I've never pulled up next to a gasser style car at a stoplight.....so they ain't THAT popular.......We need MORE!!! PPoC.....I love those old pics man.....you always got the cool shit.....
Well you are describing two very different cars. One is a street car designed to look like a gasser and one is...well.....it is a gasser. To those who really like the cars the real thing will always be worth more money. To the guy wanting to get in on the next trend, yeah, he would rather have the streetable car. As an aside, those fully jacked cars aren't really gassers either. I remember those cars from my days as a kid also and loved them at the time. My 67 GTO was set up similiar (not quite as high) but they were a look for the times.
I want to see more altered wheelbase "Funny Cars". You know, the real funny cars, not the outrageous things they're calling them today. Oh yeah, I'm all about seeing more of the Gassers. Just don't show me some POS that can't back it up.
????!!!! So I guess it would be okay if you or one of your bros owned an o.g. gasser but if someone likes how these cars look and wants to build their own, then they're violating something sacred?!? That must mean that everyone who has built or is building a Model A is doing the same, by your standards. Unless, of course, its o.g. or YOUR car right? Makes no sense at all...
Gassers will have only become he next "trend", when some idiot puts straight axle and fenderwell headers under a `91 Caprice.
Thanks a LOT James !!!!! Now you've gone and ruined the big unveiling I was planning! Glad I didn't pay too much for that '91 Caprice. Gassers rule, but some of the 'street machines' got out of hand just like several other variations on themes. Just my $.02. - RBR
Thats right. We raised up all four wheels to give the whole car a stance. We thought it looked cool at that time. But we never thought of them as gassers. Bottom line... imo... gassers should only be seen on the strip and man are they cool there.
I would take a well built gasser and street it any day over half the crap I see on the road today!! It's no different than a lifted Jeep or a 4X4 truck even. (not much agility there!!) Call it what you want... "Trend", "Fad", I could honestly give a shit less!! I build my cars the way I want not for you, you, you, and especially you. Like it or not, just be happy you can sit down in front of a screen and bench race about it and let everyone know what a piece of crap it is!! Thats your right, use while you still can!! P.S. There is no "O.G." or "Old School". Thats just the way it was, why try to put a label on it??
I, respectfully, disagree. I think that they need to be on the street, as well as the strip. Gassers started out as true street/strip cars. Sure they morphed into a race only class. But I think the cool thing was guys driving there cars to the strip, writing class numbers on them, racing hard, and then driving back home. I also think that Gassers are the new major fad. Certainly a few guys have been building them since the 60's, or just since the 90's. Even in '99, they would have been in the distinct minority. Now, it seems like every car is Gasser style. And if you posted a picture of a 60's Gasser style car on the HAMB in '99, you most likely would have been run off. I've always dug the early 60's style cars, so I remember how they were looked down on by most around here. That's not to say that I haven't been effected as well. I've always known that I would build another '55 Chevy. Always thought it would be cool to have a hot rod coupe, a '58 custom, and a '55. Should have never let my first '55 get away from me. But, they way I'm building it has definetly been influenced by things that I'm seeing on the HAMB. I've known it would be a cross between the AG car and the TLB car styles. But, due to the trend, I'm ending up with more of a Gasser influenced car than I probably would have. Am I doing it on purpose to be part of the fad? Heck no. Do Lux and I sit around the shop talking about how to get in on the popular styles? Heck no. Do we sit around the shop and look through Gasser Wars for stance, wheel etc. ideas? Yep, sometimes. Will I drive it to MOKAN ('07 or '08), show flamedabone my taillights, and then drive it 12 hrs. home? Damn straight I will. To me, that's what a Gasser is all about.
Point taken. Yes, you see much worse on the street. I dont remember ever seeing a real gasser on the street though in the 60's. But if a young guy was just starting out building them during the craze. I am sure he drove it to the drags but rarely to work. me,me, me and me. Let me repeat.... gassers are the coolest thing on the strip. I love them
I wasn't there.....but I do know I don't see much of ANYTHING on the streets these days......so a gasser/streetfreak/whatever would be refreshing amongst the sheep.......
I don't know. I get the impression, from reading, that they saw street duty early on. By the mid 60's for sure, they were race only cars. Maybe it's just my take on things. I've always thought that street cars that could "back it up" at the track were cooler than race only cars. And certainly cooler than poser cars that only had the look. Hot rods should have some "hot" to them.
