Hot Rods Top eleven Favorite Gassers

Geez, too bad that Anglia couldn't launch a little better!

EM

 

Elgringo: That candy 3w was Bob Rothenbergs from the Midwest . Automation was a black '32 3w from DC , owners name escapes me at the moment. Those are some real goodies you posted!

 

Lots of great ones here. Saw many of them run back in the day at Madera, Half Moon Bay etc. Remember the black Grist Bros/Reath Auto Willys with the Edsel motor-saw it at Madera several times.

 

I'm afraid I couldn't pick my 20 favorite gassers if my life depended on it. Just when I think I have listed them all, I find 10 more that I like just as much.
Then there's that picture of the Atts Ono Willys!? I have had that photo hanging on the wall of my shop for years but I know absolutely nothing about it.
Does anyone have info on the Atts Ono Willys?

 

Liston Kendall at The Rock, Rockingham, NC. Circa approx. late 60's, early 70's.

 

The Automation 32` was owned by Jimmy Davis, that is according to the info on another site.

 

Most folks don't know it, but the First Pontiac GTO powered Gasser was built by Jacob Hostetler in Lancaster County for the Amish Racing Team and Butter Churning Club. Historians are pretty sure this is why GTO's were heretofore called Goats. The straight axle was put to good use to get the front end up in the air for weight transfer. You will notice the use of Bigs and Littles with the first "Gasser" spoke wheels (including the rarely seen Rears), and these are true Spindle Mounts, not those sissy bolt on versions. The steering did not really catch on for the class, but the T Bucket guys stole the idea from Ol Jacob.
And that is your Gasser History Lesson for today.

 

Hey Bob,
Atts Ono as we all know, was a master craftsman. His attention to detail was outstanding. He machined most of his parts and in the Popular Hot Rodding issue, was featured on the cover. I just missed purchasing the only one PHR mag that was for sale on Ebay. I contacted the buyer and he was supposed to get me some scans of the article and story from inside. No word as yet.

He helped us with our Willys and did some design work for our build. He was an integral part of our pit crew on the night of the explosion and fire of the 40 Willys we raced. We were fortunate to have him for a friend as he took over the fire/accident and I was told to get to the hospital for my brother. He stayed until the wee hours with our burning car until everything was secure. We both spend the following day disassembling our burned out Willys.

His build of the immaculate red Willys was altered from his experience with our unfortunate explosion and fire. After the explosion, the rules committee told all racers to move any aluminum Moon type tanks out of the driver's compartment. Thus started the exodus of the tanks to the front of the radiator or in the rear. The so called "gasser look" with the Moon Tank exposed in the front was started in August 1960 with this mandate. Atts Ono moved his from the cab to the area in front of the radiator, inside of the grille.

Jnaki
Until I get the actual details of the build from those magazine scans, information has been lost since the original build way back then. Atts Ono is no longer with us as he passed on too early.

I did mention in another thread that this guy was a heck of a basketball player...now that March Madness is with us. He was the playmaker and guard, while I was the big guy in the post. We were on this teenage team where we were teammates until we left because of age and high school. Division 1 was in his future, (not mine) but his love was always drag racing and mechanics.
Does anyone have that Popular Hot Rodding magazine with his red Willys on the cover? 1966 I believe...
GOOD SCANS WILL BE TRADED FOR YOUR OWN COPIES OF MY COMPLETE DRAG RACING FILMS. PM ME THE DETAILS... thank you...

This is 1964, at his debut of the red Willys at Lions. It was an All Gasser event that I documented for him. That was the first time I had gone back to Lions since our own 40 Willys accident in 1960.