Vince Mule '55 Chevy One of the best '55's ever

I guess this is the best we will get for now. Funny though, 99.99% of the cars on this site the owners call Gassers are really Street Freaks.

 

Yep, not many of them are what would be "traditionally" called gassers. They are the new, upgraded, modified version of the definition, along with bobber motorcycles (which are exactly the same bikes we would have called choppers in the 60's and 70's), bobber trucks, etc. Even the terms hot rods/street rods have changed and evolved. If a term is misused long enough by magazine/internet writers/users and the general population then the new definition replaces the old (for most folks).

But I realize that the reality of the definitions of my generation were looked at the same way by the generations that came before us (baby boomers).

I saved something that Dragon (the moderator of the Jockey Journal at the time. RIP) once said for my sig line over there.

"I foresee yet another closely defined historic term being corrupted, aborted and ruined.-Dragon"

I still feel the same way but realize, in the grand scheme of things, that it doesn't really matter and have the forsight to know that the folks that are butchering my language now will be going through the same thing in the years to come.
Nuff philosophy for now, my head hurts. (G)
Larry T

 

I remember that a lot of guys back in the late 60s early 70s ran cars of that style and they weren't refered to as gassers or street freaks, just jacked up. Fat tires were cool but cutting the body of a pristine car wasn't. Air shocks and spring blocks were common. Tubbing was a lot more work and required more tools but gained popularity as the cops started enforcing an 18" bumper law as a means of harrasment.

 

I think it's great that you tracked the car down, and even better that it's exactly as it was back 35 years ago! And speaking of 35 years ago; how old does a build have to be to become traditional?
He built the car to turn heads back in the mid 70's, and I bet it did! I also think if he drove it to any cruise or event today it would still turn heads. I'm sure anyone who didn't know it's history today would assume he was jumping on the "gasser" bandwagon, and missed the mark, but that is similar to the response here on many threads.
I just can't understand why people continue to get their panites in a knot over the gasser theme cars. Seems there's tons of recently built cookie cutter roadsters, customs, etc. that are trying to emulate the '50's-'60's cars and nobody is calling them out for copying a theme they love.
Why is it that a gasser theme car evokes such strong emotions? Build what you like, enjoy it, and to heck with what other people think. At least if you're building something you're not sitting around irritated.

 

abomb i aggree with you on the whole gasser/streetfreak/ r*tr*d trend

but i do love gassers and street freaks never figured out the whole r*tr*d craze

 

x2! My thoughts exactly.....

 

The difference is a hot rod built in a 50's theme is a 50's style looking hot rod-both were/are driven on the street and they served the same function.

99.99% of the cars guy's call gassers are really street machines or street freaks. I think it is the "poser" image some people are having a problem with. Gassers of the day never had license plates nor working lights, nor wiper blades for the most part.

I'm in this group. I wish guys would stop calling these cars gassers and call them really what they are ..street machines, street freaks or straight axled cars.

That being said guys use the term "gasser' because it is Hamb friendly. A 1965 Nova called a gasser by it's owner on the HAMB is ok but if the owner calls the very same car a street machine... well it could get bounced.

 

i was at the NSRA Street Machine Nat's in Des Moines in `75 and remember that car well. it made quite an impression on us then. i also remember seeing them sleeping under it on pallets. i think it rained pretty good and the pallets kept them up off the blacktop far enough to be dry. they had an elcamino with spares, tires,floor jack, etc. that's no trailer queen, they drove it there from ( i think) covina,ca
my most vivid memory was of him standing up on one of those round concrete light post bases in the motel parking lot late one night, with no shoes on. when he called out to one of his buddies or girl friend, " get my boots - i'm gonna race". they staged up against another car out on the street in front of the motel. and when he launched out of the cloud of smoke, that thing really hauled ass. i must say that's the most serious street drag race i've seen. my friend who was with me that night still talks about it. it was months later when i saw it featured in a magazine.

 

where's the pics of that!?!? man, that is a great memory!

 

anybody notice in the caption beside the pic of the car. He was only 21 when he completed it ... Awsome.

 

How ironic is this thread,...I just talked to Vince this morning at the swap meet (4-17). While I will not give up the location of the car,...yes it is still as pictured in the magazine (just a little dusty), and has never left his possession. Thanks to all for a pretty neat site and postings!

 

Another article on the car-Feb 76 Super Chevy

 

"car runs in the 10 second bracket" totally bitchin' car!

