GASSER MUST HAVES and cant haves?

My old friend, the late Tom Willford, owned the Herrera Austin and the remains of Big Johns "Football" at the same time. I don't recall if Herrera's was fiberglass or not. This pic shows that Big John's wasn't.

 

The big thing I need to know is, were the dash mounted ovulating defrost fans common in the nicer "gassers"? I get hot as hell waiting at a red light and thinking about installing one to cool me down a little. I'm serious!

But I don't want to cross any lines.

 

They were in some of the more run of the mill gassers; so just get a ball peen hammer and make yours less nice and it can run a fan!
But you realize that "ovulating fans" only work once a month, and the rest the month they're a PITA. You might want to get an oscillating fan instead!

 

Yes its already been covered at the begining.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19-20 2014

 

Good to know. I figured as long as all these new builds are running electric radiator fans it would be OK for me to run one inside the car. I just hope my car doesn't start getting moody!

 

Well I got three strikes so I guess I'm out..Mine is too low, has power steering [with axle], and AC/heat...

 

JMO but Gassers must have tunnel rams, 2 carbs, tilt front, straight axles, and leave with the wheels up.

 

By the time production tunnel rams were introduced, what most folks here consider "gassers" had gone the way of dinosaurs.

Fuel injection was the "hot set up" in the mid 60's.

 

Tunnel rams?
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
No

 

Yup, and not EFI either.

 

Yep. Another strike for both of my cars. They both have tunnel rams, although the 327 is a very early Holley tunnel ram.

 

And the week before they start working, they make your life a living hell...

 

It's my opinion that's all. The "Gasser era" has stretched from the late 1950's into the "Modern Gassers" of today. It all depends on what era you are looking at. Was Ohio George Montgomery's 33 Willys a Gasser? How about his Mustang? Or the F-Troop flip top AA/GS car was that a "Gasser?" Or the A-Street Roadsters were they "Gassers." All ran in the "Gasser" class.

In my opinion a "Gasser" is a race car, not a mock race car driven around on a cruise night.

 

I'm not arguing with you about the era of gassers (except my "gasser era" would probably be from around 63 to 81 and then the modern gasser associations). I really don't consider the F-Troop a gasser since it ran nitro, had center steering, and ran with a match racing group instead of a national association.

But my problem with the tunnel rams is not that they don't belong on late model gassers, but that they don't belong on this website since Ryan says "1965 and earlier" stuff. Yea, he does give race cars some wiggle room (or he has so far), but production tunnel rams are basically a 1967 and newer deal. And that's not really HAMB friendly.

BTW, I'm in the process (loooong process) of redoing my old Anglia racecar. It'll have a full cage, modern slicks (10 1/2's, which are borderline "too wide") and even have a modified frame. And I have a single carb intake, tunnelram setup, and crossram setup to play with on it. That's why I don't talk about what's going on with it here and there probably won't be a build thread. I like the modern stuff, I just don't think it's right for the direction Ryan's trying to heard all us cats.

 

Here's the story pm the F-Troop car (and I think Jay is on here and can confirm this);
This is the original car built by Jay Howell and Ron Logghe at Logghe Stamping in Detroit Michigan in 1968.
The Willys was built to compete in the NHRA AA/GS class. Using the LSC Stage – 1 funny car chassis as the base it was shortened and narrowed to fit the fiberglass Willys body. It was set up with a blown big block Chevy running on gasoline.
In 1968 Jay and Tom made the trip to the NHRA division 3 points meet at Indy. The tech crew inspected the car and immediately banned the car from competition due to its funny car style tube chassis. The Willys returned to Logghe’s shop were it would sit in the rafters until later that year.

In the fall of 1968 the Hill Brothers approached Prock and Howell with the idea of forming a four car Outlaw Gasser circuit. This would include, the Hill brothers, Prock and Howell, Jim Shores and Chuck Finders. It was essentially a Match Race Group.

The big Chevy was removed and replaced with a nitro burning 426 Chrysler Hemi. With this combination the Willys ran times in the low 8’s at 180 miles per hour, and was virtually undefeated in competition.

The circuit would last only a year giving way to the growing popularity of nitro funny cars. Jay and Tom would go on to compete in AA/FC with their Warhorse Mustang funny car.

The Willys was sold and headed for a life of bracket racing, in Hawaii of all places. It would spend several years on the island before returning to the midwest. As fate would have it my wife and I purchased the car and brought it back where it belongs, to the Motor City.

The F-TROOP was used and abused as a bracket car. It was in need of a complete restoration. Some said it could not be done. Dan Hix of Lawrence Kansas was contracted to perform the restoration, and was completed by Steve and a group of family and friends.
Steve Timoszyk

 

" In 1968 Jay and Tom made the trip to the NHRA division 3 points meet at Indy. The tech crew inspected the car and immediately banned the car from competition due to its funny car style tube chassis"

One thing that hasn't been discussed here is that gas classes required a "stock type chassis". George Montgomery put his 33 Willys chassis under his Mustang. Rules just said stock, didn't say it had to match the body.

 

I believe you could run a fabricated 2 X 3 rectangular tubing chassis starting in 1968, but not round tube. No center steering either.

 

In 1968 the stock frame rule was dropped. Tubular frames were now legal for cars in AA/GS through B/G and ALL unibody cars.

As for Ohio George:

With advice from the NHRA, Montgomery lengthened the Willys frame to fit a '67 Mustang body. When he rolled the '67 Mustang—the world's first late-model Gasser—into tech at Bristol, Tennessee, for the Spring Nationals in 1967, the inspectors were confused.

Before then, Gassers had been 1930s to mid-1950s production cars, like Montgomery's previous '33 Willys coupe or other flying lunch boxes like the '55 Chevy. On these wild rides, Roots superchargers were common, along with mechanical fuel injection, straight front axle, fiberglass body panels, stripped interiors, and flamboyant paintjobs. Montgomery's Mustang broke with tradition but still fit the technical rules of the Gasser class. The tech inspectors eventually deemed the car legal. But with glassed-over headlights and grille with a slick body, the '67 Mustang held an aerodynamic advantage over Gassers based on antique car bodies.

 

True enough, but I'm sticking to the 65' Hamb cutoff.

 

Me to! If it ain't pre 1966, it ain't HAMB!

 

That is badass!

 

Does this hold for motors also?

 

???? I thought it was pre '65?

 

Sure, hell you haven't heard me crowing about my early 350 have you? Boy if 350's are gone I think I just heard about half the members fall out the door! But so be it!

 

I thought it is 65 and back, but if I'm wrong wouldn't be the first time! But 64 and back makes sense to keep it pre pony car.

 

This old girl is looking better by the minute!

 

Gasser or Modified Production --------------------------------- just asking!

 

Front bumper, scoop atached to the hood,unmodified rear wheel openings and stock front suspension. I know what class.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19-20 2014

 

101 posts before Larry has to point it out to everyone. I never even thought about it even when the small tire question was raised, and I love that class. That larry T is on the ball.

MELTDOWN DRAGS
JULY 19-20 2014

 

I would figure this one would be pre /MP, wouldn't you? Were they running MP in 63-64? If so, I'd think it could run both.