Daly's Machine '55 straight axle Gasser Build

I thought I'd do this after the fact build since I got so many ideas from things I saw & read on the H.A.M.B. It took me 8 months start to finish, so every minute I wasn't working on the car, I was getting ideas for the next step here on the H.A.M.B. & didn't take time to post while the project was going. This was my first build so there was quite a learning curve. I've had some PM's since then about how I did certain things so hope I can help or give back some on the way. Dan

Got a shell & a pile of parts from Minnesota, Car was from Georgia & had sat since '68. Very little rust. Floors & trunk were great




IFS had to go.















I used a speedway axle & this was before they offered different widths so it got cut sleeved w/dom & widened about 5 1/2"


Lining things up.


Didn't like the speedway shackle tabs that came with the kit so made my own.






I Increased the wheelbase 1 1/2" to 116.5".


The key to all this shit was to measure about 20 times every which way & cut once, weld once. Wishful thinking. Gonna try to post a step each nite,

 

looks good nothing look as good as those tri five gassers.

 

That is going to be BITCHEN!!!!!

 

Dan, not bad for a field car. At least it aint piss yellow.

 

NEXT, I Braced it up & welded what I had done so far. No goin' back now, Like I would of anyway.







The next step was setin' the 392 in to check for room & mounts.







Trans holder



Made these mounts out of the origional mounts That came with the motor.




Had to set the Huffer on to see how it looked.

Every thing I just did in these Pics was for not because, in the end I moved the motor back about 4" & reworked the firewall.

The one thing I learned from reading & looking at all the '55 gassers I could find, was that no 2 are alike & that every body did things differently. There was no, this is the way you had to do it. Every body thought there way was the best.

 

Fantastic job! I am in the process of doing one right now and I have you, Shakey, and Baron to thank for many ideas! I am looking forward to seeing more of this build throughout the week.

 

that hemi is going to be righteous in that 55! hats off to you, looks pretty sick

 

Larry, just thought of something. Since that piss yellow looks so good on your car & I've got & extra set of side black stripes. I'm thinking BADMAN.

 

wow you guys keep me going love them gassers.....

 

Back at Ya Butch!

 

Can't wait to see it at the Wed. nite cruise this summer...reminds me of Frankie Farrel's ol white 55 with blown 392 and chain drive steering.
He kept his stock rear wheelwells and narrowed his rear axle a little too much. Haven't seen the car around Omaha for a few years now.

 

Front end pretty done, on to the rear. I had a wild hair on the rear suspension & it seems to be working so here's what I did. Quarter ellipticals. The origional Daly's Gasser had them so this one needed them too. I had to wing it on this one cuz I couldn't find anyting on a full size car.

Out with the old.




Got this ford 9" of craigslist for $75, it's out of a late '80s F150, notice the taper on the end of the axle housing.

Gave me an idea.


shortened the housing to the larger tube & turned down the ends, Saved $100.



i know this 3rd member isn't going to hold up but I played with th die grinder & messed with it a little.





These were the springs I started with. If I did it again, probably would go with a stiffer setup.












Remember that (measure twice, cut once) I DIDN'T


Ladder bar mounts(plasmad out of a piece of channel iron off an old farm truck)Tried to make shit out of shit?


Ladder Bars

 

Here's some Pics of What it looks like at this point in the build.

 

Tonite , the redo on the engine. It's a '58 Chrysler 392 that had been rebuilt back to basically stock when I got it. Did a 27 hour roadtrip from Omaha to Salt Lke city & back. We were only there for 45 minutes. But I have always wanted one of these engines. (I WAS PUMPED THE WHOLE WAY) I took it down to Daly's Machine were Mike Sr. basically let me go through the whole thing. We beefed it up for the blower & checked decked, tapped, studded, balanced & sized everything. I also built & oil pan from a couple of old pans he had lying around the shop.









Always had the inspiration out.




Mike Sr. working on the heads.




Had ROSS make the pistons 8.5-1. Carrillo K-2 rods were used.








Setting the rings


It took 8 degrees to bring the Cam in.








While living at the shop for a coule 2 or 3 weeks, I found some cool stuff.
The origional early Kinsler injection system off his old '55 Gasser.


And an old '57 race car from the 60's comlete with an Olds rearend & cragars that has sat since the early 70's

 

lovin that machine, nice work

 

Great car, if you have to do it do it right, you did!!! Love those 55 GASSERS

 

Can`t get enough of a gasser build.Very interesting how you mounted the rear end.Great build.

 

Nice tread, love those 55`, keep us updated!

 

Yes yes yes!!! Hemi in a chevy!!!

 

Great photos of the build. It looks like the guys at Speedway talked you into sawing your front axle in half. I lucked out and found the guy that builds the axles for them and he custom made one for me. I just couldnt bring myself to cut a brand new part in half.

 

interesting leaf set up for the rear

 

Killer setup!! Love that car, I wish mine would have been that rust free.

Clyde

 

Wow, some seriously nice work. thanks for the continued update.
That 57 looks like it is a 210 hardtop.

 

I remember that car, but wasn't it a 426 hemi? Always thought he missed the mark on that rear end setup but to each his own. I do rember that steering. Had the '55 down at wednesday nite once last summer. Always a good time. Dan

 

I drove down to Lincoln to pickup some stuff from Speedway & this is the way I unloaded the axle out of the truck. I should of had one made but was a little impatient & green on this kind of build so I stopped on the way home at a buddies & cut it with a bandsaw. Hey, I got to throw it on the car with the DOM sleeve & pick my width.

 

Here's a few more pics of how I finished the front axle and then a couple of misc. photos of the end of the first 4 months to make it a roller as seen in previous pics. I wouldn't get to work on the car for 8 more months. Summer Job. THAT HURT!!













These were the shims that I made to raise or adjust the height of the rear quarter ellipticals. Trial & error to get the height right.


You can see them wedged in above the leaf spring.


Just a couple more.

 

That rear end set up? why did you do it this way other then the full leaf setup with a floater setup.I think it neat and wonder will it work well drag racing.

 

What do Ya mean, WILL IT WORK!! I agree, If Well let me put it this way. The origional Daly's Machine '55 Gasser that I grew up a couple of houses away from had this setup and it seemed to work for him. I actually talked to the guy who built the car in 1965 (Dwayne Jazanka Owner of Concoction II as seen in the current issue Hot Rod Deluxe) and he said he saw this setup on a car from the east coast & duplicated it when he built the '55 that Mike Daly would buy from him in the late '60s.

The pics are of concoction II, and Mike Daly's '55 from when Dwayne owned through about 1974.

 

I have no experience with the elipticals- do you spec the rate at twice the normal requirement, since your using half the spring pack? I really like the design! Old school and clever!

 

I wish I could answer that better but TRIAL & ERROR was the process. I remembered looking under the car when I was a kid, maybe 10 years old & the spring was backwards & there were alot of leaves. Dwayne couldn't remember what he got the springs off of so I looked for skinny or 1 3/4" springs with alot of leaves. These are Posie's 41-48 ford front reverse eye. When you finally grasp the concept in your brain & it took me awhile. The spring is just doing what a coilover does but instead of doing it up & down, it does it latteraly & the spring pulls on the bottom of the axle.



Hell of alot lighter than a whole leafspring & you can cut all the spring mounts off the frame as well. Maybe that was the idea back in the day.