56 Chevy Gasser

[noname]

Hey guys.  I started this a while ago and picked it up again recently. I have a couple of questions for those who may know this stuff. First let me start off with the engine.  I am using a 409 with a blower. You can see my scratch built  magneto/fuel pump combo on the side. There is also an alternator there as well.

I wanted this car to be possibly street driven. That is why the alternator is there. I was wondering if anybody has used (thinking 1964-65) a fan with a blower? It would have to stick out to clear the blower belt.

Next is the body and chassis. I trimmed all the molding off of the sides of the car for a nice clean look. Of course the rear wheel opening was radiused. Then I have the scratch built front axle and traction bars from the AWB Chevy II kit (I think). So my next question is would this square tube frame be allowed in Gasser class in the mid 60's?  Also, would they be allowed to run a car without any inner wheel wells? I do know that the inner fenders were allowed to be trimmed to clear headers. And I have seen in "Gasser Wars" what looks like flip front end without wheel wells.

And lastly is a picture of the interior which I believe to be pretty much complete.

Thanks for looking.

 

[iBorg]

I'll try to answer what I can. I don't remember many blown 409's in this era. A fan......if ran was a rarity although it would be doable.  What you may find in Google searches are "retro rods" recreating a combination I don't remember competing in the sixties. Blown motors in this era (64-66) were small block Chevys, Olds (very popular), 392 Hemis. Fords were pretty much not in the picture. The 409 was a carbed motor more often found in stockers than in upper classes of drag racing. Of course this was an era of experimentation as drag racing truly was in its infancy. By '66, BBCs were becoming more common but were far from common. Blown Chrysler wedges might be in the gas class. Late model hemis were just barely being used in the top classes. Take your window to '68 and Hemis and BBCs were much more common in the gasser ranks. 

Legal gassers had to have a stock production frame in '64. By '66, I believe replica frames were allowed if they were made of square or rectangular tubing. Most were built of rectangular tubing. Round tubing was not legal for an NHRA legal gasser in this time period......I don't know if or when NHRA accepted round tubing. One other thing to remember AHRA and circuits were alternatives to the Wally show.

I think that front wheel wells were optional although I'm pretty sure rear wheel wells were required.

Oh yes remember headlights.

I hope this helps.

[MPi-KM]

What did you use to make the seatbelts?

[hedotwo]

Great start on your build and great info on the class for those wanting to stay as close to "real world" as possible.  Following this for both the build and gasser info...

[modelfink]

This is looking very nice, period correct and well crafted. I really like your suspension pieces, ladder bars, front axle, etc.

[noname]

Thanks guys. Iborg, maybe I'll call this a 66 period Gasser.  I don't want to mess with the frame at this point.  I think the 409 is fine. I've seen them used in everything including Gassers. Maybe I'll leave the fan off but add an alternator for good measure. I will probably leave the inner fenders as they are part of the body. Now that I think of it I probably should have worked with the stock frame. But these square tube frames are clean and fairly easy to make.

MPi, I used the seat belt material and PE from Detail Master.  It got worn along the edges from building them but I kind of like it. Looks like it is really worn from use.

Hedotwo, if you are interested in Gassers, I suggest, "Gasser Wars" by Larry Davis. And his book on Super Stock is also very good. But there are always questions not answered in the books. However they cover almost everything.

Thanks Modelfink. The front axles and springs really aren't that hard to make.  This drop axle was taken from a 32 Ford kit and I made the springs. Sometimes I do straight axles completely from scratch. They are simple and fun to do.

[modelfink]

I would consider removing the inner fenders. One of the coolest things about old gassers are the fenderwell headers that fill up the space where those inner fenders were.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'd forget trying to run an engine-driven fan on a blown engine, simply because to space it far enough forward to clear the blower drive would require a fairly long shaft. The kind of shock loads this setup would encounter during clutch-dumping acceleration and bang-shifts would tend to launch a fan through the radiator.

Electric fans WERE available in the early '60s, by the way. Even production cars sported them...like the Jag E-type.

'62 was the year that a lot of the "full street equipment" requirements were dropped, and fiberglass body parts came in around '64.

Don't forget the height of the crankshaft centerline was 24" from the pavement, max. The sky-high noses a lot of "gassers" end up with ("nostalgia" 1:1 cars AND models) is just WRONG.

Far as the blown 409 goes, no reason not to. Class was still determined by a weight-to-displacement ratio, so you could pretty well make just about any combination competitive...even the ones that the "experts" said wouldn't work.

I also have to agree with iBorg about the frames. In '66 or '67, unibody cars began showing up as gassers. George Montgomery's "Malco Gasser" Mustang is a case in point. It's built on heavily modified Willys rails, and I believe that was the turning point where the gasser rules first stated that a "production-car type" frame had to be used, but could be fabbed from rectangular tubing.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[noname]

Thanks Ace.  I'll ditch the fan idea. I don't like cars with the nose sky high.  I like them up but not unrealistically high. I was planning on using pie crusts but if I am not mistaken they could still be purchased well after 1964 when I believe wrinkle wall slicks were first used.

[vintagercr]

Coming along nicely...

[Jmaracing]

Looking good!!!

