History What is the big deal with Gassers???

what's the big deal bout gasses you ask?...their one of a kind type of cool...its the car that breaks all the rules and looks like it to... I mean what's not to like...its the outcast radicalness of machines...its the iconic image that little greaser boy's such as myself dream of...

 

Just looking at it seems to me that those early Willy's coupe were just born to be gassers straight out...

 

They will always be the king of the gassers!

 

I never really understood the gasser craze either!!! Untill i fucked around with scott on The Chuckles strange bird! It is one of the baddest gassers I've ever seen run!!! That blown hillborn injected nail head is ridicules!!! 1000 horses of pure aggression!!! Needless to say... I GET IT!!!

 

The hot ticket in rear suspension in those days were quarter-elliptic springs. They held up the car and did not impede axle rotation. Acted much the same as coil-over springs do today.

 

Glad to see this sometimes controversial thread revived! Gassers were what drew me into cars in general as a kid in the 50's, and I personally love the resurgence of interest in them today!

 

Gassers were the "Pro stocks" of their day; the fastest door slammers on the planet. For guys that couldn't afford the 4130 tube chassis T/F cars of the era they were a great entry point. There were a lot of forgotten, $50.00 hulks resting behind gas stations that could be turned into purpose built race cars, and you didn't have to rely on them to get you to work every day. Some owners graduated to the pro classes and some stayed in love with the gassers...take a look at a nostalgia event.

 

I was a teenager in the 60's and many trips were made to the Atlanta Area Drag Strips. The Cars that caught my attention and still retains my attention were the Gasser Class Cars. Many of the teenagers and older young men actually built Gasser Style Cars for the Street. Some were actually raced, some were not.
The street cars were built to emulate the "Explosive and Powerful Gasser Cars" that were on the strip in the 60's. The Strantz Bros. built a 58 Chevy Bel Air with a beam axle. There was a Guy at Avondale High who drove a 41 Willys (Gasser Style) on the street everyday. I have seen and witnessed many Gasser Style builds on the streets between 1960 and 1970. Building a Gasser Style Car today is like stepping into a Time Warp and experiencing Days from your Youth.
People who continue to pay tribute to "The Gasser Days" by building Gasser Style Cars are neither "Gay" or "Posers" !!! Face the Facts, Gasser Style Cars are a part of our Hot Rod and Drag Racing History.
I have a 36 Chevy Standard Coach (109 wheelbase)in the garage waiting to be put on the street. It has the original beam axle and could be turned into a very nice Gasser Style Build. At age 67 and being disabled, I seriously doubt that it would ever see any Track Time. I know it would draw attention on the street !!!
Thanks for the posts by You Guys that are Old Enough to Remember how it really was..........Jeff

 

Around my area, well over half the Gas class cars drove to the strip to compete! And not only drove there, but saw more street duty than race duty. Only the top class cars were dedicated race cars for the most part.
My first gasser I built was in 1966, and was my daily driver '57 Chevy Belair. It was never a serious competitor, but at the time many guys were just running for fun, so winning it all wasn't as important for us.

 

Around here most of the Gassers were dedicated race cars by the mid 60's. The all had tow bar brackets and used tow hubs on the back to get to the strip.
Most of the dual purpose cars were running Stock, Super Stock, and Modified Production.

 

Growing up, my Uncle had 2 dead Henry J's at my grandparents house. One was stock, the other was a project he started in the late 60's complete with a chrome 36 Plymouth axle. Sadly still unfinished, and turning to rust now, this car inspired me. It looked tough, and me already being 60's style car crazy, cemented an idea in my head. He gave me the stocker, and between his other car, the Revell model kit, and the Hot Rod magazine article with the red "Suddenly" Henry J in it in the early 80's, I was hooked. They were, then and now, the toughest looking Hot Rods out there. There weren't many when I started my build, and many components were sourced from gassers turned Pro Street. Even as slow as my build is going, it has changed very little from my early 80's vision. About the only thing I can clearly remember from then is that dream.

