Nostalgia Gasser Inspiration

[rckymtn3]

I like this post ! Salute to the loud heavies !

[Draggon]

Hey Dave, all's well! I've gotten sorta particular in my old age, and a taste grumpy at times Like you said, a bit of heat makes the soup tastier!

[doggie427]

Thanx Dave

[W-409]

Pretty cool '57 Ford. Not sure if it was posted, but I'm too lazy to search thru these eight pages again.

[Mooneyzs]

another shot of my favorite AA/GS car. GASSERS rule!

Dave... this is one sweet Ride!! Bad A$$!

[vintagedragfan]

toooo many to pick a favorite! agree with Chris here ^^^^^^

[Terry Sumner]

well, i hope we all emerged emotionally unscathed from that. i happen to like 'em all too. i just have a little more enthusiasm for the newer stuff. glenn, i hope were o.k.. a little heat sometimes just makes the soup tastier. are we being a little piccyunish about the particulars? i don't know about anyone else but, you bet! that's what makes us racers. i read a rule and interpret it one way. you read it and see something else. it's what makes racing such a diverse and intersting sport. while it's a different type of racing, smokey yunik was profound rules interpretuer. look what he did for the nascar guys.

i have an nhra rule book from '74. if anyone would like to read the rules for the gas and supercharged gas classes. i'd be willing to copy them. i know i'd really love to see some rule books from earlier years if anyone has them. glenn has supplied a link to a 1964 rule book any one got some others? personally i'd like to see a 1968-69 book but any of them are cool.

Entire 63, 68 Gas Class only and entire 70 rulebook here...

http://public.fotki.com/tsumner/nhra-rulebooks/

[Terry Sumner]

The whole spirit of a gasser back then was that the car could have been driven on the street...notwithstanding the little items like license plates, wipers and that sort of thing. By simply throwing on the little items like mufflers and wipers, the gassers back then could easily have been registered and driven to and from the track. Indeed, many, many gassers back before 1970 were driven to and from the track. Additionally, many were flat towed to and from the track. The guys with more money had the trailers! Something like the gas class cars of today don't fit within the spirit of what the gas class was originally designed for. Of course, by the late late 60's and early 70's, the match racer type of gassers started to appear. These were gassers that became heavily modified to the point they could no longer compete legally in an NHRA Gas Class. So they had these "Match Race Shows" around the country where they would only race against each other. I think THOSE types of cars were no longer "gassers" and were more akin to the gas class cars of today. The bodies of today's gassers are radically different from a stock body. Can you imagine trying to drive one of today's gassers to the track? Like you quoted above...."capable of being driven on the street" to "capable of self starting and suitable for street use".... I would venture to say that today's gassers don't meet either criteria from back "in the day."

Dave, just curious as I don't have any clue as to how old you are.... were you around drag racing back in the 60's? Just wondering if you had the good fortune to be involved with the original gasser cars.

[Terry Sumner]

I raced, but not gassers. I had a 66 Chevelle that I ran at Connecticut Dragway fairly weekly in C/MP. Best run ever was only 11.22 @ 122 mph. Couldn't afford to go any faster! But I also worked at the dragstrip for 3 years as one of the three announcers in the tower. At only 19, I was the "rookie" so I never got to do the announcing during the "big" shows. But I was intimately involved with those guys back then. It was a great time to be into drag racing. You would'a loved it I'm sure! You've done a lot more actual racing than I did because I had to give it up in 1974. You see, I became a Connecticut State Trooper that year and they frowned highly upon Troopers being involved in drag racing!

But kudos to you on that 33. That must have been a cool car to own and run!

[High octane]

Pretty cool '57 Ford. Not sure if it was posted, but I'm too lazy to search thru these eight pages again.

That's the way I'm plannin' on build my newe Revell '57 Ford Custom when it is released, and the "pit crew" looks good too.

[Tedly]

I like this post ! Salute to the loud heavies !

That first and 4th willys are my dads old gasser, the first one is after he sold it to a friend so the lettering as removed. And Dave "Smith" I know who you are ! The Black 33 Willys gave it way! heheheh

[Tedly]

Yea, Dave,

I did see that website, It is from John johnson maybe you know him, he is from Douglassville, his son has a 67 or 68 Camaro Nostalgia funny car and I believe is working on a late 70's firebird nostalgia funny car too. The old man has some great vintage pictures!

I'd like to see that pic of your willys and Rienfords Vette. I liked that picture you posted of your willys, not many pictures of that car around that I have seen.

hey ted. it's cool to remember the "old" days. at least what's old for you and me. your dad's car was a pretty awesome ride. have you been to that website where those pics are from? i saw (obvioulsy your dad's ride) hine's altered, rieinford's old chevy, heffernan's anglia. probably a ton i'm forgettin' but, it was pretty cool to see the old stuff. i know most of these guy's from a little later on than the pics but it's kinda cool seeing where everyone started from. i gotta pic somewhere of my willy's racing reinford's vette.

[Tedly]

Yup, the camaro is the one with the injected big block.

nice picture considering the age and distance

[eviltwincustoms]

That is fuel injection. That tube thing on top where Carbs would be is the injector setup. The rubber hose then feeds directly into the roots blower.

[W-409]

This '66 Opel Rekord Gasser Raced here in Finland last weekend. Very cool, I would say.

[A.R.C.]

Im going to assume almost everyone will enjoy this picutre and link. Some good Gasser action here....

http://www.streetleg...heels-up-action

[Draggon]

Wow, such controversy Christopher has the right idea, a "gasser" has a certain toughness, and a definite "vibe". To those around drag racing in the 60's, a real gasser is immediately identifiable. While this is a neat car, it is NOT a gasser, and typical of what some people label as a gasser. It is a "highrider". That is what we called street cars like this in the 60's.