I feel I have to chime in on this one a bit, considering my screen name is Gasserfreak. I personally don't even own a gasser style car right now, but that doesn't mean I'm not devoted to the style, fad or not. I remeber as a kid growing up in Escondido in the early 80's there were still qiute a few "street Freak" style cars out running the streets on friday and saturday nights. My parent would take me to Carlsbad drag strip so my pops could run his 427 64 Ford and there were still some that would come out and lay down some hairy ass passes. Hell I still have pics of a gasser styled 55 Ford my old man drove and raced in the late 60's early 70's. The point is, my generation still remebers seeing these cars around and there is no denying that the "gasser" style car completly epitomizes "Bad Ass". So why don't we stop thinking that we were the first guy in the fuckin' world that thinks Gassers are cool and everyone is copying YOU. Drew
Yes, the Gasser thing seems to be gaining in popularity. I hope it tapers off, as it's my favorite style, and would hate to see it played out like Rat Rods. The first 100 were cool. But the last million? NOT
Well put Funny you should say this. Steve Magnante, of Hot Rod Magazine and Barret-Jackson fame, built an altered wheelbase, straight axle, 1978 Ford Fairmont. How do you say, I bumped my head?
Funny you should say this. Steve Magnante, of Hot Rod Magazine and Barret-Jackson fame, built an altered wheelbase, straight axle, 1978 Ford Fairmont. How do you say, I bumped my head? Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by James D Gassers will have only become he next "trend", when some idiot puts straight axle and fenderwell headers under a `91 Caprice. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I don't see how it matters if there are 7, 70, 700, or 70000 built, it means our hobby is flurishing and people are racing and promoting the style and burning up fossil fuels!!! ..ROCK ON! I'm building my 311 Vicki gasser and I'm gonna keep building it till she's done... then I'm gonna drive it while I build another one...and another... So What...It's not like it's an original idea...bout 40 yrs too late for that one.... It's like having long hair...it's never really outta style... just less people wear it some of the time...
The "trends" in our little hotrod "community" are a very SMALL part of the overall automotive enthusiast segment......I won't worry about "gassers" being on every street corner......although I'd like to see more get built from something other than '55s........
Oops! (should read 31Vicki)...typoed because of the aluminum splint on my left hand ring finger where the freakin car bit me the other night and broke my digit!
As a longtime gasser fan I like the comeback. Back in the day real gassers were strip only but plenty of look-like gassers on the street. My 37 was my daily driver (straight axle, tilt fiberglass front, BBC) but saw plenty of week-end bracket racing back in the late 70's. Was out of style by then but I didn't care. Should of kept it, it would be "in style" again! Sold it in the early 80's and sadly the new owner pro-streeted it. I have to admit I don't understand gasser trucks. Other then Willys PUs I don't recall gassers being anything but coupes, sedans and a few wagons or deliverys but never trucks.
ray- I won't argue that prices for steel and labor have gone up, but I beleive your perception of what goes on at Speedway might be a little off. "Sitting on 20 axles"? I'm guessing they ship that many in a normal day. I worked for them back in the day, and still know people who work there. They are a huge operation, and you can believe they're new inventory arrives in truckload and rail car quantities - not onesies and twosies. When they jack prices, it's more likely to take advantage of what the market will bear. Regarding straight (or dropped) tube axles, for instance. Who else makes them? MAS is pretty much thier only real competition - and they could hardly be more difficult to buy from. The Speedway price jumped bigtime for one reason. They knew they could get away with it.
I think you guys underestimate the influence of the HAMB. The cars that are built here are leaders in trends that are picked up by magazines and end up with the masses. Does that mean that every car at next summers shows in Tn. or Wa. are gonna be Gassers? No. But there will be way more than before. And I think that there will be a bunch of non '55 Chevy, Willy's, Anglia, etc. Gassers being built. I just don't know how much I'm going to like the 4 dr. 63 Galaxies with straight axles and cheater slicks that have have the door handles put back on and the lowering blocks put on the top of of the rearend that used to be flat black with red wheels and a visor with Mexican blanket interior. We'll see. Now you'll have to excuse me. I'm gonna go work on my Van.
I'm ALL for it!!!! And agree about the 4 door gasser.....YUK!...I hope "it" doesn't get to that....... But like I said.......none of these gassers/kustoms/tradrods/ratrods/etc, are pulling up next to me during the week in rush hour traffic......minitrucks, late model 'tuners', DONKS, etc are......bigger segment of the automotive 'hobby'....... Everyones getting worried about the MASSES jumping on the Gasser/Trad rod/whatever 'bandwagon'......but the reality is the MASSES don't really get what we're doing 'here' anyway......so there is really nothing to get worked up about. Sure, they could BUY their way in to fit in to the current "trend", however "big" it gets.....but they always move on to the "next" one.... I equate gassers similar to customs.....it's harder to pull off a good one as opposed to a hotrod/ratrod.....so less guys are doing 'em....hmmmm...I just don't know anymore! Just my "opinion".......
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