 

I built a 48 Willys Panel in High School, put a 301 SBC in it out of a dual engine dragster that came out of Collyer and Notts car. Was the fasted thing on the street, in my home town in Central California, but very scary to say the least. The Willys were light, along with the Anglia's, Studebaker's and Austin's. It's all the weight to cu. inches and/or HORSEPOWER....My Studebaker in this picture ran 169MPH. in 1967. Ernie Nicholson was the owner/driver, at one time he held the top venue at Lions, Orange County and Irwindale at the same time. They were very unstable at over 150 MPH. There were lots of crashes back in the day. Hope to have this one back on the track soon. Gasserted

 

rusty1, That 37 Chevy looks good "Street or Strip" Had a 38 Chevy Coupe years ago and the build was along the same lines. 400 small block and stock I-beam axle............. Jeff

 

33,...thanks, here's another shot...I don't think this style of build will ever go away or get old.

 

I LOVE THAT CAR

 

Always wanted a '37 Chevy coupe! Probably the best looking coupe body Chevy ever built! In 1968 I bought a really clean '40 Chevy coupe with a cracked block for $50. Bought the neighbor's wrecked Chrysler, and transplanted the 413, torqueflite, and rear axle into it. Swapped out the A arm suspension up front for a late 40's Ford straight axle, and it replaced my '57 Chevy for the strip. It spent more time on the strip than the street, but still was driven to the strip to race.

 

listen to me!
if your not into drag racing, your not into hot rods. hot roding is drag racing! gassers is at the root of drag racing. kind of like what the letter A is to the alphabet!
just one old duds opinion.


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rusty1 & 1971BB427, 48 years ago a good friend raced a 38 Chevy Coupe set up similar to the 37 posted on this thread. That car was powered by a 302 "Jimmy 6", had a pipe bumper out back filled with old wheel weights. I can't remember what transmission was in it but I know that over the years it ran several different carb set-ups. The original I-beam axle was retained and the rear was dropped a bit. Memory says that the "6" put it in the "H-Gas Coupe Class" and was actually Top Contender at Yellow River Drag Strip in Georgia. Yes there was an "H-Gas Class in 1965"
An Older Friend also raced a 38 Chevy Coupe with a 327 and 4-speed. With friends like this I was hooked forever !!! (still am)
The first Old Car for me was a 39 Chevy 2-dr with I-beam axle. Before it was all over, the sedan had a Power Pack 283 and Glide. The mid-60's were a Blast !!! Keep this Thread Rolling.......Jeff

 

...here's a black & white 8x10 photo I bought at a local swapmeet probly 10+ years ago just because I liked the car and the photo was snap'd at Rockford Dragway in Byron, Illinois The pic was taken in 1965 A few years ago I found out who owned the car,...the guy still owns the car but never gets it out.
I had Ron Leek, the announcer at the Meltdown Drags sign the photo for me last year. He remembers the car and the owner. Now if we could just get him to get it back out and bring it to the Meltdown. I pattern'd my car after this one.

 

Where would we be without them.

 

Gotta love the '37s. Close second to the all mighty Willy's. Very well done Rusty.

 

Well said!

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My dad and I went to a gasser race at Greer Dragway and it was one of the best races I have ever been to. Heads up racing just like the old days. The cars we saw were period correct. When it's that way it gives true respect for the way it used to be.


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That's like saying that chopping the top or pulling the fenders off of a '30s machine is gay, unless you actually race it at Bonneville or El Mirage.

Most of the modifications done to hot rods of any era and/or style are based on/inspired by racing modifications. The cars don't necisarrily have to be raced in order to be legit.

I like to race myself and I have raced several (but not all) of my machines at nostalgia drag races. However, I won't fault anyone for not racing their race inspired car.

 

Great reply! If we counted up all the mods we did for street builds, and took away everything that mimicked things seen on race cars; we'd probably have a pile of bolts and a body sitting in the driveway! I don't understand the logic behind people's negativity against building a car for the street that copies traits and styles of drag racing history? We can't all own Stone-Woods &Cook's Willys, or a dedicated race car. And even if we did, most NHRA tracks wouldn't let them run in original setup.