I'm not putting you or your car down, but why is it that so many people seem to thinks that putting a straight axle under anything that originally came from the factory with I.F.S suddenly and automatically makes it into a "gasser"???. 'Back in the day, - circa mid & late 19'60's, very few, if any GTO's - or any other full and mid-size, 60's-era passenger cars either, for that matter - ever ran in the actual 'gas' classes. In the case of a straight-axled '64 GTO, a more realistic representation and term for your car would probably be a 60's "Modified Production", "Factory Experimental" or maybe '"Outlaw (- ie - 'match race, run what ya' brung') Super Stocker". Mart3406 ===========================================
mart3406; the rules in the ;60's said ,,that "Modufied Production" had to run factory STOCK front & rear suspension,,along with a bunch of other rules ,,the A'FX classes "Factory Experimental" also had to run factory Stock suspension ,,when the A/FX Altered Wheel Base cars were built ,,they were in a "Altered" class Outlaw ?? NHRA didn't have a "Outlaw" class ,, Only in the Gasser & Altered Classes could you run a straight axle ,,'glass front end ,,cut rear wheel wells ,,engine set back ( 10% of the wheel base ) ,engine height from the ground ,,etc ,,etc,,, the straight axle gassers of the '60's ,,,I ran a D/Gasser and later a C/Gasser ,,were all kinds of cars 'Vettes,,tri-5 Chevys n Fords ,,BRAND NEW '65 & '66 Dodge/Plymouth Hemi Cars,,Anglias ,,Willys ,,Studebakers,,Henry J's ,, You name it ,,there was one in the Gasser Classes ,,how 'bout a brand new '67 Biscaine w' a L-88 427 and a straight axle ,, the key here is the weight savings ,,several hundred pounds lighter than the stock suspension ,,WE didn't do the straight axle nor the 'glass front to look kool ,,we did it to save weight ,,so we could go faster ,,,
Naw I don't like gassers. '64s are a little hard to come by. Like to see it or what is left of it. Conman actually in '64 the NHRA rules state OEM type of suspension. No lift either body or suspension to gain traction. At least that's the rules I have. It makes you wonder how Big John and possibly you got away with the whole straight axle thing. I guess a straight axle was a sort of an oem style suspension even though it wasn't offered on a car. And yes there was no NHRA outlaw class thus the name outlaw.
My NHRA rule book from '67 don't list an "Outlaw" class ,,my AHRA rule book from the late '60's does show an "Outlaw" class,, Also ,,my NHRA rule book says ,,in the Gas Classes ,,Any Style front suspension ,,BUT ,,the front & rear tires has to be in the OEM location ,,no altered wheel base ,, I ran a '55 Chevy in D'Gas in '66 with aHilborn Injected 301 SB , ,,i had a Econoline straight axle ,,'glass tilt nose ,,and radiused rear wheel wells ,,engine was set back 10% ,and it was a legal NHRA D/Gasser ,,in '68 ,i ran a C/Gas '54 Ford F-100 Pick Up with a 396 BB ,home made 'glass tilt front ,modified straight axle with mono leaf springs and coil over shocks ,IT was a Legal NHRA C/Gasser ,,,i raced at a NHRA track every Sunday from '65 to '69 ,,'65 & '66 i ran a '64 GTO in C/Stock ,, I was also on the Tech Crew at Polar Dragway ,,i inspected the cars to make sure they were legal for the class they were running in, ,and had all the required safety equipment ,,
You can go on the "Gasser Madness.Com" web site ,,on the left of their home page is a link for the NHRA Gasser Rules from '66 or '67 ,,and the revised '69 rules ,,makes for interesting reading ,, PLUS ,,go to MOKAN.Com web site ,,click on the rules page ,,there's all the current gasser rules ,,HOWEVER ,,when the HAMB drags are there ,HAMB has there own rules ,,don't go by MOKANS ,,
The HAMB drags started out pertty much anything goes. Just a fun weekend for the fellas. Then it grew. I'll post the jpegs of the '64 rules I have here. Takes some sorting through. Gonna be pretty small to see so you might have to click on the image after it loads or down load the image and load it into your picture viewer and make it bigger. I have been patterning a build we have going on after these rules just becaus I have these rules and we kind of loosley base what is trad pretty much stopping @ '64. That is not to say that anyone cannot build one anyway they want. its a big world and probably a little bit of room for everyone. Anyway as you already know I'm not trying to start an argument with you. This is just the info that I have. I don't recall who sent me these rules. after you open the picture click on it again. it will open in a new window that you can click on the pic and make it big enough to read.
porknbeaner ;;; my eyesite ain't good enough to read all that ,,even with my reading glasses ,,lol,,lol,,i'll try n find a magnifying glass i got around here sumwhere ,,hell to get old eh ???
