I'm an avid fan of g***ers. the car that got me hooked on racing was my neighbors g***er willy's called "chilly willy" it was wayne harry's old g***er. Anyways me being only 21 i wasn't around when the g***ers and street freaks were "main stream" I'm in the SLOW process of building a 1955 2dr handy man wagon. into a super bad a$$ g***er. I've got a 427 that I use to run in my el camino. It's going to be topped with a roots blower, haven't decided on size. With most likely an old hilborn 4 port mechanical injection. Underdriving or 1:1 should net me a good combo to turn low 10's. (but be able to run MUCH faster) The ultimate goal is to build something that came straight out of 1967-1968. I plan on doing a hair-pin front end and stretch the wheelbase an inch or two. Rear will be sorted out by some ladder bars and most likely coil-overs and double adjustable (I know not real vintage but i want to do 140+ in the 1/4) Will probably make the front sheetmetal solid and make it tilt. I'll be putting a 10 or 12 point cage to keep things legal and FOUR aluminium racing seats. Anyways... the questions.... 1)What kind of rims did they use to run on 55's I know they had fenton gyro's and ansen, but when did the 200S come out (two lane blacktop rims) 2) Radir is selling some vintage "looking" slicks. How well do these hook, are they just a radial tire made to make the impression of a slick or is it a true slick designed for abuse? Now for pics what I want it to be (minus the sedan delivery part) The day I brought it home Thanks
I love yer car! very solid! 57-64 Olds rear axle, leaf springs with ******* bars? That would be easy and work....Transverse front spring with Ford axle,TKO 600,Wherever you buy blower will tell you all you need in that department,paint it black of course and add Crager SS,tilt that steel front end,and yowwwza yer honkin...jmho...R~R
Fellow HAMBer "Roadsters" has the answers to your wheel questions. Go here: http://www.roadsters.com/wheels/ To get a better feel for EXACTLY what g***ers looked like in the 1967-68 timeframe, get yourself a copy of Don Montgomery's "Supercharged Gas Coupes" and memorize it: http://www.amazon.com/Supercharged-Gas-Coupes-Remembering-Sixties/dp/0962645435 Hope this helps. -Gary
I wasn't old enough then either, but built my car for that era as best I could...all business, no street strip stuff by then in my opinion. Just remember, it is your car, build it how you want!
Good luck with your project. Should be a very cool car. Will it be strip only, or street and strip? It will be easier to attain your e.t. and mph goals if it is strip only. The engine can be more radical, lower rear end gears, lighter weight, etc. You will need sticky drag slicks, not old time looking ,street legal cheater slicks. Use a ladder bar and coil-over setup like you mentioned. And go with the biggest cubic inch engine you can afford. Keep us posted.
Not to throw water on your parade but having "been there, done that" (see avatar or search for my build thread) I don't think your ET and MPH goals are realistic with what you have in mind. With a full cage, blown big block and steel front end, your car will likely weigh more than 3200-3300 lbs with you in it ready to leave the starting line even if you lighten the **** out of everything. Being as aero as a concrete block, the MPH is very hard to do unless you have probably north of 800 hp. To get the low ETs you are looking for with that type of power in that type of car, vintage style slicks are probably not going to cut it. What type of transmission are you planning on using in this? Not saying it is impossible but it will be very challenging. Although, it will still be a very cool car even if it doesn't ET and MPH as you hope.
Come on guys, A blown 427 will easily put that car in the 10's IF he runs the good **** inside, runs some decent boost and gets it to hook. there's a 4100 lb Pontiac in the newest Hot Rod that went 9.88 at 134 on Drag Week with a 476" Poncho that only made 642 with squeeze at the rear wheels, so about 800 crank. How? With good ch***is tuning and a 4200 stall converter. If you can't get 800+ out of a Blown and injected 427, time to do your homework.
The O/P said "underdriven or 1:1" not "decent boost" and he wants to use vintage style tires. No mention of what trans combo (I asked). And that Poncho isn't going 140 either... even though the aero numbers would be better than the shoebox. There is a big difference between 134 and 140 when you are pushing what amounts to a 4x8 sheet of plywood through the air. There is also a big difference between "10s" and "low 10s". I didn't say it wouldn't do it. I just said it would be challenging. We'll ask for time slips when the car is done. As I said before... it will be a cool car no matter what the ET/MPH is..
Read this thread for some good how-to: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225171 (Shakey Puddin)
I run aluminum slot wheels like the 57 pictured above. Somewhat reasonable to buy except the narrow ones and seemed to be around in the 60s from pics I have looked at. I have run the recap tires mid 12s in the quarter but dont think they would hold up to 10s. They do hook much better that street tires though. I just picked up a 55 g***er with a straight axle but dont know any history on it. It has the front sheet metal bolted together but I am still undecided about the setup on that.
I see your point. I'm a very pessimistic kind of person. The motor has very good internals. (eagle rods w L19's venolia pistons, cometic gaskets.) there wasn't alot of money skimped on the bottom end. The only reason I'd be running lower boost numbers would be is it's still a 2 bolt truck block. It's got arp studs but still not as strong as a dart block. The motor now makes roughly 740hp. On alcohol and a good teflon stripped blower, it should pick up around 100-150hp. which puts me in the ballpark. I'm currently a mechanical engineering student, got about a year and half left. Hoping when I get into industry i'll still be a bachelor making good enough money to have a mortgage and fun money to build a nasty g***er. (it will see VERY little street time. maybe only to a cruise in, but otherwise i've got a trailer.)
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