[6bblbird]

Gasser builds are almost always fun and you can get pretty creative. But if you want accuracy, there are many here that can help. The rule books are also available on line.

I concur with iBorg about blown 409s in 1966. There are probably more of them today then there were back then! I'm sure that they were out there but they were rare for sure. You should definitely build one!

As far as the frame goes, it wasn't until 1968 that NHRA allowed square or box tubing for frame construction and that was only for supercharged cars that were originally unibodies. 

As far as the inner fenders or splash shields go, they were required but could be trimmed for header clearance.

Pie crust slicks were used thru the late sixties. I remember seeing them when I started racing in 1971. (Not everyone had money for new tires! lol)

Please remember that there were other associations besides NHRA back then and there "rules" could be very loose! Match race "Gassers" played by their own rules. Some had hinged bodies and ran nitro!

If you want to stray from the rule book a bit, why not make it an Altered? You have a lot more leeway and can still retain the look that you are after.

 

WF

 

Edited October 26, 2016 by 6bblbird

[6bblbird]

Here's a detail tip that is often overlooked when building a car with a rollbar. It is often overlooked by modern 1:1 car builders as well.

Headrests! They were, and still are required. Easy to make.

[modelfink]

Could the rear cross bar be moved up and the headrest be mounted to it?

[10thumbs]

Matt, good looking body style, and your preparations are just right.  Nice project, and you've done your homework, I like.

[6bblbird]

Could the rear cross bar be moved up and the headrest be mounted to it?

Yes! Most of them are done that way.

[Snake45]

 

As far as the inner fenders or splash shields go, they were required but could be trimmed for header clearance.

 

WF

 

You are correct--it's right in the NHRA rulebooks of the era. But if you look at period photos, you'll see that a LOT of "gassers" didn't use them. I don't know if these were built for AHRA or other organizations, or no organization at all, or NHRA just didn't enforce that unless records and/or national/regional championships were involved, or what, but I know that you can find boo-coo pictures of cars without them.

[6bblbird]

If your local track did not strictly enforce the rules ( it still happens today) , you could get away with a lot of things. I'm sure many racers showed up at a regional meet or National event only to be told that they would not pass tech until they made numerous changes. I've run cars for years with bogus items and slipped through tech even at National events only to be eventually caught ! Had to build a steering column in the pits one time when they caught my wire cable column. I ran a  6bbl fiberglass hood on my Hemi Road Runner in Stock eliminator for years. No one ever caught that one! So, yeah, rules were made to be broken!

P.S. You can get away with a lot of obvious infractions...........until you start winning ...then they go over you with a fine tooth comb!

Edited October 27, 2016 by 6bblbird

[DumpyDan]

Nothing like a 50's gasser, looking good keep it coming

[noname]

Thanks guys for the comments. Thanks 6bblbird for your knowledge I know was gained form years of experience being around a drag track.

I think I'll go with what I have, call it a mid 60s gasser that may have been lucky enough to squeeze the frame through an AHRA event (or something like that).  I kind of made a goof with that frame. I do make Altered builds sometimes so maybe I got confused. I suppose this car could be thrown into an Altered class at an NHRA event, where it probably would not be very competitive. But then again with it's weight it would have been in a lower class anyway.  I know sometimes they did not change rules until a trend starts.  Maybe this guy is the reason they came up with that rule.

[Snake45]

I've got a mid or late '60s Rod & Custom mag that has a story on a straight-axle "kit" someone was making for '55-57 Chevy. It involved cutting off the stock frame around the firewall and welding on rectangular tubing. I don't recall if the story said the thing was Gas-class legal, but it's hard to imagine that this company came up with this thing just for street use (i.e., illegal for Gasser class). I'll have to see if I can find that story again.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've got a mid or late '60s Rod & Custom mag that has a story on a straight-axle "kit" someone was making for '55-57 Chevy. It involved cutting off the stock frame around the firewall and welding on rectangular tubing. I don't recall if the story said the thing was Gas-class legal, but it's hard to imagine that this company came up with this thing just for street use (i.e., illegal for Gasser class). I'll have to see if I can find that story again.

Several companies still build these. I'd really like to know the date of the mag you saw that in. 

http://www.jimmeyerracing.com/products/sub_55-57_chevy_car_gasser.shtml             

 

 

[dodgefever]

I've got a mid or late '60s Rod & Custom mag that has a story on a straight-axle "kit" someone was making for '55-57 Chevy. It involved cutting off the stock frame around the firewall and welding on rectangular tubing. I don't recall if the story said the thing was Gas-class legal, but it's hard to imagine that this company came up with this thing just for street use (i.e., illegal for Gasser class). I'll have to see if I can find that story again.

Hot Rod, April '67.  Blair's Speed Shop kit IIRC.

 

[Snake45]

Several companies still build these. I'd really like to know the date of the mag you saw that in. 

http://www.jimmeyerracing.com/products/sub_55-57_chevy_car_gasser.shtml             

 

Somewhere between 1964 and 1968 or possibly '69, I think.

[Snake45]

Hot Rod, April '67.  Blair's Speed Shop kit IIRC.

 

Pretty sure that's not it. I don't have that issue, and I'm virtually certain it was R&C, not HRM. And IIRC it was a dual-spring setup, not the suicide setup on that cover.