Gasser Era Questions

The big problem as far as I'm concerned is the history of the real cars.

There are waaaay to many guys born in the mid 60's and later building these so-called NEWstalgia g***ers, calling them "Real" g***ers and preaching to the up & coming people, that want to learn the way it really was, many incorrect, mis-informed and mis-leading ways.

To those I say, STOP TRYING TO CHANGE AND/OR RE-WRITE HISTORY!

It is what it is and was what it WAS!

 

x2^^^^

 

So probably go with about an 8" rim?
I have already decided to go with a pie crust for the look.

 

Your talking about American 5 spoke spindle mount wheels which were popular on the blower cars (and mostly funny cars) in the late 60's. The F Troop '33 Willys was a match race only car as it was not nhra legal because it was basically a funny car.

 

An eight inch rim would be correct. Even the blown cars were running 8" wheels with 12" slicks with low air pressure into the 70's. The narrow wheel, wide tire and low air pressure didn't work out too well for some due to ill handling at the top end of the track. Some cars were destroyed.

 

I think the problem with building a period type g***er is WHAT PERIOD!!!! The cl*** was a work in progress it's entire life. Every season a new TRICK OF THE WEEK WHEEL OR TIRE OR SUSPENSION combination would set a record and everybody else would follow. Also the lower cl*** cars would use hand me down tech from the previous seasons confusing what is period correct for that year. I can only speak from my experience of owning and racing hand me g***ers in the early 70's when they outlived their usefulness for the g***er cl***es. IE. Mike Mitchell's Revolution Corvette, Keith Bushes Bushwacker Dodge Dart, Shawn Steels Real Steel 55 Chevy, Souza Bros. and Dad Mustang which was converted into a g***er before it got cut up. I'm just saying the best way I think is to look at the magazines of the era you want to emulate and use that as your guide. If your trying to do it by memory remember the old saying " THE OLDER I GET THE BETTER I WAS "

 

I believe that what creates a lot of the turmoil is that every time we start discussing “g***ers” the only car’s that are referenced are the very top cl*** and top performers in those cl***es.

The truth is almost without exception these were all special purpose build cars that were never intended for street use.

However, for each of those there were thousands of “g***ers” that were street drive routinely and were much slower than the aforementioned top flight cars.

Now along comes someone saying they want to “build” a “g***er”. Instantly, almost everyone starts comparing the build plans for the new guys build with top flight race cars from years gone by. If the new guys had the resources to recreate the famous cars used as examples down to the last nut and bolt, they would not be any more suited for the intended purpose, which is in most cases cruises and generally hanging out, bar hopping etc., than the originals would have been.

To illustrate my point, I have a close friend who built from the frame up a A/FX 64 Comet period correct down to a real deal 427 SOHC motor. It was on display at the Holley Hot Rod reunion in memory lane, it's been on the turn table at Summit Racing, etc. It’s a near 100K car. It’s also near useless.

I believe it would be much more practical to more closely emulate one of the thousands of dual purpose “g***ers” that ran in the D,E or F cl***ed for something intended to be enjoyed on the street.

Some of us remember when a kid in a 14 second car running E/G was pretty dame cool! And we didn’t know Ohio George from Adam’s house cat.

Now if you want to pretend you’re Ohio George, that’s a different matter! Then you build yourself one of these new “Nostalgia G***ers”.

 

If you can come in at 2350# you be doing good..Engine, trans, D shaft, rear axle, rear wheels/tires will weigh more than what they are replacing..Add roll bar, traction bars, ect..

 

And i believe that the only basis for some folks memory is what they have read in magazines. Maybe that why some folks seem to only recall the "famous" top flight cutting edge cars and drivers?

 

real blown and injected era correct g***er owned by a friend , built and raced 1962 ---steel on the front kidney beans on the back but we wanted nicer--- my own car starting in 65 steel then 5 spokes ,should have bought better heads---only allowed to run primer for two weeks---not that anyone would want to---cars as nice as moon rocket were respected for the work and bucks that went in them---some of my favorite tri five g***ers had big blocks but that was 65 and after---no danger of doing anything that was not era correct at that time cause we were stuck in that era---i know a poser when i see one and so do you---if we can't hold the line on the wheels why not draglites ---i know i like them---FG i have two captioned pics of" Action Joe" i will pm when i find one(powerglide racer)...

 

Rustang,
It actually isn't a fake spindle mount, it is a modern wheel made to resemble a spindle mount. Not a lot different than say a halibrand look alike or even a 5 spoke American look alike.

If we could get past the fake part and call it for what it is it may be easier to swallow.

One of the problems is that if someone asks a question and someone else throws information out there that is contrary to what some of the fellas want to believe it becomes a drama fest. If you don't like the information just file it with your other things that you don't like and go on with life. If you look at it like information and not an affront to what it is that you drive life will be a lot easier for everyone.

 

"If we could get past the fake part and call it for what it is it may be easier to swallow."

