Found Dads '56 Chevy Gasser!

Then, to see this car up front and personal at The Galassi Brothers Internal Combustion Festival helped to round out the story for me! Watching you guys put it through its paces, then seeing with our own eyes getting on the freeway onramp to the 210 was truly priceless. I'll try to gather up the few pics I snapped off of you ""under power"". Great meeting up with you!

Dale(The Rocket)

 

Thanks brother, sorry I didn't get to stay long, it was my youngest sons birthday and we had a dinner bash planned for him. While we were there, he kept sneaking off, so it was kind of hard to visit and keep an eye on him at the same time. Great burnouts and 1-2 Banzai's by you and "The Rocket"

 

Dennis & Carol Coker, hanging out with us at the "Dave Galassi Internal Combustion Cruise"

 

Dave Galassi and I checking out "The Child"

 

Such a great story!

 

A couple interior shots of "The Child" in days past. Can you imagine staging and speed shifting this thing with those crazy tall brake and clutch pedals. You had to literaly hold your legs up. I would like to recreate this in the future but have them shorter so you can rest your heals on the floor board. Too bad we didn't get the hydraulic throttle assembly either!

 

A little Irwindale thursday nite grudge action. The pic of the back tire wading up, is actually the 2nd gear shift and the in car pic is that same gear shift. We had a GoPro in the car and another one on my buddys car next to me in the other lane.

 

Ooops wrong pic, heres the in car 2nd gear shift.

 

Put this on last night, what do ya think?

 

I think it looks right at home on there!

 

Merry CHRISTmas every one!

 

Merry Christmas Rick I think it look's great.....

 

Thanks Butch, hope you had a great day

 

Hey bud what paint did you use on your engine? Beautiful car by the way!

 

Pontiac Blue, I stole that idea from my buddy Augie Delgado's Altered wheel base injected '66 Nova.

 

My brother Marc and I are building a new Jackson Injected 14.5:1 compression 416" Small block with Air Wolf 220 heads that should make between 700-750hp. We also have a brand new Jerico that we had built in 2006 for a Super Stock '62 Dodge we were working on that is "moth balled" (also for sale) right now, and we got a new input shaft to use behind the small block chevy. We are putting the '56 on about a 200 lb. diet, we would like to be able to run in the 5.80-6.00 range in the 1/8 which puts us in the 9.40-9.60 range in the 1/4. @ 140-145mph.
I never even thought about putting a glass deck lid on the car, but Quain Stott told me the other day, that the stock steel ones are surprisingly heavy, and that since our engine is so far back, and we,re going to a 48-50 some inch ladder bar, that the extra weight shouldn't be needed to help hook the car. Does anyone out in HAMB world know what a stock deck lid weighs (I'm being lazy so I don't have unbolt ours to find out since garage space is at a premium right now)? When we get a little farther along, I'll put some pics up.

 

I weighed my trunk lid and doors when I went to glass. The lid was 52 lbs and the hinges and springs were another 7 for a total of 59 lbs the glass lid was 14.5 lbs. The doors were 67 lbs each, glass 17.5 lbs each.

Steve

 

They should make this a movie. Great story. I read every word. Thanks for one of the best and most interesting stories on this site.

 

Thanks for the info brother, was your glass deck lid the bolt on or pin on type? The wind shield has had a 3" crack in it forever, so looks like its time for a lexan one from Pro Glass. Do you happen to know what a stock windshield weighs. The car was 3090 with out driver, trying for 2800-2900. By the way twolane, bitchen 56!

 

Gearheadruss, thanks for the nice words brother, we appreciate it.

 

Mine is a pin on. Sorry I dont know the weight of the windshield. I did have mine under 3000 lbs with a big block.

Steve

 

Here are some one year and change, anniversary pics. Thanks again Brandon, and everyone at Hot Rod Magazine. Still working on the new engine/trans etc., photos in a little while.









PS. If I didn't mention it before, this photo shoot was at original, still standing "Russ Davis Ford Dealership" where Gas Rhonda worked/was sponsored, as well as a host of legendary drag racers. Unfortunately, the old place is not "earth quake" safe, and if someone (wish I had the money) doesn't fork out a bunch of cash to retro fit it, it'll probablly get mowed down in the future and become apartments, or some other crap! The "hardware" in the trunk, is only some of what Dennis & Carrol Coker have "loaned" me from their days of kicking ass in D & E/Gas. At the Hot Rod Magazine Anniversary, last March, Dennis brought all of his original NHRA Record certificates, which he had found only days earlier, including every receipt for moneys spent, including engine work from Burgoise & Wade, Forged True, Hilborn, M&H, the Chevy dealership were he bought his '61 305HP/283 Fuelie long block.., the whole enchilada!

 

Here she is in the early sixties, same show room still standing today. If I won a lottery, I'd buy the whole place, put my house on the back parking lot and use all the old garages etc. for the fun stuff, including some unforgettable shindigs!

 

I may have stumbled onto a clue as to who bought our red '56 from Dennis Coker when he sold it in late '64 early '65. He said he remember the guy living near the beach somewhere, maybe Long Beach. This car says Oxnard, Calif. which is a beach city. Dennis also said, he thought they guy might be oriental, the name on the quarter panel says "Nitsche" which at least sound oriental. I have found a Ph# for a Steven Nitshe living in Oxnard, so I'll call tonight. Anyone else remember this iteration, or know more info, please let me know. PS. Looks like the engine is "going away" in this shot, smoke from the driver side header, and what appear to be oil, or engine parts starting to spray out the bottom, or passenger side collector.

 

Nitsche is a German name...not oriental. Good luck on the search.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Morning bump

 

Such a cool story

 

Very cool Rick!! Hope you find it.

Ray

 

Well, since my brother is holdin' out on y'all, here's a couple of new pics Rod Jones, brother of Dad's partner Dick Jones, surprised us with! Quality is a little soft but we don't care! Always great to get new pics we didn't know existed! :-D