As has been said, traditional gassers were small, light coupes, originally made in the 40's, with ( usually ) big engines. I know there are exceptions, but the formula was normally the lightest body with the biggest engine. When NHRA changed the frame regulations from "original" to something else I cant remember, traditional gassers were dead. Mustangs and ' Cudas never had full frames, however the Malco Gasser is a great example of the change that led to the death of the original concept. The "El Padrone" Opel is also a good example of the crossover to a close cousin of the funny cars ( complete with turbo ) which changed the class. Maybe we should ask the Doc if he meant "traditional or vintage" versus "nostalgia" as they aint the same!

Edited May 26, 2012 by Draggon

[eviltwincustoms]

You know... I have to say that I have learned a lot from all the discussion that has been going on around what a "Gasser" is and how much they have changed over the years.

I would also like to say that, even if I was one of the Ignorant ones, I would rather be better informed of what a TRUE Gasser is. So that I wouldn't be making that mistake going forward and continue to label something that it isn't. That would show True Ignorance. At least now if I hear the word gasser, I can at least speak intelligently about them going forward and not just lump the class into something it isn't.

[Modelmartin]

I just looked at this thread today (dollar short and day late as usual) and this argument about gassers is interesting.

I have always disliked it when people use the term "gasser" generically or insist that a gasser is one particular thing. Is a "car" a 1886 Benz Velo or a Bugatti Veyron? There is a lot of ground to cover so you need to define things a little better. Gassers changed a lot over the years from their start in the 50s. If you have a point in time and are correct for that time, it is a gasser. In the 80s many racers took pro-stocks and changed the cubic inch to weight ratio of the car and ran in gas class. These current nostalgia "gassers" are bracket cars. They are cool and fast but class cars run flat-out and keep on trying to go faster. Bracket cars don't.

What definitely are NOT gassers are anything like that blue and white Plymouth wagon that I always see online. That thing makes me sick. What a waste of cool parts. It is a Street Freak(a term from the 70s for those kinds of cars). If the guy who built it is getting his jollies, that is fine. That 4 door Fairlane in the one video is pretty ###### strange. NOT A GASSER!!!!! My beat up 66 Chevelle ran almost as fast back in the late 70s!!

The thing that also bugs me is when people see an altered and call it a gasser. I know that not everyone can know everything and I have probably sounded that stupid when I am looking at armour or aircraft but I just wanted to vent. too!!

[W-409]

I think, those new cars what run in A/G, B/G, C/G, D/G, or AA/GS, they are today's "Gassers". But are they really NOSTALGIA Gassers? I think, that they are bit like Modern Gassers, but not Nostalgia.

Whatever, they are nice.

Here's one '56 Chevrolet, which I hope, qualifies as a Gasser.

[Kustom Rodder]

You betcha tuff lookin 56.

[W-409]

Very Good point, Dave! When comparing into Nostalgia Top Fuel, I'm starting to believe, that Dave's Gassers belong here, in this post.

Thanks for making this subject clear.

[Craig Irwin]

For me it's about the bodys. The "old" style cars were built from real cars and looked like what they were. These new "things" with the front ends laid back and everything molded in and swooped together with a big ugly aluminum box on the rear don't even look like a car, at least no this side of Toon Town.

[MODERATOR]

Gentlemen, I understand vintage gassers and the modern gas class. There seems to be a problem of definition Please post, but do it with more respect for others. If someone is not "understanding" you, use a PM. Thank you -- Moderator

[High octane]

you know what mr. moderator,......you're right. my apolgies for the sarcasm. i don't really need sarcasm to poke holes in this. facts do the work for me.

the whole idea the gasser definition is muddled was only created by you gluhead. gassers are a class in the nhra(the gas coupes and sedans). they have rules and regulations. to be a gasser the car must fit the rules and regulations....bar none. if the car didn't fit the rules, it didn't race. what gluhead would have you believe is there are no rules governing this like a rat rod or a street machine. that just isn't so. while defining a ratrod or a street machine may be ambiguous at best. gassers have distinct guidelines. ask terry or glenn. defining a gasser is easy. if it carries a "G" in it's class designation, it's a gasser. whether it's a nostalgia gasser, vintage gasser seems to be an issue here. oh, and gassers are race cars. that's why they are gassers. not saying you couldn't build a street car in the gasser tradition. gassers are race cars. the definition is not a subjective term it is clearly a definable term. at the end of gluheads second post he clearly attempts to define what he's talking about...... "60's gasser type stuff". if the post would read 60's gasser type stuff, i wouldn't be here posting. i does however read "nostalgia gasser inspiration". that is why i posted. the cars i posted are "nostalgia gassers". each and everyone. they belong here as much as or actually more than "vintage gassers" do. i'm not saying don't post your vintage gassers (like i'm being told not to post my nostalgia gassers, by the way) i'm simply saying those of you who keep saying i can't or shouldn't post these cars here are incorrect!

edit: here's a thought. why don't you start a thread called " vintage gasser" or 60's gasser type stuff" ? you would get all of the correct cars you are looking for.

I am not taking this personally, Mr. Smith, but this type of thread will get a warning shot. Attack me all you want, but be respectful to other forum member, guys! Use PMs to express yourself to another specific member. -- Moderator

I hafta agree with you Dave as many builders use the term "gasser" very loosely and on another forum they tend to use 'muscle car" very loosely also as I've seen them post Camaros (pony car), Ferrari's & Corvettes (sports cars), and even a '49 Merc (custom) under the Muscle Car listing. What gives?