Hello Everyone, I am new to the board and after reviewing many of the postings, I think this is a perfect place to answer this question once and for all. What are the main characteristics (top 5 or so) of a gasser? I have been a muscle car builder, drag racer, etc. for over 30 years, however, I have always wondered what is really behind this term. Of course, I know that in the day there was a drag racing class that steered many a drag racer to strip down cars and install blown hemi's into 41 Willy's Coupes. Or remove front suspensions from shoe-box Chevy's, install a straight axle, and blown big blocks, however, now that I am seeing this "buzz word" all over the internet, I would like to get some input from the H.A.M.B. community. Thanks...................................
Welcome to the HAMB, before the intro police show up here are some threads about gassers. A lot of discussion about them. Larry T http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=5244014 And top 5 characteristics, lets see. 1. Doorslammer with fenders 2. 10% engine setback 3. Gas for fuel 4. Stock wheelbase 5. Purpose built racecar Those are the first 5 that came to my mind.
Gasser From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gasser can mean: * Gasser (manga), a fictional character also known as Heppokomaru * A term that refers to a certain style of hot rods. Typically will have a straight axle front end, raised suspension and the car will have been substantially lightened for drag racing purposes. Gassers ae usually connected with 40's, 50's and 60's cars. They were at their most popular in the late 50's and 60's. Gassers have seen a bit of a resurgence of late.
I guess I will just use Wikipedia for all future needs: Wikipedia defines ass: The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The words donkey and ass are applied to the domesticated E. asinus. The animal considered to be its wild ancestor is the African Wild Ass, also E. asinus. In the western United States, a small donkey is sometimes called a burro (from the Spanish word for the animal). A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny, and offspring less than one year old, a foal (male: colt, female filly The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The words donkey and ass are applied to the domesticated E. asinus. The animal considered to be its wild ancestor is the African Wild Ass, also E. asinus. In the western United States, a small donkey is sometimes called a burro (from the Spanish word for the animal). A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny, and offspring less than one year old, a foal (male: colt, female filly. The donkey or ass, Equus asinus, is a member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The words donkey and ass are applied to the domesticated E. asinus. The animal considered to be its wild ancestor is the African Wild Ass, also E. asinus. In the western United States, a small donkey is sometimes called a burro (from the Spanish word for the animal). A male donkey or ass is called a jack, a female a jenny, and offspring less than one year old, a foal (male: colt, female filly.
Besides being a class of gas-fueled, full fendered cars, the main characteristics we think of when we think GASSER-styles today are straight axles, nose in the air (for weight transfer) and early-American bodies. In the early days, GASSERs tended to be the early 50's Olds, Pontiacs, Chevrolets and pre-war Willys. In the Sixties, '55 Chevs became popular as well. Anglias (Johnny Loper's Lil Hoss and others) joined the group. Big John Mazmanian and Stone, Woods & Coupe soon became the poster-cars for GASSERs. When Ohio George, a friend of mine, switched from his '33 Willys and built his Mustang, the GASSER era ended. AF/X cars and Funnies soon followed. If you want to build a GASSER-style car, go with the straight-axle, nose-in-the air-attitude, and choose a car that is pre-1960. Keep it simple, keep it pure and keep the pedal to the metal. Ernest McIntyre, editor GASSER Magazine www.GASSERmagazine.com
Originally gas class cars were normally stock bodied cars with engine swaps or modifications that didn't fit into the stock classes. Example, our family car for a while in the mid 50's was a 52 Ford Hardtop that had a 56 Thunderbird Special engine. Not much else but it had held a couple of C gas track records in the PNW in the mid 50's. As everything else evolved so did the gas cars in to purpose built race cars.
Gassers evolved through the 60's so a gasser can mean something different to different people. in the lat 50's and early 60's gassers were raised in the front to get better traction but as tires got better and the cars got faster the cars were lowered down to get better aerodynamics and to make them handle better. a gasser has to look street legal and have all the fenders it can be chopped it can be raised or lowered in the front engine can be set back 10% gassers are different from altereds here are a few different styles of gassers hope this helps. Ron...
Cool car! In case you didn't know already, I noticed there's only two lug nuts holding the front wheel on. It reminds me of a time when I helped my brother tow a dead lowrider Impala across town, and it only had two lug nuts on one rear wheel. He thought it would make it okay. It made it about two miles, and then those two studs sheared off and shot off like bullets (nowhere to be found). The back wheel fell off and the car dragged on the ground like a big anchor. It was pretty funny when it happened. It made a hell of a gouge in the asphalt where it dragged.
It is an ambiguous, meaning less term used by laymen to describe a set of cars that have been customized to have a certain look to them. Apparently, they see some sort of resemblance to cars that ran in the gas classes in the 60s and 70s. Rules of the gas classes required cars to be street legal, with working head and taillights, and other equipment and of course, they had to run pump gas. As you can imagine, a street legal car that ran on gas could have been just about anything, include a stock 4 door rambler. I see a lot more in common between pro-steet and the new "gassers" than I do with the cars that ran in the gas classes.
NOTE: Almost any time a gassersophical question is posted, "gassers are so passe" comments come with it.
dude you gotta understand there is always going to be some body on here trying to bust your balls! there just having fun don't be so uptight about it. relaxxxxxxxxxx!!!!!!!!!!
Man, I don't think that gassers will ever be passe'! It's a very cool build style if done right, but pretty "ruff" if done wrong! How bout a nice grey tweed and digital gauge interior in a straight axle '55? Even some street freaks can be pretty tough lookin', although I don't think that actually driving the damn thing looks like much fun.
Relax outlaw_josey ...... not a good way to start things off And to add something else.... YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE BUSINESS FOR ALL THOSE YEARS AND DON'T KNOW WHAT A GASSER (IS)! ! ! ! ! ! Is that even possible ? Or do I smell SOMETHING?
about 1980 or so I had a 56 Bel Air with an axle and fenderwell headers cut wheelwells and all the gasser style junk. no one referred to it as a gasser back then. and I lived in Fremont.. which had a dragstrip. I think the street machine and van thing was in full swing and cool cars were just ignored.
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