Hot Rods Top eleven Favorite Gassers

View attachment 2860902

This one?

 

I have not seen the restored version of Wayne's Willys, but I can tell you that it was one bad hombre set up as a racecar in the 60s. It was one of the strong regional cars that would do battle with the touring Gasser War pros when they came to your area. As a billboard that hauled ass, it did wonders for Calvert Automotive's business. I just don't have any pictures of it, other than those burned into my memory. Thanks for this one.

 

I don't think he raced that one. I was picking up some blocks and rotating assemblies I had him do the machine work and balancing on several (actually quite a few) years ago and he said he had just bought the car. It belonged to someone he knew and had been built to run one of the supercharged gas classes in the 60's, but the guy never raced it. Mr. Calvert bought it, and said he was going to put the stock firewall (which he got when he bought the car) back in it and build a mild V-6 engine for it. He said he wanted a dependable engine to drive on the street. It looks like that is probably how the car ended up. I'll bet the work on it is meticulous.

 

Love the old pics!

 

Check out the hood scoop on this one and the one in post 96.

 

Ok I got to know, since this is a post about favorite gassers. The gas coupe (gasser) rule was 10% engine set back, and they had to have front brakes. Was this car a gasser or not. I have always been told that it was never allowed to run gas class. A few other that are mentioned on this thread I also don't think were ever gassers. The hamb has always been one of my places to go to get correct info so help me out here, I need to know.

 

I have been passionate about Altereds and Gassers all my life. I raced C/A in the 60s and have met and reminisced with 'Ohio' George on many occasion. I have also seen many of the gassers mentioned here that are trying to keep the class alive at Thompson and Beaver Springs. That being said, I lay the blame squarely on George's shoulders for the demise of gassers the day he sucked up to Ford and put that Mustang body on his Willy's chassis. It was never the same.

Wuga

 

Looks like we may be headed for Top 1,100 Favorite... Fine with me!
I have not seen the "Football" - John Mazmanian's wild little Austin.
It would certainly be in my top 11 maybe even top 2 behind Oddy!

 

Harry Luzader

 

Coonrod and Harry Willys and Johnny Loper Anglia Little Hoss

 

Here is a couple of current day shots of Jack's Willys, after all of the changes through the years.

 

That car was not a class legal gasser. It ran with a group of exhibition "gassers" in the mid west. I think they ran nitro and if you'll look the car has center steering.

".......In the fall of 1968 the Hill Brothers approached Prock and Howell with the idea of forming a four car Outlaw Gasser circuit. This would include, the Hill brothers, Prock and Howell, Jim Shores and Chuck Finders....."

 

Thanks that's what all of my research shows up, Definitely not a gasser. I knew I could get the right info here.
So now why do people always argue and say those cars were gassers when they were so far off I doubt they would even fit into altered class. Example posting here as a favorite gasser, a lot of younger kids are starting to get on the hamb, we need to teach them the right history.

 

To me a gasser is a car built to the specifications of one of the gas classes in in the NHRA rule book (gold standard). High/low, axle/stock suspension - doesn't really matter. That's the way it is in "Larry's World".

And I've found out that most folks don't really care about "The way it was", just what's cool now days.

 

These days if it has a straight axle or looks like an old race car it's called a gasser. We've ventured way too far into the realm of street freak and altered with that definition. I agree with Quain about keeping the definition clean. Yes this is coming from a guy who built a 63 Scout gasser with some modern parts and only 1 seat (being corrected). We took some ribbing about running our center steer Prefect "altered" that looks similar to the Anglia in question with the gasser shoot-out at Meltdown. Just for the record - they came to us and we argued against it. In the end it was all good and we were given the thumbs up from both groups.

Gasser


Not a gasser

 

Exactly right Larry, and it's fine for people to build what they think is cool just don't call it a gasser. The young kids are watching and trying to learn history.

 

I likes them all but here's one of my favorites and there's no doubt it's was a gasser.
Photo by Fred Simmons.

 

Pennsylvania car that caught my eye at Jalopyrama

 

Back to the subject matter:

 

A little newer, after the rules were relaxed to include fiberglass bodies (I think).

 

Good call Quain. Guess I got sloppy when trying to post a pic I had not seen about a builder and driver who had everything to do with gasser history, Chuck Finders. That car was a part of gasser history as a match racer. Things were getting a little blurry as far as "identity" goes in the later years of gasser racing.

 

Waiting to get to the end of this thread so I could include the Fred Hurst A/Gasser. Glad I didn't have to.
The transition to the late model body was in the cards. The cars were getting faster and a handful to drive. Like you say, it may have caused the end of a great class.

 

Here are a few more.

 

A little late era but only one I remember seeing as a kid

 

My favorite

 

Here is another good shot of the Stone Woods and Cook Black Widow.