GASSER MUST HAVES and cant haves?

I think around the mid 60's NHRA stopped letting guys add ballast to make a certain class weight per cubic inches, and that's when those big old batteries became really popular!
Not long before that NHRA started loosening up the rules for stock equipment, and a generator was no longer required to meet the rules. SO the big battery accomplished dual purpose in eliminating the generator up front, and adding more weight out back.
Seems like I remember at some time NHRA also stopped guys from running two batteries, as they said it fell into the "adding ballast" rule, so that also made those big batteries a must have item!

 

One battery up to 150lbs, and you could have removable ballast up to 150lbs too. Don long said if you welded the weight into the chassis it was no longer removable and didn't count towards the ballast.lol

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

Thanks! But from what I read in '65 any removable ballast was halted?

 

The articles I'm getting the information from are the January 66, April 66, September 66 Hot Rod Magazine it was called the ultimate A/GS. Maybe this was A/GS only I don't know. It sayd 50lb bumper two batteries up to 150lbs total and Don Long added a 300lb crossmember at the back of the car.


MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

Here's the car. I think its kind of ugly. It has pinched rear frame horns and a narrowed rear differential. It also has an altered wheelbase as you can see from the pic and was still class legal. The reason being that the 33-36 willys had varying wheelbas dimensions. I don't know if this is true or not.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

In 71 you could run 100 lbs. of ballast and battery/batteries couldn't weigh over 150 lbs. In black and white in the rule book. But like was stated before, it doesn't say how thick you trunk floor could be or how many and what kind of crossmembers. Lots of room for creative thinking.

 

Thanks for the info! Was that picture from the article? If so, then they transported it into the future to get a picture with a '67 Camaro, and a '68 El Camino in the background!
Something tells me he was match racing, and the AA/GS marking was on there before he stretched the wheelbase. Sure looks newer with those wheelie bars, and the chute out back, plus the long wheelbase. A lot of ex Gas class cars switched to match racing when it started paying show up money.

 

Nope. Thats the only picture I ever seen where the car is complete. I found it on a willys picture thread. Since the last part of the three part article was in September of 66 then 67 makes sense.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

To me the wheelbase looks stock but the body looks slid back a couple inches. The article said it was going to just make the minimum weight at 1650lbs ready to run. It had a completely gutted body. When I get some time ill post more construction pictures.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

it was uber trick for the time....drilled everything....and lots of chrome

 

Might make sense, except for a '68 El Camino, and a '68 Charger.

 

I'm pretty sure the Ultimate Willys was supposed to be a giant killer. HRM covered the build. Don Long built the car and Keith Black built a SBC engine for it (I think). The car never ran up to expectations and QUICKLY disappeared from view.

 

When I started in 64' b/gas was 9 lbs per inch, 700 lbs in and nobody said a thing about it, then I think in 65' they lowered it to 7 lbs and the 700came out

Just put in a smaller battery and a 20 gal water tank to keep it cooled down racing in class one run after another, hit the switch for a bait tank pump to move the water around and it worked very good

Raced one time at the WinterNats and with 7 NHRA inspectors tearing my car apart [ they said 14 things were wrong and I built it by the book ] that I had to fix over nite

Last NHRA deal for me ran at the 3 local strips and had fun , no more jerks using their power to give me a hard time as that is not fun

G Don

 

Yeah, that was a hood for the dealerships to show off the new OHV engine in '49. Believe it or not, a few still seem to exist.

 

Absolutely should not have mudflaps, curbfeelers, tv antenna, steer horns, cowcatcher...

 

Did anyone ever build a gasser from either a late-'50s Opel Rekord or a same era Vauxhall Victor? I know there were some English Fords and Hillmans done back then.

 

alot of ballast was allowed max weight spare with a heavy duty wheel wrench, gas tank shield, ballast box to nhra spec plus the above mentioned battery and bumper.
a lot of foreign cars in the lower gas classes VW, Fiats, I also remember a non de-scripted Skoda with a 301"sbc 4 speed running C or D/gas

 

I'm saying when it first started to be campaigned. I can see the newer cars.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

That's it Muttley !!!!!!. I frig'n tried finding a pic to post but came up empty handed. Thanks

 

here ya go, sorry it took so long, i had the book "stashed in a safe place" and couldn't find the damn thing

 

thanks
It was worth the wait! Plenty of good stuff in this thread.

Think I need a metal flake steering wheel!

 

Do any of you guys know where to find the Old truck type battery that a lot of gasser's used for ballast? The original style is what I am after. What i am REALLY after is finding someone that still makes them so I can get just the case and top (no guts)
H E L P !!!!!!!!

 

Hi Hot

As I recall my large battery was out of a buss, and it had molded in rope and wood handles at each end

A lot better to have something to grab on to, those things are a real finger pincher

Did you try Battery Mfg's in so cal on google, or call your local school buss yard and talk to the head wrench and see where they get their batts

Good luck, Don

 

Hey DND, you raced San Fernando the same years as my dad and his buddies. Cobalt blue '56 Chevy Panneton & Jones in C/G, later Panneton Jones & Christensen in B/G. Do you remember them/the car. Maybe you raced them? After they sold the '56 to Bill Bonelli (owned Saugus Speedway then), they build a cobalt blue/silver roof '68 Camaro called the "Fat Rat". My uncle, Roger Panneton also raced a white 55 called "The E-rat-icator in B/G. First with a 409, and later with a Tunnel rammed 427.

 

Stock gas tank or fuel cell will also be a decision I will need to make.......

 

I'd put a stock tank in, the caps on fuel cells are really hard to get off most of the time.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19&20 2014

 

This is an old battery that I gutted, it is big enough to hide a car battery inside.