******, you are the man!



What gets my goat though is having my hold car judged by what is bolted to the front hubs.


In my opinion what wheels and tires a car is running has little to nothing to do with the true build of a car.


I do realize some folks put a set of wheels and tires in the floor and build a car around them!

 

Jesus this **** gets out of control.
In my mind it seems like there are 3 different types of "G***ers" these day. 1.) original cars that ran back when there was a G***er cl*** at the NHRA level, they might be restored and they might be survivor original, or some combination. 2.) Tribute or Modern build cars. These are cars that are build today and adhere to the way they were built back then using historical data and rule books to build a car that "could have been". 3.) Sorta G***er street cars that are more often than not closer to street freaks, or MAYBE kind of are like what a G***er was, but not really correct. (well, there is 4th as well, the Modern "G***ers" that are allowed to run in the Heritage and other series that are really just Pro Mod cars, or damn close to it ~ that has diluted the G***er mystique quite a bit)
The first two I have no issue with - they are the real deal when you talk about G***er's. The third type I don't really have an issue with EXCEPT calling them G***er's - they aren't. And no matter how badly someone wants to join the club, they aren't G***er's. PERIOD. END OF STORY. The G***er Era ran from about 1956 when the first set of rules were drafted until the mid 70's, seems to me that 74 might have been the last year for a Gas Cl*** at NHRA ~ other organizations went longer. So the bottom line is, if it wasn't available in that time frame, it doesn't belong on a G***er ~ especially stuff that really shows, like the Wrong wheels.
And NO every car does not have to be a blown and injected straight axle car, in fact most were not, these are just the ones that got the most attention and we dug the most.
Personally I can tolerate something like a 5 speed if it's a street driven car as you can't really see that (and besides there were some guys in the early 70's running the Doug Nash 5 speed), but Edelbrock carbs, electronic fuel injection, LS or Modern motors, billet or non period wheels, plastic gas tanks, this kind of stuff just doesn't belong. It's no different than building a Period Correct Traditional Hot Rod! Why is that so hard to understand

 

"The third type I don't really have an issue with EXCEPT calling them G***er's - they aren't. And no matter how badly someone wants to join the club, they aren't G***er's. PERIOD. END OF STORY."

No, it's not the end of the story. This third type car, when it was run at the track, and a hell of a lot of them were, including mine, what cl*** were they run in?

Or say for example, a purpose build race car that was routinely ran in the g*** cl***is back in the 60/70 and later returned to the street. But it still retains the same c***is set up however the full bore engine has been replaced with a nice street friendly engine. What would you refer to it as, a former g***er?

Just asking! Actually a "former g***er" seem pretty apropreate now I'm thinking about it.

OK folks, the Rocket is a former g***er! I like it!

 

I ran gas in the early 60s. I can't see how it would be possible to run a real gas racecar on the street.
Most of the "street g***ers" that I see aren't even close to race cars.
Building a period correct car would be painfully difficult now as most of the components are no longer available, or at least, awful hard to find.

 

In the early 60's I ran a very competative 56 chevy in D/MP. It had seats out of a crashed Ford T-bird and steel wheels. Ran Casler slicks, 5:14 rear gear, close ratio BW ****** and a 268 CI mouse. Seems like the car weighed about 3600. SW gauges and a Sun "football" tach. Had "paint on" window tint and bullet hole decals. Sig Earson cam and three Pontiac carbs. Mallory uni-lite dizzy. 13.80 or so @ 102 or so. Won the AHRA Winternats @ Beeline in 1964, eventhough it was an NHRA car. I'll look for a pic...

 

Ok, I'm not trying to stir things up here, but in reference to the street(g***ers) cars with axles, lift blocks etc, where/what was was the cut off for running modified production. Just because it had an axle did it have to run gas cl***, or was there a seperate street car cl***? seemed there was a cl*** for everything back then.

 

Dont know why I'm even doing this but wth, in for a penny, in for a pound. AHRA permitted solid axles in MP cars, NHRA did not, unless the car was originally equipped with one. AHRA Hot Rod cl***es also permitted solid axles, as did NASCAR Ultra Stock. NASCAR Ultra Stock was actually kind of the last bastion of the nose high deal. Chick Deninno, Dave Lyall and a bunch of other guys were running thier cars nose high right up to the late sixties in Ultra Stock. The cars in Ultra Stock were "musclecar" body styles, chargers, fairlanes, even a '67 Falcon or two, and alot were dealer backed with a backdoor factory connection. They WEREN'T g***ers...

 

Porkn******...no drama... and I was not the one to term it a fake spindlemount, so it is what it is... Thanks for the education on what to call them......

I'm essentially staying out of this little ***** wad fest as it always ends the same....I've said it before, my truck is a g***er style.

Being as How I built it from an original frame, used the rules for 65-'66 that used to be on Byrons, with a early 327, 461 heads, a solid lifter cam forged pistons (engine is actually an old street/strip build)...went ahead and boxed the frame kept a full interior....ya, I made a concession with a speedway axel as the old one was bent severly,... added disk brakes, a 10 bolt, and radials because it will be driven and safe......if the truck is judged on the wheels, I could care less about that, you can buy me any set of wheels you want...

