History What is the big deal with Gassers???

What he said.

 

Send away, cleaned my act up!!

Doc.

 

i agree with Doc.........

 

Throw it all out the window,the gasser style is cool and looks great! HRP

 

I grew up in Hudson Valley of NY in the 50s, not many hot rods around in my area. But Dover Drag Strip opened and the first time I went to the drags, late 50s, there were the gassers from the DragNRun car club of Conn. Most were driven up from CT to Wingdale, NY, including as I remember a hilborn injected '39 Chevy coupe, B/G I think? Really made an impression on me as a teen. I have had two gassers, with my buddy, bearing the louver company logo. A big block Ford powered '40 Willys and a flathead powered Anglia. Still have the itch to build one more but probably not gonna happen.

 

I just think their cool as hell

 

Using the lightest weight production bodies, was a big part. No coincidence that the Willys,Anglias,Austins and Henry Js were all some of the lightest which made them so popular.

 

Gassers, Altereds, and front engine Rails...back In the days when women were safe and racing was dangerous.

 

What you must take into account is that it's the RATE of ACCELERATION that produces the greatest amount of weight transfer. The RATE of acceleration is usually greatest at the initial start, where the RATE usually diminishes as the car goes on down the strip, allowing the weight TRANSFER to progress back toward very little, as opposed to when the car launched. Can't remember ever seeing a gasser at half-strip with the front tires off the ground. Just the racers' way of using some of NEWTON's laws of physics. DD

 

If gassers confuse you,the original AA/FA cars will blow your mind.
But they are O/T so nevermind

 

I see the fuzz about the gassers! I feel a part of it, but i dont understand all that I see here.

But I love the way of normal people taking an avalible car, and do something in order to win. Some good, some bad. Then talking them down the track, get the slip, and see if your ideer payed off. Or if you have to take another night to pull everything apart and redo it again.
And backyard rocket surgery/Hillbilly Engineering making to a higher level. So gasser builds are a time capsel of retro-high-tec. No two are alike, but all have something that binds them together.
The fancy paintjobs makes them look as a winner when you see them.

You cant help getting a little excited just from looking at one.

 

Sounds like he needs to make a trip to Ohio for the gasser reuion this year then it will all make sence.

 

Its like sex. When you get older you don,t do it as much as you used to, but you still like to talk about it alot.

 

No amount of explaining can ever compensate for the lack of watching in person SWC lining up against George Montgomery at the NATIONALS and watching that little chevy leave first and hold on for the win as that Hemi Willys blew past before the second speed light. I can play that over and over in my mind just like it happened yesterday. You just HAD to be there to fully understand.

Frank

 

Really?

 

I don't know what the big deal is but I just bought one!

 

And the older you get, more of the became chearleaders, movies Stars and 10s on 10 scala. As i recall it.
Not like gassers they was all great, then and now!

 

Correction, the old saying is: "when sex was safe and racing was dangerous."

 

" ..... I don't care if it handles, as long as it goes a 8.90.......",

Give that man a cigar!!!!, TR

 

Go to Youtube, punch in aa/gs and watch.

 

Seems like some folks seem to only remember the very few A, AA and FX cars who were nationally recognized and sponsored “Gasser “ competitors. But there were hundreds of back yard built 12, 13 and 14 second “Gasser” cars raced in B, C, D and even E / Gas class on small town tracks all over the country every weekend.

IMHO, these new “Gasser” cars that are being built today have about as much in common with the early 60’s cars as a new Harley Street Glide does with a Pan head!

 

Like he said /\ They are just plain bad ass race cars.

 

I wasn't around back then, but this seems to me to be the most logical response. Certainly most rodders and racers would have known about aerodynamics - geez, streamliners had run on the dry lakes with great success what, 15-20 years before the gasser craze hit. To state that guys "didn't know" about aerodynamics is a stretch.

 

Take it back to the beginning, Gas Coupe class. It started with stock production cars running pump "GAS". The mods were simple at first, just remove some front end weight (remove front bumper) and the mods just kept evolving to the street freak level of over the top thinking.

 

It seems to me from what I am picking up, that the original gassers of the era actually did have that low at the rear and high at the front (reverse wedge) stance, however as time has evolved they have leveled out a lot and just sit high.

I figure this is because tires are better and they run /handle better (closer to level) to handle all the extra HP that is available these days.

In other words the old gassers dont look the same as the modern builds in stance!!!

 

I'm sure you can find gassers with just about any stance for about any year you want. If you want to take Ohio Georges Willys as an example, it started at about stock height, then went way high, then dropped a little, and then gassers went all the way to lower than stock when slicks improved and handling became important with the higher speeds.

There were a lot of competitive lower class gassers that ran stock suspension and around stock height, even during the years that everyone considers "jacked up/straight axle" years.

 

You got ya one heck of a car there! I really like that car been watching it on here and was wondering when someone would pounce on it! Congrats on the new ride!

 

Also remember the class was not Stock, or Super Stock, for factory cars. Gasser allowed any engine brand to be placed in virtually any car body. Pontiac in Willys, Hemi in Ford....etc. Class was based on Lbs / Cubic Inch.............not Lbs / NHRA Factored Horsepower (NHRA SPEAK). With moderatley poor tires back then, and Lbs / Cu in.....high stance, light front ends, (get more weight on the rear tires) created the styles. As tires get better, you see the lowering of the front ends, speeds increased, so aerodynamics begins to play into changes, then 1968 OEM's want OEM bodies........so Ford Mustangs, Camaros, and Cudas begin to show up. All in all, if you grew up and were lucky enough to see them, you never forget them. Even thou, many Gassers were not that quick for today's standards, a 10 sec gasser, back then was a quick car. I have wanted to build a gasser since I can remember, I finally got the chance to do it, and it sure was fun to finally complete that goal.

 

Some do it for the thrill

Some do it for the memories

Some do it for the love of the look

Some do it for the love of the money

Some do it because they have money

Some do it to show off that they have money and this is their way to make up for some of their other shortcomings

 

It is the memories ! I remember watching gassers and altereds as a kid, they were wild and really fun to watch.