What makes a Gasser a Gasser?

Looking for what people's thoughts are about what makes a gasser a gasser

All input welcome

 

What is the class designation when someone runs alcohol in a gasser ?......I am guessing that running alcohol changes your designation into something else other than a gasser.......Littleman

 

Get ready for this thread to become a shit show in 3,2,1...

 

In the early days just removing your front bumper would make your car a gasser,it evolved into much more than that, but originaly it was a street car, had to have lights, interior, even license plates.Later it became more modified, cut wheel wells for tire, then axles,engine setbacks all depends when you are talking about.

 

Its not anybody's opinion - its in the rule book and spelled out - however it changed some across the years.
Pick a year and someone will have it , probably already scanned too!

 

Here's a few pages from a 1967 AHRA rulebook on the subject. Sorry about the quality, had to use a camera. Should enlarge if you keep clicking on them.

 

Beans.

 

To main thing make it a gasser to me; that it runs on gas fueled motors, and thats it's purpose build for drag Racing, on the style of mid-sixtis racers did it.

My privat opinion is that, it has to be close to street-able, or at least in the high end of that so it can win to.
Most of the original gasse could be used to drive back and force from the strip. As a I understand it; Gasser was the entry level for Drag Racing.

If some is smarter or wiser the me I can only say please dont rip me to peaces, and display my internals to the public. Or this is just my 0.2$

 

This is not ment to get into a pissing match I just want to see the opinions of a lot of people & the HAMB has a LOT of them Please just post your opinions & no more
[thank you

 

I thought it was going pretty good considering the topic. Yelling at people in bold type is not going to help either and I'll post as much as I please...thank you.

 

Who was starting drama?

My take on them, drag car that is driven legally on the street but has the balls to back up how mean they look even when standing still.
My 2 pennies

 

Gassers have evolved (devolved? Haha!) from strictly racers to a "look" for the street, and pretty much open to individual interpretation. They're whatever you want 'em to be!

 

Its obvious that a Speedway straight axle kit bolted onto ANYTHING makes it a gasser.

 

I'm gonna jack the front straight axle of my 55 chevy P/U up 4 inches, put some pie crust cheater slicks on the back and some dinky little tires on the front and call it a gasser!

 

The Oddy car in your avatar is what comes to mind when I think of gasser

 

I think it's all covered here:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=770015

 

It's basically traditional Pro Street with the front up, and in a few years, after the fad has worn off, eveyone will regret it, like they do with Pro Street now.
Ho hum.
Just my $0.02 too.
Cheers.

 

Thanks, LSn'A fer postin' up the rules; I was snotty nosed 12yo in 1967 n' I always wondered what they were.

 

Nope alcohol is gasser fuel, I was actually informed that it was gasser fuel even back in the day.

And I get to use my thinky again:



If you want a traditional gasser get the rules from whatever year you are shooting at and whatever sanctioning body you prefer and build it to those rules it will be a gaser.

Borracho,
Actually when our cutoff date here was '64 a gaser was a street legal car, so you are not far off.

I will PM you the '64 NHRA rules.

 

Gassers were an ever evolving race class. The back yard class where everyone could participate. Horse power was rampant and tire technology sucked. So the average Joe would change things up to continually find the combination to get the power to the pavement. NHRA mediated the insane to keep folks from killing themselves. The classes started out as just mildly stock daily drivers but as the popularity grew, so too did the lack of street legal equipment until the end when the gasser had achieved full fledged race cars. NHRA tried to put a handle on it but corporate money got involved and the birth of the Funny Car was spawned.

Gassers still survive today in many different factions, go to a nostalgia drag race event and check them out. The un-predictable brutality of gassers makes them still the best entertainment at the track.

 

Except for the altereds of course. Ha. Continue on fellas.

 

it is pure attitude !!

 

Removing bumpers, per the rules, was optional not mandatory.

^ ^ ^ I've been saying this for years because of all the pissing and moaning by Modern day "so-called" Gasser builders/owners.

My idea of a "Gasser"....

The Jim Oddy Austin
The Ron Bizio '33 Willys Pickup
The Kohler Brothers Anglia "King Kong"
Chuck Finders '33 Willys "Finders Keepers"
George Montgomery '67 Ford Mustang "Malco Gasser"
The Jim Oddy Opel GT

 

A real heavy car, like a late forties or an early fifties four door or station wagon, fake spindle mounts on disk brakes, a Moon fuel tank up front for a radiator overflow, and a big Demon carb on a stock 305.

 

It will become a pissing match. Gasser is as bad as rat rod here lately.

 

with tall springs!!

 

To me a gasser is a street legal race car of the old coupe or sedan persuasion. When I think gasser, I picture a jacked up non chopped coupe with tires hanging out of the rear fenders and pretty much a full interior. The biggest, baddest engine you could stuff in your car and run on gasoline. Gasoline not alcohol, even if you cheated a bit with some av-gas. I know rules evolved and the cars changed allowing body mods like chopping the top and not requiring full interiors, but to me when those changes took place and they allowed new body styles, that killed the true gasser era that many of us pictured.

 

Ok dumb question. Why the tank out front?

 

Mechanical injection works best with the tank above and in front of the pump.

 

I just wish the people would designate a difference between "STREET GASSER" and "GASSER"

"STREET GASSER"...The Street car with the looks of a Gasser Drag Car but legal to drive on the street.
"GASSER"... The all out Gasser Class Drag Car inteneded for Drag Strip Competition only.

There were several Gasser Classes in Drag Racing in the 60's, not all Gassers had straight axles. we ran a blown CC/GAS 56 Chevy (no straight axle)
Most cars along with 55-7 Chevy's with 4 speeds with the front bumper removed fell into a Gas class, If you didn't take the bumper off you could run Modified Production.
Sometimes some making changes to small items would change your class.