Hot Rods What type of cars make the best gassers

I saw one a few years ago that would have been an affordable gasser...but I could not quite convince the guy who needed it, that he needed it. Oh well.

 

Nope cars with spindle mounts just had the zot to spin the tires a lot like this truck only multiplied. The dufus driveng this old chebby rolls around the water box and stands on it, this was his daily driver.


Just for clarification Funny Cars and Fuel dragsters run spindle mount wheels, "gassers" never did they were required to have functional brakes at least during the era that we build to. When John Force does a burn out he rolls through the water box and then just blips the throttle.

Here's the deal in the world of hot rodding you are going to find a handful of serious go fast junkies and the rest are posers. You are young and you still have a chance to make that decision, go fast junky or poser. Trust me if going fast floats your boat you are in for a long and sometimes expensive life. You will find that once it stops making your ass pucker it is no longer fast enough and it is time to upgrade.

LOL you obviously have never heard the term "Built Ford Tuff on Chevy Stuff." The LS swap is what is popular today. Personally if I was building a Bronco and wanted a late model motor I would use a Coyote. They don't have the after market platform that the LS or even the common Ford 5.0 has but it is a challenge and I love a challenge.

Bodies are chosen for looks, drivetrains now that is a different story all together. The only 4 wheeling I was ever involved in was real off roading and desert racing (which is real off roading too I guess). Most of the fellas I knew that were building trucks from bumping around in the rain forest were more interested in suspension and the gearing required to pull whatever tires that had chosen for the task. Once in a blue moon if I was overhauling a motor for a guy he would ask me to beef it up a bit, most of them didn't know that when I said it needed a new cam shaft or head work that I was beefing it anyway. LOL They most always just used what was in the truck, their money was tied up just keeping it alive.

Now desert racing that is a whole nuther monster, there used to be a lot of brand consciousness involved there, but that was a long time ago and often those guys had factory money behind them if they were going to be competitive. Then there were the guys who ran exotics which didn't have a brand anyway they were just a chassis with whatever the driver/owner liked.

Getting back to it you won't find many 4 wheelers here, and four wheelers bodies are few and far between, you may find an old Bronco or IH Scout but they will be built as gas class cars not show cars.

Well that is a lot of band width. Sorry if I am too wordy for ya.

 

I almost went with spindle mounts because I had a pair, glad I didn't with the way these people drive in south Florida...- the Rockets look close.

 

I guess the Rockets look close, for about 95% of guys. For the rest of us, they're painful to look at.

 

Like a gutted blower or Olds rocker covers on a small block.



Lack of bumpers and wheel base may have thrown this Nash ( Rambler?) into altered class depending on the era. So spindle mounts would have been appropriate, in my opinion a streeter needs front brakes so I guess to try and acquire the look of an altered and still drive it those wheels will work OK. I personally would have altered my original spindle mounts and ran disc brakes but I am a goof ball.

 

Wish I could find a bumper ! - it's a 59 Rambler, also can't find the rear window for the hatch (made a lexan one) or the stainless trim from the door back... hens teeth... I agree with the Rockets being tough to look at, though I guess they're growing on me some... The BDS and Demons are also kind of out of place date-wise, but it sure as hell is fun!
Does anyone make an I-beam axles for chevy spindles ??? I'm thinking of starting another project and I have chevy spindles, brakes steering laying in the shop...

 

Actually Chevy makes an I beam axle for Chevy spindles.

I know that several tube axles are made for Chevy spindles I am not sure if any of the aftermarket beam axles come that way.

 

I'm just gonna leave this here.

 

51-54 chevy truck axle and spindles and brakes work with 51-54 car hubs and drums, or with disc brakes if you prefer. The 55-59 axle is wider. Both have quite a bit of drop.

 

I'd love to have a narrow one - 48" probably stuck with a tube.

 

the truck axles are 50.5" king pin to king pin

 

Wow - Thanks for the info, I would have thought they were wider.

 

I don't know that "Stuck with a tube" is a bad thing. That said a forged axle can be narrowed easy enough, all it takes is a chop saw and a stick welder.

 

I've been thinking about maybe going to a dropped axle on my AWB car, but then I think about how nice it launches, and it would probably mess up the weight transfer.

 

Man, that's neat !!! I think a cut/welded beam axle would make me nervous... Is there someone that does this ?

 

find an old welding shop, with an old guy working there, with a bigass stick welder....

 

Yes, or go in and look for the old guy with a red face (workshop tan), big hands and looks thirsty.
I bet you he can weld a cats behind to light pole, and work rings around young guys, but couldn't run up a hot chick even if he wanted to.

Those guys know there shit!

 

Bitch mittens - nice - I'm definitely going to use that...

