larry. Wish I could find my 1969 rule book.

I certainly agree with you that a car should at least be able to make a decent pass at the track based on the class it should have run, and do it safely.

If you want to see some pretty fast Pro Gas cars running this season, check out the NDRL Chapionship Series at Indy, Bowling Green KY, and Edgewater Sport Park In Cleves OH.

http://www.nostalgiadragleague.com/default.html

Pro Gas will run heads up indexes 8.0, 8.50, 9.0, 9.50. They will run handicapped aginst the next closest class thereafter in eliminations till we have a winner.

BTW... As I recall, the Altered Class cars were allowed engine set back 25% and were named that because the bodies and chassis were altered more than Gassers. NHRA forced a few Gassers to run Altered Class when the racer would push the limits on body mods, i.e. altered or missing fenders, hood, too much chop. Also they could be open cars were the Gassers were exculsive to coupes and sedans.

Modified Production was more of a stock type suspension and body class (they may have allowed flaired rear wheel wells), I believe single quad only. It was a step above the Super Stock rules and allowed far more engine mods.

Looking back, Modified Production may have been the precurser to Pro Stock, just as the Supercharged Gasser lead to Blown F/X cars, which lead to Funny Cars.


Hope to see you all out there this season,

Dave
American Pie`37 Chevy Gasser

 

When I was a kid we would take a 55 chevy and put an econoline front axle turned upside down in it and then reversed the rear shackles. We didn't call it a gasser...we just called it cool. Love that nose bleed look.