GASSER MUST HAVES and cant haves?

Looking at building a HAMB friendly gasser from a 39 Hudson coupe. Seems fairly straight forward, ladder bars, correct wheels, high stance, fenderwell headers. But what havent I considered that will taint it?

 

Don't tub it and don't stick radials on it. PIE CRUST TIRES ALL AROUND

 

Big Bad engine and a 4 speed,,colored Plexiglas windows. HRP

 

Pick up an old rule book and scour the net or old mags for pics/coverage....many,many different 'gassers'. OR, build it the way YOU like it!

 

Real spindle mount spoked wheels, not the 'new style' 5 bolt wheels. Moon tank that is used, not sticking out like a metal goiter afterthought. Find the right balance between real deal back when gasser and street freak.

 

no weld wheels...no firestone pie crust... no ebay big windows...no carb scoops with 3 holes or 2 holes...no crazy sky high stance (there was a 24" max crank height rule) ...no racepac....no monster tach...do your homework on decals and chassis setup...no flowmasters....no tunnel rams...no wheels wider than 4.5 on the front...nothing wider than 11" on rear but only 11's with a 16" rim....no ls motors...no 302 mustang motors...just a few things off the top of my head....seriously...get the don Montgomery book and look at the pics on gasser madness if its up...

 

A tubular push bar instead of a back bumper always looks right to me.

 

I just love the HAMB friendly gassers and would love to build one someday, but I am building the '42 Chevy gasser as me and my buddy wanted to do in the mid 70s out of the early 70s magazines influences we were reading at the time, so not HAMB friendly so I won't do a thread here but, please start a build thread so we can see your progress.

 

To me, that's the definition of a traditional gasser!

 

I have a Falcon i'm turning one into, But i'm totally building it to be a driver and to enjoy it and yes it will have a 302 and yes it will have front brakes but no front moon tank and nothing sticking out the hood. Just build it to enjoy it and if you want to race it just build it to specs, if you want to drive it... make it look right and drive right and not like a lowrider stuck in a stupid position.

 

Your Car, Your Money, build it to make you happy. Who cares what others like. If you want to make it represent a certain era do so, if you want a few newer touches go for it.
My car has been mine now for 47 years while it has lots of early influences the only era it has to be true to is my era.

 

Absolutely NO WAY on the spindle mounts - gassers had to run front brakes until 1969 when funny cars killed the Gasser classes. Gassers did not run spindle mounts - altereds did. This is the problem when you get people 'learning' from the internet/magazines without reading the rule book of the period. Just like guys who think 'period airbags' and 'period laying frame' are traditional....

 

What's your true intensions with the car ??????

Street cruiser ?
Garage Queen ?
Racing it ?
Bull***** story teller ?

It makes a difference on your intended use.

 

First off, you need to pick a date. That alone sets a lot of the rules.

Next off, you have to build a race car that would have attempted to be competitive the year you've picked.

A gasser built in 1959 is completely different than once in 1965.

It's not just a checklist of solid front axles, tinted windows, and mag wheels. It's an intelligent recreation of a period correct racecar.

I'm a huge fan personally of 1962, primarily because that's when the Mopar Max Wedge hit the racetracks. I love me a big block Chrysler!!!

 

make it safe and fun.... id rather have one that's drivable and a little less "correct" then one that's a chore to drive..

 

Safe + gasser don't mix

 

For a 60's era Gasser, things like radiused rear fenderwells, spartan interior (lightweight bucket seats), and no running boards are what I remember. This shot from our local track in '66, shows two examples of that time period.

 

Make it your perception of what it should be and have fun

 

I see a lot of "gassers" so high they can't be driven much over 40MPH safely. STANCE will go a lot farther than all out HEIGHT once it's all said and done. The rest is pretty easy, and just a few 1 and 2 dollar swap meet hot rod mags away.

 

Nobody can answer your question if you don't tell us whether it will be street or strip.
Two huge differences.

 

Lots of good answers here, but unless you are building a clone the first thing to taint it will be trying too hard not to taint it. As you build it, if you are running scared, you will never run fast enough or far enough to finish the project. Just my thoughts on the mindset to build a ride!

 

What a load of*****! I've got over 10,000 street miles, and numerous trips down the strip on my Austin, and it's not only safe, but handles the windy scenic roads easily.

Build your car the way you want. Don't get so hung up on making it era correct that you go nuts. Don't worry about what others would do on their car, or think you should do.
Building a gasser should be fun, just like building any car. They're also fun to drive if you got everything set up right. I enjoy both of mine, and have a lot of fun with them.

 

--------------
'Pie crusts' all around??! Huh??
More like 'pie-crust' slicks on the
back and "normal sidewall" 155
or 165 X 15 bias-ply - (or Michelin,
Continental or Pirelli radials, if you
can find 'em) skinnies on the front
By the way some of the VW custom
and resto outfits on the net offer
authentic '50's and '60's-style
Continental and Pirelli radals in 145
and 155 X15 sizes.

Mart3406
==============

 

------------------
Not suggesting that you necessarily
want to do this is this, particularly
if you're going to drive the car on
the street at all.....but one reason
that, 'back in day" a lot of gassers
ran those homemade tubular
"push bars" in place of a stock rear
bumpers, was that prior welding
the ends on the tube, they could -
and usually did - fill the tube with
concrete or lead shot ballast, in
order to make their required class
weight. And since this ballast was
all behind the rear axle, at the very
extreme rear of the car, it was a
great traction aid -which in fact, was
the real and main reason for using
"push bars".

Mart3406
==============

 

Research what era you want then build to what u can do. If it is not period perfect so what as long as u enjoy it.

 

You should find a book called "Gasser Wars: Drag Racing's Street Classes: 1955-1968" by Larry Davis.

It's a good book, lots of period pictures, and explains the whole evolution of gassers.


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

""Build your car the way you want. Don't get so hung up on making it era correct that you go nuts. Don't worry about what others would do on their car, or think you should do.
Building a gasser should be fun, just like building any car. They're also fun to drive if you got everything set up right. I enjoy both of mine, and have a lot of fun with them.""

What the OP is asking is how to build his car for the drull factor, wants to get on the band wagon first shot and/or has no clue; I say the latter..As in above quote there is no sense in building something that is miserable to drive or not pleasing to the builders own eyes..A local built a Stone, Woods and Cook clone, Willys body and the right decals and not much else, not even a strait axle..AND got a cease and desist for using a copyrighted name..He changed it to something stupid which makes it a joke, twice over......

 

wow I didn't know I had a category (bull***** story teller ) works for me !!!!

 

NO WIDE-WHITEWALL SLICKS!!!!

To me, those are the dumbest looking things ever conceived. I see guys try to build their own interpretation of a "period" Gasser and install those stupid tires. Wide whites belong on a tradiional rod or a custom, NOT on any drag car.

Our family ran a '55 Chevy D/Gas car back in the '60s, and I don't remember ever seeing any competitive car running whitewall slicks.

I also laugh when I see the "new" Gassers that are jacked up 3ft in the air in the front and back. There were specific rules about height for the Gas class. Guys would put their cars to the height limit in the front, but never in the rear. Even back then, the racers knew about weight transfer, and a car jacked up all the way around is a non-hookin', spooky-handling race car.

The majority of the cars I see being built today are not Gassers, but more like a Street Freak. The Street Freak style came around in the late '60s and was more for shock value than strip prowess.

 

ABSOLUTELY!!! That makes a Gasser look like a wannabe - so wrong!