In my opinion - the gasser treatment is just about the best possible scenario I can imagine for an old Corvette. These cars were made to be turned into gassers. I love it!
I got my tires; Firestone bias 560 15 from Coker. A good deal at The NSRA Nats in Louisville, hopefully I'll mount them later today.
Here at are the 560 15 Firestones on my 62. Picture taken on Sunday at Quaker Steak & Lube on Colrain Ave, Cinci. My 62m my buddies blown 61 and a nice 59 270 HP Corvette Great drive and weather.
Your 62 looks great. Look forward to seeing pictures of your 57. I have been going back and forth on whether or not to run bias ply tires on my 57 Corvette. Looking at these pics, looks like I'll be choosing "form over function". Like Jim, I'd like to hear more about your stack injection. As of now, I am leaning towards the Hilborn EFI/Fast system.
Concerning bias versus radials on the 62 Corvette. I must admit that when I put on the bias Firestones the car drove like crap, wanders all over the road. But no telling how they will be on the 57 Gasser with the straight axle, but they will be on the car, "form over function" will probably rule. As far as the Hilborn goes; I converted my unit with the expertise of Fox Engineering because I did not want fuel rails or the TPS hanging on the front of the throttle shaft. And from the comments I get it looks very much like a mechanical Hilborn, because of the way we made the modifications. I also use a Megasquirt ECU which will do any function you want (control fuel, timing, nitrous, rev limiter and many other functions) and their self tune program works very well. And the cost is very reasonable. I spoke to Hilborn at the NSRA Nationals a few weeks ago and they had a number of reasons they retained the fuel rails, etc. But I still feel their units scream "electronic" when you look at them.
I can't tell you how many of those units I picked up for pennies on a dollar... I just wasn't able to maintain a constant performance out of them for the street and sold them basically for what I had in them which was about $500 including the pumps, belts and jets!
I need more advice concerning the Corvette Gasser. Which type hood setup to use? I have 2 hoods both have openings cut for the Hilborn injection. One has a very nice custom hood pin setup, the other has the stock hinges. Which one should I use? What type is correct for the late sixties? I like the hinged hood because it is convenient but the one with the pins looks more like it belongs on the Gasser. All opinions are welcome. Thanks.
Form over function for me. Stock hinges. You could still run hood pins on the back end if you like the look. I have had cars in the past with hood-pinned removable hoods. Always a problem where to put the hood. On these Corvettes the roofs are not big enough to set it on( and they just blow off on a windy day) or blow over while leaning against the car. Always a nuisance no matter where you put them
FWIW, seems a lot of mid 60's drag cars ran Pirelli's(?) on the front. Either radial or sure looked like it
It may be one of those things you have to decide so it feels right with you. I have a 61 with 4 hood pins on the hood and 4 hood pins on the trunk (both are pretty much skins). I have a hood I bought from Vetrod (Jim) that is identical to the hood on the car but it is a normal type of hood (not just a skin) and I have thought when I redo the car I may use hood hinges on the hood and then pins on the end closest the windshield. You will see some pics below of performance Vettes with hinges, although some used four pins of course. I thought I may use the pins and then build a portable rack that I can assemble so if I want to remove the hood and/or trunk I can have a place to hold them. I also realize your 2 hoods may be either 4 pins or no pins so then you may have to flip a coin or use a ouija board. Seaport ran gas as well as altered and he had hinges. The black Vette (Midwest BM/SP) ran B/G two years later (69). Truppi is more of a MP car but I still like the look. Vicious Vette of course did not run gas but you get the point that some quick running Vettes also ran hinges so it is not out of the realm of possibilities.-Jim
Baron, Jim Dillon and the other responders, Thanks for the input. I'm going to go with the hinged hood with pins at the back. I have looked at lots period pictures and the mix of hinges and liftoff hoods seems equal. I might as well make it easy on myself with the hinges. The car is ready for blocking except for the hood which I'll start on tomorrow.
Baron love the pic of Wes Auto Body 57 with Barb Hamilton's Willys in the background and the Chevy on the hauler. I have always been into haulers and truck/trailer combinations. At the end of the day I loved to watch the guys load them up on the haulers. Probably one of my favorites was Landy, cigar and all. To get them up there with the angle and all it took a heavy foot at times and fun to watch them run em up-Jim
Hey Jim. Some of the haulers were as cool as the cars. Check out the latest Hot Rod Magazine. There are a bunch of pictures of race car haulers and someone bought Dick Landy's old ramp truck, and Hot Rod is going to help with the restoration. And by the way, Steve Carpenter's 57 Ford Galpin Gasser III is on the cover ( and a very nice 7 page spread) in this issue.
Baron, just received my issue today. Some months are Ok and some are better. This issue is better. The 57 Ford looks pretty good for sure. As to the haulers, I seem to remember Landy's pre-68 hauler to be a bit taller (but then my memory has let me down before). The one they are restoring is a 68 model, similar to the old Hodges hauler shape that were big in the 70s and 80s. Loading cars on the 68 style were a piece of cake compared to the earlier ones. The earlier ones were just like an old stake truck with a set of ramps. Wild ride getting the car up there at times.-Jim
Baron I think we have officially hijacked this thread but maybe no one will notice. I agree the D&D Vette setup is nice. Here are a couple more rigs I like, including Landy's 68 rig (and of course Sox and his nice setup). I have loaded cars on this style of hauler (similar to the Hodges Haulers made in Kentucky in the 70s and 80s) and it is not hard at all. The older haulers that were taller were the fun ones to watch. I had to load and haul a car (V12 Packard) on a large stake truck bed back in the early eighties with some homemade ramps and then offload it using some wood planks and a pile of hard packed dirt to make it a reasonable approach coming off. It was a real treat.-Jim
The second picture looks like Sox and Martin cars. I have some pictures of Dick Landy hauling his car at Dover Drag Strip which I will try and find tomorrow. I just ran across this (not racing) me in my 62 following my buddy in his blown 61 Corvette. I like his vanity plate...
The Jalopy Journal