As for making it easy for everyone, not sure why you singled me out on this statement as I've only had the one post on this thread, not even really concerned with it.....

PM me if you have some kind of issue, as this thread like the g***er police is tiresome..
Tom

 

So that some of the ARGUMENT is cleared up here. Here are my plans for the car.
It will be street driven & raced as well. So that is the reason for the 5 speed. I have an old M/T shifter handle here that I've already adapted to the shifter so that you can't tell it's a 5 speed. I have a 37 Chevy straight axle that I'm using & will put disc brakes on for better stopping & SAFETY on the street. The motor will be a Ford 289 with a tunnel ram & 2 fours. The rear end will be a Ford 9'' with an era correct rear suspension.Right now were looking at a 2 bar setup like came stock on corvettes. I will use the stock front frame rails. not 2x3 tubing like some people do because that is what my dad's old g***er did. I'm still debating about a roll bar on the inside. As far as wheels go I will use slots on the rear with either g***ers or torque thrust on the front. The front end will be a one piece steel flip front end. The radiator will be non aluminum. I'm looking at possibly Mustang front buckets in diamond pleat pattern.

I'm wanting to build something that is streetable (which some g***ers were in the 60's) & look era correct.
What I'm asking for is advise & help here!

There is a local G***er cl*** here that some of the guys have tubbed & lowered cars.
EVEN I KNOW THAT THERE NOT G***ERS!

I don't plan on using any ladder bars or any new type of speed equipment unless I have to for safety because the track sanctioning body says I have to.
We will make whatever we can't find. Which I believe is how a lot of the early cars were built!

 

This is my LEGAL genuine D/G 42 Stude in 1968. If I recall,it had to be street legal (even has plates!) with the exception of slicks and muffs. I am no authority and I know the rules changed...Kenny( the original builder R.I.P.) cut the centers out of Ford rims (to fit the 39 Ford truck axle) and used the stock Stude front rims to have those narrow rims! whoops see next post for pics...

 

Note the Z/28 emblem on grill!

 

You can't go wrong wiyh torque thrusts on the front and slots on the back. The e-t ten spoke wheels don't even come close to looking like the 12 spoke spindle mounts. The old spindle mount wheels had a wider oval shaped spoke that was way better looking. Radir has a 18" repop that would look killer on an altered. I also can't understand why anyone would waste their time on a thread they thought was tiresome. His truck sounds like it would be pretty cool. The avatar picture is too small to even tell what kind of wheels he's running, so I wonder why he's getting so bent about what seems to be a good discussion.

 

If your car was run way back when as a Gas Cl*** racer then that's exactly what it was - a former G***er. But if it has been changed to lose the true spirit of the Gas Cl*** cars, then it is a old G***er that is now something else. - street freak, cool old car, whatever. Do you know what your car was raced as, or was it just "Drag raced in the 60's/70's" and you don't really have any history? There are tons of cars that raced at a drag strip, but that doesn't make them anything other than a car that drag raced. get what I'm saying?

If it was run in brackets, or grudge match, or non sanctioned tracks, then it is an old Chevy drag racer.

 

Oh ****! Dave I completely forgot that this is YOUR thread about YOUR car!

F.Y.I.: You shouldn't have mentioned a roll bar. There are roll bar police on here too and they'll tell you that you'll kill yourself "if" you get into an accident "if" you have a roll bar.

 

If it was run non sanctioned tracks, then it is an old Chevy drag racer.---and that of course is an opinion---most of the big time g***er match races were on "non-sanctioned tracks"---LIONs was not nhra in it's glory days and mokan never was

 

Cant we all just get along??
just think another ten more years people will be building Ford ****** g***ers, with chrome snap on mag-wheel hub-caps, if they haven't already!
build what you want, have fun....

 

Actually it's 3!

Not that I'm counting.

 

/\ /\ /\ Ha.... ya got me there....

Rather than posting at all, I should be out sanding...been a long winter of sanding....i may of mentioned, I hate sanding...probably why I got so "bent" like that one guy said....hahaha

 

I would like to see the cars myself, I mean this to the guys that are doing the most *****ing. Walk out to your garage, driveway, dirt pile or where ever you are hiding your correct g***er and show an example of what you are preaching about.
By showing what you got then we can all see why everyone else is wrong. The freaking guy is asking how wide the rear rims would be, where's the examples sitting on your cars ? Holy Hell where's your interior picts for him to look at ?
The car isn't going to have 1965 gas,oil or air in the tires, so even if you happen to have a true g***er from the day it will only count if it was shut off in 1965 and never touched again. You got a guy that has a stressful job and wants to come here and relax, take his mind off things. Hell he can't even do that without getting more stress from some of you keyboard jockeys....****ing incredible, pat yourselves on the back.