 

This has nothing to do with the topic but one more


And this puts it back on the track

 

So I'm eventually going to get some pie crust cheater slicks, after I make the truck stop and go of course, and Coker slicks don't seem right, 8s it the angle they take the pictures from?

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Hey guys I have a whole folder if just gassers and I have this one car I find interesting



What is it? I want to say it's an oldsmobile but I'm not sure.

Thanks for all the info again.

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yeah, it's an Olds.

 

Cool thanks.

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You know I wanted something different to begin with but still a functional Gasser (not a Street Freak nightmare from the 70s). Even though it didn't exactly fit my "something different" definition, I was originally look for an Austin Dorset. They are simply one of my favorite Gasser cars of all time. However during that search, I ran across the next generation of the Dorset, the Somerset. Actually you can't really call it the next generation as the Somerset only came in 4 door sedan trim. Well they did make a two door convertible but no two door sedans. However unlike the 4 door cousin of the Dorset (the Devin) the Somerset had a really large front door. From the second I saw it I knew you could chopped the top, loose the rear doors and have a killer one off gasser. That is exactly what we are just about to have as we put the finishing touches on DRAGNASTY this Spring.





Updated Finished Photo August 2016

 

Well, I don't know where you grew up, But I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and quite a few friends drove Gasser's in town and to school, late 60's and early 70's. We go to school, cruise Whittier Blvd and race at Irwindale on the weekend. Not A/Gas or B/Gas Supercharged cars (well not often any way), But more than a few C/Gas and lower Tri 5s, Henry J's, Falcons, Chevy II's, and odd balls.

I wish people would learn this - and remember it!

Yep, the Gas Classes started out requiring all street legal equipment and full interiors. And MANY were daily drivers that raced on the weekends.

Except for Anglia's in particular, which NHRA gave in on and allowed to race (initially without superchargers) because all the Anglia Gas Cars were stealing the show at Match Races.

Yeah, that "fad" has been going on for 50 years now

What? The 48-53 E494A Anglia has a 90" wheelbase and was initially not legal - But Cortina's are 98", but I can't recall anyone doing one. The 100E was only 87" but being UniBody with McPherson struts, I don't think too many people considered them anyway, same for the 105E (althouh it was 90.6" long).

A poser mobile with a FAKE Hilboen bolted to the hood ~ SMH

MANY of the Anglia Gassers in particular Never had front brakes - including Shores and Hess, My Blairs car to name a couple (and they were national Record Holders, so they were "Legal")

Modern Build that isn't really very accurate - Not knocking the car, just saying that it isn't true to the style or era.

 

Our problem is that we all want to be Ohio George on a Van Camps budget. I think that if we were more apt to adhere to the era that we claim to emulate we would have more fun.

@hotroddon I think that originally Anglias were cubic inch restricted as well weren't they? It seems as I recall that a lot of them were small block cars.

 

When the NHRA agreed to let Anglia's run, initially they were small block only, no supercharger - this was 1963. The AHRA allowed blowers and by 1967 NHRA gave in and dropped the Blower restriction - but still had to be small blocks. For 1969 they dropped the wheelbase requirement for all cars to 90" and allowed the Big Blocks - but by then Mustang's and Opel GT had obsoleted the Willy's and Anglia's because of aerodynamics anyway.

 

Thanks my memory was a little foggy in all that.

 

Sort of a timeline for Anglia Gassers. Shores & Hess, along with the Kohler brothers were pretty well the cutting edge for supercharged Anglias.


"NHRA stood fast on the minimum wheelbase restrictions until 1968, but over at AHRA-sanctioned strips, no such rules existed. This opened the door for local west coast tracks like Lions and Irwindale to schedule AA/GS meets on a regular schedule. These match races packed the stands, paid well and soon many of the former injected small block-powered cars, switched over to superchargers and did remarkably well.
Now, in 1965, two of the most famous Anglia gassers ever built switched from the small block Chevy to the all-new 396/427 engine. The Shores & Hess Anglia, driven by Skip Hess was one of the first racers to obtain the new big block Chevy. With the addition of a 6-71 blower, the car entered the AA/GS ranks but only under the AHRA banner. Quickly thereafter, Ed and Ray Kohler of King Kong Anglia fame made the move to a then-huge 454ci Chevy. With both cars now competing in the AA/GS ranks, the match race madness was in full swing.
From Team Amazo."

http://hotrodcraft.com/index.php?topic=1117.0

 

NHRA initially had a front brake rule. I think that line was removed from the rule book in 1966? Oddly enough, pretty much the same time that the excessive ride heights that all the rod-abillies are so enamoured with started to go by the wayside.
AHRA had always allowed the Anglias, they had a 90" min. wb rule. NHRA wasn't about to let AHRA steal their thunder, so they started letting the Anglias run.