------------------------ [".........And yes there was no NHRA outlaw class thus the name outlaw" ] - Exactly. When I used the term "Outlaw Super Stock", I didn't mean to imply that there was ever an NHRA or AHRA class with that name. What I was referring to, was back in the 1960s, there were still a lot of unsanctioned - ie - "outlaw" tracks that ran on their own rules - often made up on the spot - that ran 'match races' between local racers and various touring pro and semi-pro racers. Often these touring 'match race' race cars were built strictly for "run what ya' brung-style" outlaw match racing and were modified in ways - ie - using straight axles, altered wheelbases, set back engines, injection, etc and even blowers and sometimes even alky or nitro for fuel even(!) -. that they didn't fit into any established NHRA or AHRA class. But because the cars mostly used late-model bodies and still resembled production cars, the various track promoters often advertised them as "Match Race Super Stockers" or "Outlaw Super Stockers,.to differentiate them from the much more staid NHRA/AHRA class legal cars. Mart3406 ======================================
mart3406 ;; I got it now ,,wasn't thinking about the "Outlaw" tracks ,,,there still is some still operating today ,,such as Georges WildCat Drag Strip in the north east corner of Arkansas ,,George built this track 50 years ago on his farm ,he makes his own rules and enforces em with a Colt .45 on his hip ,,,ole` George passed away earlier this year ,,his kids ,grand kids and great grand kids will keep the tracl operationg ,,all those kids have werked there their whole lives ,, one thing about this track tho ,,the finish line is marked by a 55 gal drum ,full of concrete ,in the middle of the track ,,,but ,one kool thing ,,beer is permited in the pits ,,and you can sit as close to the track you might dare ,,,love this place ,,
GUYS;; In my post above about the George's Wildcat Drag Strip ,,does that Camaro look familier ?? Anybody recognize it ?? its the Bardahl Camaro before all the lettering was done ,,a test n tune day ,,their new race car after the Bardahl 'Vette was retired ,,the Bardahl 'Vette was in the Two Lane Blacktop movie
Just wanted to let you and others reading this '64 GTO gasser thread know that the hardtop cars were indeed heavier than the post coupes, but not by as much as many of you may think. Were they a few hundred pounds heavier? Nope. How about fifty pounds? Nope. The hardtops were a scant 5 pounds heavier than the post coupes. That's it. Surprised me too, I figured perhaps 15 to 25 pounds. Since I currently own one of each body style and right now have both of them stripped down to the bare floorpans it's easy to see they're both structurally similar, actually just about 100% identical in that respect. There's absolutely no way the hardtop body has a few hundred extra pounds of metal added. Both bodies sit on the same exact unboxed frame, the heavier boxed frames only came under convertible cars or by special order (Frame - Heavy Duty - RPO 661), I'm sure the added rigidity of the post body is the reason most racers wanted them, the 5 pound weight savings isn't a factor.
Well,,my buddys black '64 GTO hardtop musta had the heavy duty frame ,,( Convertable frame ???) 'cause when we weighed our cars at the grain bin scales ,,Polar Dragway didn't have scales then,,his car was a lot heavier than my 'Post" '64 GTO ,,,i just assumed all hardtops were that way ,, goes to show ya ,,never assume anything ,,Right ?? taught us that in Real Estate School but 30 years later ,,
Ha,,Ha ,,,Yep ,,'cept back in '66 ,i only weighed 135-40 pounds ,,my buddy in the black GTO weighed at least 190-200 ,,his folks owned the "Chicken DeLite Resturant",,he was a cook there ,,so,,i guess wthat's why i ran a 13;20 to his 13;40 in the Stock Eliminator finals & took the trophy home ,, shoot ,i had 60 pounds on his race car ,,lol,,lol
Okay, for those of you that want to get technical, let's call it a wannabe Gasser/ wannabe 64 GTO straight axle car. How bout that? Ax, Thanks for the nice words and pics of the 66. For those of you that don't know Axle, he and his Brother Marky aka (pURPLE pEOPLE eATER) are two of the nicest and most knowledgeable guys when it comes to cars and nostalgia that you will ever meet.
Connman, Alaska Bill Creech, my buddy up there with the fast red 64 GTO. Thanks Rotten, that's what I'm planning,,,,, CRAZZZZZZZY Jurrasic, that is one bad a$$ Goat.
When I was in Petaluma in my high school days I fell in love with a 64 GTO, gasser style that ran around there. Candy Apple red with black vinyl top, was SWEET!
Billy Creech helped me with my C.Gasser and my MotorCycle shop back in the '60's when i lived in alaska ,,we still are in contact ,,he;s a kool kid ,, bill conn
Who really gives a shit about all the rules,hes turning the car into a nice gasser that will be just what he wants,no matter what ,in the late 60s 64-65-66-67- GOATS were the cars everybody tried to outrun and most failed.
Here's a pic of my 65 GTO straight axle project. Just put a new S&W 10 point cage in it. Not shown in this older picture.
I finished the headers and painted them flat white. Tight friggin fit for the steering shaft but it works. I also did some grinding on the blower intake and got that mounted. Just had a yard sale this weekend so I have a few more bucks to get the rest of the needed pieces to connect the steering.
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