I beleve this is a HAMBers car, I think its a great example of a straight axle nova. Notice its on the track aswell. Congrats to the owner Godspeed MrC.
AND he is develish hansome too......... All this "define gasser" shit stuff makes me laugh at the world..... Dont tell Wally booth a amc is a prostock and can win races cause we all know someone told us so. Build it, call it what you want, drive it and THATS what its about. If you call it a funnycar,it better run 6s,5s or 4s or you look bad If its a prostock and it runs 12s......it is no prostock There are ALL kinds of COOl hotrods, funnys, gassers and list goes on and on. Some guys run good, some bad and some deserve sympathy. Its the keyboard guys that dont run a car however can tell what it is you built and how good you done...............rant over
The term "Gasser" is interesting to me. Since my 55 does have a straight front axle, I guess you could say it has the Gasser look. But at Famoso, where I race, I have the option of running "Hot Rod Bracket", or "E-Gas" as the car runs mid 11's. So it's a "Bracket" car, or an "Index" car. Not really true heads up racing. I would like to know where I can run the car in a class that is defined by c.u. and weight? Then it would be in some type of "Gasser" class. But, at least it sees more track time than street time! Of course, since I added disc brakes up front, I should shut the fuck up, and get off this forum!!
Actually a 15 second car with a straight axle is just a car with a truck suspension while you are outing the posers. To define "gasser" is not going to be easy, one must first call out a period, it is a car that morphed over the decades. Until the board cutoff date became '65 for instance your car would not have passed, the rules changed in '65. This is not an affront to your car, if it stands up and cuts a straight line I am good with that. I think it was samiam that said "define gasser". I doubt that it was anything against your car or your type of car. I am not Sam but knowing what I do of Sam I am pretty sure that he was referring to the street posers. I do know that he fielded a fuel model A for a few years, on the modern track is was run in fuel dragster class and he has also completely restored to its former glory a genuine back in the day "gasser", it didn't have a solid axle. He doesn't post often, but he does spend a lot of time in his shop making a living building traditional cars. Anyway to define gasser is not an easy chore one must first choose an era. I would say that gaser would refer to any car that runs on gas but I have been learnt that gasers can run on alcohol, because it is too hard to tune a gas car.
I ran brackets cause I didn't have enough motor to be competitive in the gas class I would have been placed in, crap, in 75' I don't know if there still was gas classes. Took me 6 yrs to get there...slow I know! But I did drive it there, beat the snot out of it, drove it home. Weighed 3190 after dropping exhaust..
You know... listening to the discussion on the stock setup being bad, I also thought of the Arning Drop, and if it was ever tried on a Chevy II..... it works great on the little Fords...
Nothing wrong with the Nova suspension it just isn't a modern suspension. They used to race them with stock suspension and they ran right down the track just everyone else. The suspension can be tweaked to handle well on a mountain pass as well. I always figured if you need an excuse to do something then you probably shouldn't be doing it. An example using this thread for instance, I am putting a straight axle under my Box Nova because they handle crappy. Nope the proper thing to say is I am putting an straight axle under my Box Nova because I want to. I am a grown man, I do not need anyone's approval or an excuse I can do it because I want to. I really don't give a flyin flip what anyone else thinks.
I agree that like "prostreet" for many this will be a fad that will fade in the not to distant future. Companies like Speedway don't put together these axle kits because they don't sell. These kits and those like them have been flying off shelves for a few years now. The Chevy II/ Nova is a great example, with a bolt off front sub-frame you can have and axle car in weekend! The problem is that these cars have traditionally have been purpose built with no two being alike. Because these cookie cutter kits may not really be scienced out for the specific application they can be ill handling. I had axle cars before it was all the rage and will after interest fades away because I love the history they represent. If you want to put an axle in your Nova by all means do it! Take the time though to get the components that match your car rather than just tossing on a kit. This and a little research will go a long way to having a car that handles pretty decent.
Maybe "bad" was the wrong word, but, like anything else, stock handling could stand improvement... I've done dozens of arning drops and was always pleased with the results....
Define "Prostreet"! Better yet, tell me the difference in "the look" between Super Stock, Modified Stock and Pro-Street. Plenty of Super Stockers and Modified Stockers here on the H.A.M.B.
To be honest I would call that a hi rider, still a cool car but it don't have the correct attributes of a period gasser does it ... ... Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
"They" said you can't run a tunnel ram on the street especially a daily driver, I did. They also said the same about the 65 Chevy van axle I installed. I did both in the mid 70s, I drove it year round, snow and ice, in Illinois. That same axle is still under it. I love it. Go for the axle!
Just curious, was this car Orange, and in the New Lenox area? I had family all over the Chicago area, and my uncle lived in New Lenox, and I remember seeing a tunnel rammed straight axle car when we would visit.... summers and winter. If it was not yours, there was another running around..
Wasn't me, mine is Honduras Maroon (red) I'm from down state in Mattoon. Growing up in the north you get used to it, it's no big deal to drive stuff like that. Or maybe it was because I was just young and stupid.
I'm talking easter egg pastel painted, tubbed, convo-pro wheeled, tweed interior, camaro "pro street"
There's nothing wrong with a straight axle. They WILL drive better than the stock un-modified front end...and after 11 pages I can't believe no one mentioned the obvious advantage of being able to install a big block (or most any other motor) in your car up to & including a Hemi if that's what you want. If done right there is a minimal amount of fabricating to be done and the real beauty of it is you can change it back to stock, or any variation of stock in a weekend. I just finished a '66 & it drove great, handled great, weighed only 2800 lbs all steel, raced great, and was an attention magnet whether at the races, the cruise-in, or going down the road. If you like the look, go for it. BTW I used the stock front frame & steering with a Speedway Axle Kit w/Wilwood disc brakes.
Listen to Beaner he's right. One simple thing I might add- Don't be a Pussy put some real Horespower to it. Otherwise you will be the poser with a wanna be gasser. The difference is the intent. You wanna look like a badass then put some horsepower to the ground and be a badass. Tim
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