Hot Rods Top eleven Favorite Gassers

Yep! All his books are fantastic! Get'em, his hot rod books are chock full of unbelievable amazing old cars! Check 'em out!

 

Here is one of my favorites from 64-65, ran low 12's, Jim Hoxit C/G. It was found and saved by a member on here, it's now on the street in a different form.

 

When that happens I'm leaving! I don't even agree with them allowing rear engine dragsters at the CHRR.

 

This was a local A/G, built around 62-63. It had a 409 and a B&M Hydro, he managed the Dairy Queen in Newberg, Oregon. Oh, they were simpler times back then.

 

The Grist Brothers car was a strong performer early on with a Mel motor out of an Edsel I think.

 

In the 50's you drove your Gasser to the track, bolt on the slicks (if you had them), a shoe polish number, and ready to go ! Scappoose, Oregon, Airport Drags.

 

After looking at my March 66' copy of RODDING & RE-STYLING it says Jack Merkel's car had a 364" SBC in it.

 

The AA/G 427 car at the 2014 Meltdown Drags.

 

Not sure where I fit into all this, those (60&89) photos were not submitted by me.
May have been my "smart ass" comments about HAMB friendly, sorry bout that, it's gone.
Not clear about what I "should know better" cuz I got a pretty good handle as to what this place is all about.
Anyone may PM me so we can cut the drama and get back on track.

 

Here's two of my favorite's that you don't hear a lot about. The Moody & Jones '37 Chevy is a 3 time US Nationals Champion and the Moody's Garage '55 Chevy is a 4 time US National Champion and also won Street Eliminator at the World Finals at Tulsa in '65. They are both from southern Indiana.

 

Thats correct, some how a 388" motor is stuck in my mind. The 364" did come out of the B/GS 39 Willys that he had.

Pat

 

Totally my fault! I misidentified the poster of the pics in question.AGAIN, MY FAULT!
Too many Oregonians ( and ex webfoots ) I'm old and easily confused!
I apologize!

 

Taken from George Klass's site:
This car , along with Marty's shots kind of illustrates how gassers came to be. Starting out as hot rods, getting modified until they were strictly race cars. Pretty easy to see with cars like this.

 

OK, It's me again, thinking I am posting pics of MY favorite gassers, and these are some of them. They happen to be two of the quickest blown gas cars in history, owned and driven by guys who refused to switch over to methanol. 60 is Ron Nunes final version of many Willys (Quickest Blown Gas Car in History). I CARE!!! Post #89 is Gary Fore (I believe Second Quickest Blown Gas in History). Again, I CARE!! I guess I thought since they were way pre-65 cars they would fit in. Sorry if they don't. I guess I find it difficult to believe you guys only care what happened BEFORE 1966.
I DO GET the love of gassers and the whole identity thing.

 

Check this thing out. The PU style is unusual, but look at how high the engine is! I think there was a 24 inch crank centerline rule. This must be pushing it. All this "tech" to try for traction, then as someone pointed out, soft wrinkle walls came along and everything was different.

 

Gary---
No apologies required here, I get it.
Some people have CRS, us Oregonians just have water on the brain.
When people produce as much entertainment as you do, they will then get
"The big picture", thanks for all you do on this thread and the drag cars in action thread.
And also the days gone by photos.

 

I have to go with the Filthy Forty because well just because.

 

Another 40 Chevy Coupe from '64 . GM Auto Sales out of Washington State, they followed this with a 40 Willys Coupe, it was orange too.

 

NICE^^^!!!

 

growing up in the 60's in the southeast, I remember alot of bad gassers from that part of the country. I never got the chance to see SWC, Big John, kingKong and the like, but I remember racers like Bogan Renfroe with the 40 Willys with a big block chevy or even a ford sohc in it. beautiful car. also, Hood and Payne orange 55 chevy d/gas called sweet one. the chicken pickers from Ala. a 40 Willys sedan of the maddens. Bunkie Bobo in the Hemi Hurricane 40 Willys. a yellow Henry J I dont remember the name on it. A blue anglia called little boy blue from the early 60s. theses are a few I remember from my times spent at Yellow River, or Atlanta Speedshop in Newton county, or Cumming dragstrip, or even Fairburn dragstrip. if anyone has any pics. or stories, or just a rememberance of any of this , I would love to hear it. thanks, Art

 

I have a lot of stories of most of those cars and pics. The yellow Henry J was David McDowell (little Lemon) The Blue Angel was Liston Kendall. I have the airheart brakes from the front of Bongan Renfroe's Cat Skinner Willys on my Gasser now. I'm sure if you remember all of these cars that you remember Gene Cromers Moonlighter 41 Willys. I restored it several years ago. Here's the thread to the Cromer rebuild. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/gene-moonlighter-cromers-a-g-willys-resurrection.730747/

 

I do remember the moonlighter Quain, and I followed your rebuild of it. good reading there. and thank you for what you and the others have done to bring back the gassers of the 60s. I have a 51 Anglia myself I had started to build for the Southeast Gasser assoc., but ran out of $$$, and family medical problems came up., but one day I will finish it. I would love to know the where abouts of the Hood and Payne orange 55 chevrolet gasser, sweet 1, they also had another in later years, a yellow one like the orange one called sweet 2. Anybody in the Atlanta area know anything about these cars??? Thanks, Art

 

This is my personal favorite because it's my dads and he built it in the 60s from a stock body that he flat towed from The Dakotas where he was working back home to Texas. He installed a 327 with a Muncie 4 speed and they would shift it at 7200 Rpm. At one point they ran a Rochester Fuel Injection on it and it ran strong for what it was. It was built with the 10% engine setback and was 24 inches to the center of the crank but was run on the street and later sold before he ever got to race it on the Dragstrip. The weak point was the 55 Chevy rear end that couldn't handle the power. Even though I never saw it the stories that he told and the way that he missed it helped to light my hot rodding fire. Especially after I saw a the Willys coupe in the movie Hot Rod in about 79. Here he is with his coupe.

 

Seven pages and not one actual '57 Chevy Gasser!? No offense Jcmarz! My pal still has his COX '57. The Army Jeep I had was lost in ''battle''. M80 fire took it out.
Shake, Rattle & Run is a memorable one for me. Lots of J/S '57s but seems like the '55 was more well represented in the G/ classes
Shake, Rattle & Run

 

This must be the Winningest early Gasser, Ohio George Montgomery

Here's Larry Teeters 32 ford Victoria gasser from Elgin Illinois that won class at the nationals one year and was usually one of the guys to beat.


Here was the Filthy Fourty of Charley Hill Driven by Porky Zartman that was a National Record Holder and won class at the nationals multiple times. They were known to purposely park the car in the mud so that other racers wouldn't come snooping around to look at their setup and said that they would wash the car when it got beat.


Mike Mitchell, The Worlds Fastest Hippie from the Bay Area. (San Francisco?)


I don't know much about this one but it might have been called Automation? (Thanks for the update bowie, this was not Automation, I don't know the name of the car but it was from the Midwest and belonged to Bob Rothenberg)


Hugh Tucker Chevy Roadster, this was a very winning car
Harry Lusader from Pennsylvania, a very strong car and a crowd favorite


S&S racing team Anglia from Falls Church,Virginia. Owned by Gene Altizer, it won multiple times at the Nationals and was a record holder

Don't know much about this one but it has the look

 

Full floating axle 3/4 ton truck rears solved a lot of breakage issues.