Technical Real Gassers 101...OK what is this?

Not every gasser had an axle, in fact many of them didn't.

 

Any stock car I had was junkyard sponsored... for obvious reasons...

 

I worked at a junkyard, and they didn't sponsor my racing

 

The old NHRA stock classes also resulted in some cars that while "posible" by the factory options,never really came off the assembly lines!Most infamous was the Hydra-matic Chevy sedan deliverys.GM put Hydra-matics in pick-up trucks,and sedan delivers COULD be licensed as trucks in some states-guys reading between the lines decided it was "possible" to have a hydra-matic in the passenger car based sedan delivery.NHRA let it happen even though it took a lot of aftermarket parts[bellhousing,etc] to do it

 

We know what you meant.

 

Could be Fontana wasn't an NHRA sanctioned track. Different rules apply to stock class racing depending on which organization you run in.

 

Why would you need an aftermarket bellhousing, just use the setup from a pickup truck.

 

L Stock was the bottom class until 62 or 63, then NHRA went to N. My 64 rulebook, automatic classes only went through I/S, and I remember it required a minimum of 3 automatics to have a separate class. At least that was the rule at McMinnville, Or.

 

So this car would not have come about until the '70s? Not saying this to be mean I understand your logic totally. I just am not sure that it is definative.

my reference to '64 was along the lines of a rule change that happened in '65 that changed "gassers" from street vehicles to got raced to a full on competition class. Prior to the rule change Gas Class was basically Stock class with a few tweeks, engine set back for example or power adders.

My dad and his cronies wore popadours by the way. I did wear a crew cut myself but that was because grooming was not my thing and a crew cut was easier.

 

It was advertised HP to weight. One side-effect of that was due to the allowable engine mods in stock and super stock, some of the factory hipo motors weren't competitive as the lower HP versions could be tuned to the same power levels as the hi-po without the penalty of the higher rating.

 

There is a feature article on this car and owner, Carl Swift in September 2017 Hot Rod Deluxe

 

This is from a November 1954 magazine, rules were always changing

 

GM only put the Hydro-matic behind the Pontiac and Buick based V-8 they used in pick-ups at that time.Plus the small block pick-up bellhousing had slightly different side motor mounts than the 55-57 passenger car bellhousing Edit-some books show the Hydra-matic behind the 265,so maybe it was just very rare bellhousing?

 

Kinda like the Thunderbolt that came with an automatic-special bellhousing to put the Lincoln trans behind the FE engine

 

Correct.. You could run an automatic in those lower classes but same class and record as a stick...i.e, 303 Olds could be found either way.

 

Gassers without straight axles?.... That will chap some a$$es...

The quest for speed and traction led to many experimentation things over the years, some worked, some didnt...

The move to straight axles I think was a bit to try to reduce front end weight, and we all know some of the early IFS junk couldn't handle being cycled all the way up to down in split seconds, but main issue I think was getting the steering right, IFS has a major heel when it comes to compression and rebound and how the tires toe in and out. I think some folks figured they could pick up some stability and drivability with straight axle and I'm sure they did.

None the less.. still cool by todays standards, and part of the history of racing etc.

 

Well, I hate to ruin the conversation, but I believe Fontana ran AHRA rules back then. So all this NHRA examples don't fit.

We found a huge difference in classes between the two. Our (slow) C/R (C class gas Roadster) would move us up to A in NHRA rules. We also ran for free at Fontana and passed up the WinterNationals at Pomona because they wanted a $25 entry fee.

 

If you were at Fontana or Irwindale in the late 60's that orange ford and its owner Carl Swift were usually around the pay window at the end of the day.

 

No it won't. It's been discussed here many times. Picture after picture has been posted.

 

My F.I.L 's car was sponsored by his children's inheritance.

 

Hah!

 

Drag racing will make you moderately wealthy...if you start out a millionaire. Thanks dad!