 

It was definitely not a poser. Here is what another Hamb'er, xix32, PM'ed me. I wish he would post all he saw that night.Here is an exerpt:

it was about 11:00 at night. we were about 6 or 8 car lenghts away from where they staged on mules side of the road, in the direction they would be coming. and down wind from them.
when he nailed that 427 it just lit up those wide tires and almost engulfed the whole car in a cloud of white smoke ( since the wind was from behind) when he got traction the nose was about the only part of the car still sticking out in the clear. it seemed as though he was being launched from a cloud. then the sounds of that maxed out 427 as he went by us going thru the gears of his 4 spd. man -o-man it was beautiful. he beat the other guy real bad. like i said before, that thing really hauled ass! i've never seen anything like it before, or since.

 

"Gassers of the day never had license plates nor working lights, nor wiper blades for the most part."


What 'day' was that?

Gas coupe/sedan was a class created for street driven enclosed hot rods specifically to race in, and required full street equipment to pass tech, including licensed for the street.

Competition coupe/sedan was for full out race cars.

It evolved into the alcohol burning 'GAS CLASS' race cars of the mid to late sixties because guys pushed the envelope of the original rules and the NHRA gave in ($$$$$$)

This is being replicated by here by the demise of older members, and younger members wanting to be included in what THEY remember and pushing it for their own reasons of inclusion. When this site started the cutoff was much earlier when it came to inclusion.

Knock yourselves out. Apparently a lot of members won't be happy until this is just another street rod forum. And that'll be a shame, IMO.

Nice car. Not a HAMB car, though.

Mutt

 

"Gas coupe/sedan was a class created for street driven enclosed hot rods specifically to race in, and required full street equipment to pass tech, including licensed for the street."


I don't know when it started, but by 1964 all of the street stuff was optional.

"It evolved into the alcohol burning 'GAS CLASS' race cars of the mid to late sixties because guys pushed the envelope of the original rules and the NHRA gave in ($$$$$$)"


I'm pretty sure, alcohol was never legal in NHRA sanctioned Gassers. Lots of match racers ran it, but some of them even ran Nitro.
Larry T

 

We lived in Fort Dodge, Iowa at the time, and I too went to the 1975 Des Moines Street Machine Nationals and remember seeing that 55. Automotive tastes and fads have come and gone in those 36 years, but the car certainly caught my interest and that of most everyone who saw it back then. Lots of the cars we thought were incredibly neat back in that era would be looked down upon now. Remember square headlights? Yeah, some people thought those were a hot styling trend then. How many still think so?

I would've loved to see that race, but what I do remember about Vince's 55 is that it was really straight, had outstanding paint and pinstriping, and had everything that was important in magnified form. It was over the top...the most radical street-driven car most of us had ever seen.

I'm glad to hear the car is still around and is well-preserved. Sounds like Vince still lives somewhere in CA. Maybe someday, he'll pull it out of mothballs so we can see it again. Thanks for reviving this piece of hot rod history!

 

"GET MY BOOTS - I'M GONNA RACE!" Man, what a great line . . . . I gotta remember to use that someday!"

 

Never any shame in owning a 55 Chevy...no matter what theme it fits into!

 

I purchased my first 55 in 1978.Had one style or another ever since. I too remember this car in the magazines. It was definitely a car that fit the times.
Maybe some day the owner will let a magazine do another story or it.

 

Vince's 55 was one of the cars I most lusted after in my misspent youth.....I was in High School when it was featured in a few of the mags.....never forgot it..I went on about it at such length that my Dad teased me about it for years......wonderful to be able to reminisce about it now....ain't it amazin what the interwebs can do?....so....I imagine this has been broached before, but I have to ask....has the prospect of ever parting with the 55 been brought up with Vince?....I'd be wrasslin for the head of the line to make an offer if it came up....

 

I was 13 and had the pic of that car on my wall, I promise! I thought it was the ultimate Hot Rod! Love the thread, keep it up with more info and memories!

 

I am like a magnet to any 55 with double AA's, Altitude and Attitude, high stance is is just a "beautiful ting". This is a great thread.......nice to know the car is in hibernation mode by the original owner .....I can relate to that too........ to note ....I was branded by the 55's at 14 as my best friend had a 55 Nomad that we cruised in, red lacquer, ivory roof, chrome reverse, 327/300hp , 4-speed, no front bumper..........what memories ........1968.....where did all those years go already......?