1/25 Revell 1957 Ford Sedan Gasser

[Casey]

The 1/25 Revell '57 Ford Sedan Gasser kit seems to have slipped through the cracks, so now it has its own dedicated topic. It was mentioned (hunted at, more accurately) by Tim Boyd here...:

....that this (and it looks like another or a slightly different) variant had been planned, but never released, until now. 

Here are some images of the completed box stock model, courtesy of the Revell website:

 

 

 

Chris/hpiguy has a video review, too:

 

Edited October 30, 2019 by Casey

[Dave Darby]

If you want to build an accurate bumperless 57 Ford gasser, you need to trim the bottom of front fenders even with bottom of the grille. Revell got that area wrong. 

Edited October 31, 2019 by Dave Darby

[afx]

[Jim B]

Looks like the 57 Ford Sedan was a pretty popular gasser.

[High octane]

On 10/30/2019 at 9:35 AM, Casey said:

The 1/25 Revell '57 Ford Sedan Gasser kit seems to have slipped through the cracks, so now it has its own dedicated topic. It was mentioned (hunted at, more accurately) by Tim Boyd here...:

....that this (and it looks like another or a slightly different) variant had been planned, but never released, until now. 

Here are some images of the completed box stock model, courtesy of the Revell website:

 

 

 

Chris/hpiguy has a video review, too:

 

The class designation is wrong as in order for a gasser to run in A/GAS it needs to have a supercharger/blower.

[Jim B]

44 minutes ago, High octane said:

The class designation is wrong as in order for a gasser to run in A/GAS it needs to have a supercharger/blower.

Not knowing much about gassers, what should the designation be?

[espo]

I think that the letter designation in the different drag classes had to do with a formula having to do with the cars weight and the engines cubic inch displacement. Should the vehicle have a super charger then the designation changes too the upper letter would be doubled, I.E. if A is where the race car landed in the class an AA would denote a super charger on the engine. The other way this was denoted was in the class's lower letter, in this case a G denoting the race car was in a gas class. The letter S would follow the G or sometimes they would actually spell out "Super Charged" after the letter G. The interesting thing about this kit, and it is a great kit, has to do with the engine options. The duel quad set up was actually an option on the stock car in 1957.   The kit as Revell has provided would be a Gasser based on alterations to the car other than the engine. The altered suspension and or ride height would move it out of the stock classes. The removal of the front bumper and the addition of the gas tank mounted on the front and the stated increased cu. in. engine displacement would move it to a Gas class.   

[drag racer 15]

Gassers has 2 divisions gas was for not super charged cars so wait divided by cubic inch was  A B C D E was the different classes the fastest class looks like A/G and super charged car was gas S and the division was ABC so the fastest was looked like A/GS All other types of car adding a supper charger would bump you up a class so a B class altered with out a super charged would be A class with one and an A class altered without a supper charger would be AA class

[Jim B]

So the decal sheet has A/GAS & D/G.  Obviously A/GAS can be converted to A/G.  So, knowing that, what's correct?  The decals say "398 H.P."

Edited November 1, 2019 by Jim B

[Snake45]

59 minutes ago, Jim B said:

So the decal sheet has A/GAS & D/G.  Obviously A/GAS can be converted to A/G.  So, knowing that, what's correct?  The decals say "398 H.P."

Horsepower doesn't matter (except in the Stock classes), only cubic inches. 

I have a hard time imagining this car would be light enough to be A/G, or have a small enough engine to be D/G. I'd have thought it would slot somewhere into B or C/G. But that's just a guess. 

Oh wait, just saw the 321 CI decal. So maybe it WOULD drop into D/G. 

[larman]

 This model as it sits looks like a modern interpretation, not an actual vintage gasser. Those pics of the real cars in the post above, show 3 different cars and only the middle one is an original pic of an actual 60s gasser. The Galpin car and Bone Shaker are modern cars that kind of look the part. The model is closer to those, which is probably why it has all the goofy class and engine decals. IMHO, If you want a correct 60s era gasser, you would need to ditch the Y block.  I am not sure it would have been anywhere near competitive  in even the bottom end gas classes. Y block powered cars would have made better junior stockers and there were a few that were competitive back then. I am probably going to build one of my '57 Wagons as a junior stocker with the Y block and use the gasser parts under something more common in the gas classes, such as a tri 5 Chevy. A '57 Ford gasser would probably be more accurate with an FE motor or any number of bigger drag motors that were popular at the time. Then as others said, it would be weight divided by cubic inch to determine class. And the supercharger designation changed over the years. The best way to get it right is to go into the drag section on this site and consult the original NHRA rulebooks that are posted there. Pick a year and build to those specs.....

[Daddyfink]

18 hours ago, Jim B said:

Not knowing much about gassers, what should the designation be?

I do believe this would fall under C/Gas

[Casey]

12 hours ago, larman said:

 This model as it sits looks like a modern interpretation, not an actual vintage gasser. 

That's exactly what it is. Revell previously released the Glasses Gasser II '62 Corvette kit, which  also applied a loose interpretation of the word "gasser" so this isn't a new thing.

[tim boyd]

The Gasser version intake manifold and dual carbs in the Revell Gasser kits are entirely different than the factory stock intake and dual carbs in the Revell kits.  They are exact copies of 1/1 scale name brand aftermarket components (although I do not recall what the brands were). 

As I recall, the original planning envisioned the Gasser engine as being fuel injected, but as Y-Block experts know, that engine required a very different fuel injection intake manifold configuration (because of the Y-Blocks unusual cylinder head intake spacing), and Revell did not have the time available to track down a 1/1 scale example to use as a basis for the kit parts.   The setup actually in the kits was the follow-up plan.   

I too would guess the car would have run in the B/G to D/G, or most likely, C/G classes back in the day. 

I also agree that a truly competitive, top end Gasser entry would have probably replaced the Y-Block with an FE Ford V8 in the 1960's....

TIM  

[BigTallDad]

14 hours ago, Snake45 said:

Oh wait, just saw the 321 CI decal. So maybe it WOULD drop into D/G. 

The '57 Ford was available with a 312 engine...why bother modifying it to get another whopping 9 cubic inches? I suspect the decal is a figment of somebody's imagination.

[Daddyfink]

2 hours ago, Casey said:

That's exactly what it is. Revell previously released the Glasses Gasser II '62 Corvette kit, which  also applied a loose interpretation of the word "gasser" so this isn't a new thing.

Based on

Which is base on.. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Daddyfink

[Sledsel]

On 10/31/2019 at 12:28 PM, Dave Darby said:

If you want to build an accurate bumperless 57 Ford gasser, you need to trim the bottom of front fenders even with bottom of the grille. Revell got that area wrong. 

Correct! The front of this is a train wreck IMO. Everything was stretched to make the bottom of the bumper level with the bottom of the rocker panel, which it is not.

You also need to fix the front fenders, rear quarters, tail light bezels and gauge cluster hump on the dash. 

 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Sledsel

[Dave Darby]

3 minutes ago, Sledsel said:

Correct! The front of this is a train wreck IMO

You also need to fix the front fenders, rear quarters, tail light bezels and gauge cluster hump on the dash. 

 

 

Very true. Our friend Tulio did a YouTube comparison between the AMT and Revell 57 Fords and pointed all of that out. Were it not for Revell being the only game in town if you want a wagon or 300 sedan, (Extra detail on chassis and engine not withstanding...) the AMT kit trounced the Revell kit. 

[Sledsel]

4 minutes ago, Dave Darby said:

Very true. Our friend Tulio did a YouTube comparison between the AMT and Revell 57 Fords and pointed all of that out. Were it not for Revell being the only game in town if you want a wagon or 300 sedan, (Extra detail on chassis and engine not withstanding...) the AMT kit trounced the Revell kit. 

Yes it did, and with alot of work, the Revell can be a nice kit. One day I will finish this.

BTW, Tulio can make the worst BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH kit look good! 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Sledsel

[larman]

If you are just building for fun or want a modern version mash up, the kit designations are fine and who cares what class it runs in. It's more for the aesthetic quality. If you are trying to build a correct drag car then class makes a difference. If you look at the Mazmanian car above, it is designated as a Modified Sport car, The Revell kit and real car it is based on, call themselves gassers. Again, these are modern interpretations.The real Corvette drag cars from back then would have been in the Modified Sport class and sometimes would have run gasser or altered class. (at smaller tracks or events when there were less cars). Also, it depended on year, IIRC, because some classes were added, absorbed, or removed, etc. Also look at the tires and stance on the real Mazmanian car and look at the modern versions. The modern versions seem to meld the race look with the later street freak look and sit much higher. And have smaller front tires with straight axles. Again a lot of people like it and they are popular, but I don't think you need to be worried about being correct if you are building a modern type car. I know it seems like splitting hairs, but to me there is a night and day difference between  both the Revell '57 Ford and Corvette "gasser" kits and the pics of the real drag cars. If you are shooting for that look, you will need to do some modifying , parts swapping and research if you want it right. 

 

Edited November 1, 2019 by larman

[ChrisBcritter]

14 hours ago, tim boyd said:

I also agree that a truly competitive, top end Gasser entry would have probably replaced the Y-Block with an FE Ford V8 in the 1960's....  

Not just gassers - my uncle ran his '57 Fairlane Town Sedan in B/MP with a 406 after yanking the 312.

11 hours ago, Dave Darby said:

Our friend Tulio did a YouTube comparison between the AMT and Revell 57 Fords and pointed all of that out.

Poor Tulio; hope he's OK.

[Sledsel]

I just noticed, the front valance and grill location on the box art is correct..... lol

 

[Deuces]

I'll probably stuff an FE in my gasser.....

[Straightliner59]

On 10/31/2019 at 7:28 PM, Snake45 said:

Horsepower doesn't matter (except in the Stock classes), only cubic inches. 

I have a hard time imagining this car would be light enough to be A/G, or have a small enough engine to be D/G. I'd have thought it would slot somewhere into B or C/G. But that's just a guess. 

Oh wait, just saw the 321 CI decal. So maybe it WOULD drop into D/G. 

I would think C/G is a good bet, and agree, possibly D/G.

[Tye Brown]

Ummmm, you guys know that this is a plastic MODEL!!!!! yeah?? It's not a real car lol.....