Posted on 02/22/2021 9:20:40 PM PST by ETL
Southeast Gassers Association
CAROLINA DRAGWAY AIKEN 2019 SEGA RECAP
Nov 2, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScZd2dykpu8
Imagine seeing this ‘55 Chevy Gasser leaping off the line with the front tires hanging in midair. No wonder Gassers have remained favorites in drag racing, and why the Gasser revival has lasted longer than the ‘50s and ‘60s Gasser Wars era that inspired it. ...”
Bodies:
Gasser bodies are stripped to reduce weight. The heavy steel hood on our ‘55 could be replaced with fiberglass, or a whole ‘glass forward-tilt front. Frequently, grilles get replaced or eliminated. Rear wheelwells are radiused to fit slicks, and glass is often replaced with screw-in tinted plexiglass or Lexan. It’s rare to see a front bumper; rear bumpers are sometimes replaced with cylindrical pipe bumpers. Elaborate paintjobs are not as common as basic solid colors, but race decals (on the quarter windows) and lettering are pretty standard. Lettering on the doors would spell the team name or, as here, the car’s nickname.
Chassis:
Chassis are purpose-built for straight-line acceleration, and front leaf springs and rear ladder bars are favorite suspension parts. Our straight-axle raises the front of the car (to shift weight) and makes room for fenderwell headers. Faster Gassers might have some type of wheelie bars, but this ‘55, like many, doesn’t.
It’s a drag car, so it runs slicks in the back with front skinnies on 3- or 4-inch-wide wheels. Cragars, Americans, Ansens, and Halibrands are all popular wheels. Stick with five-spokes or kidney beans and you’ve got the look.
Interior:
The interior is drag car minimal, with rear seats removed. The factory bench seat might be replaced with upholstered ‘glass race buckets. Our blown car, and cars with many ‘glass panels, would require a rollbar to run. That rollbar provides a place to mount cushioned head pads. We’d add a column-mounted Sun tach and Stewart-Warner gauges below the dash, and replace our factory steering wheel and gas pedal with a metalflake wheel and a Moon “footprint” pedal. Either way would look correct, but our way could take a tenth off our elapsed time. That’s how we imagine it.”
—Hot Rod Magazine
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1211sr-anatomy-of-a-gasser/
When I was a kid I hung out with this guy.
https://coloradomotorsportshalloffame.com/alan-bockla/
I rode in the push car behind this dragster. Loved the nitro smell. And those gasser cars were awesome.
Great post ! Thank you !
When I was a kid I hung out with this guy. I rode in the push car behind this dragster. Loved the nitro smell.
Thanks for sharing.
I loved those front engine "rails", especially the longer ones that followed. This was of course prior to the rear engine ones that came after, following "Big Daddy" Don Garlit's near-fatal accident with a front engine.
an example of the long "rails".
an example of the safer rear-engine rails.
You’re welcome. Hope you enjoy the video at YouTube.
Pics are nice, but nothing like seeing the live action.
GREAT POST!!! I attended and participated in my first Drag Race at the old Hammer Field in Fresno in 1952 or 53 with my 38 Chevy. The airport is now the Fresno Air Terminal. I belonged to the Fresno Pan Draggers club. I’ll be 87 in a couple of months. My last race was in a FRiends 1970 SS454 here at the Samoa dragstrip across the bay from Eureka Ca...
The Samoa strip is the second oldest operating strip in Ca and perhaps the US
Samoa near Eureka Ca 1953 or 54...
Thanks for posting!
I miss Hallsville Dragstrip in East Texas. I won some trophies out there racing in the trophy street class some 20 years ago.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your story!
Look what I found!
I remember one time when a modified Ford coupe was in line ahead of me and when he revved the engine, the modified cast-iron flywheel exploded and destroyed his legs. I was getting out of my car to help when the flagman yelled at me to stay in my car as it was not a pretty sight.
I moved to Eureka in 1954 where I helped set up the Samoa drag strip that ends almost on the beach. I think Samoa started a year before Redding and both are still holding drag races. --Leon
Ed, a good friend of Leon's, stands next to Leon's 1938 Chevy, with a foot on the running board. This photo was taken in Fresno on the day Leon drove his Navy buddy back to his base in San Diego. Leon had filled the hood vents on the Chevy and done some prep work towards painting the car. He sold it and moved to Eureka in 1954. Courtesy of Leon
1/64 scale (Hot Wheels size)
I stumbled across this horrible story, dated Aug 20, 2019 ...
GREGG COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – Nearly two years after a tragic accident claimed the life of two women, the last suspect spent his day in court.
Davin Davis, 21, was sentenced to spend the next 12 years of his life behind bars on Tuesday.
“Do you understand what you are charged with,” asked 124th District Court Judge Alfonso Charles.
“Yes sir,” said Davis.
“How do you intend to plead to these three charges?” asked Judge Charles.
“Guilty,” said Davis.
In September of 2017, Davis and Chad Malone were racing down the loop in Longview, hitting speeds as high as 110 mph. That’s when Malone’s car hit a truck exiting the Target parking lot.
The wreck killed Malone’s sister, Rylee Malone and his fiancée, Meshebia Johnson. The wreck also badly injured Christa Wilson, the woman in the truck.
It was nearly two years ago at the Hawkins and Eastman Rd. intersection, where two lives were lost and many more, were forever changed.
Today, the last sentence was handed down in that wreck, and you could tell inside the courtroom, that in this case, no one wins. ...”
About 15 years ago, Hallsville had a special race day on Juneteenth, which attracted a different crowd than usual. There was a lot of betting going on the races. Someone reneged on a bet, resulting a shooting which caused a blinding and a death.
That pretty much ended racing at Halllsville.
I am most certainly not a gear head, but the pix are remindful of happier times. Even in the midst of the pandemic, the dirt tracks and asphalt strips in South Carolina thrived.
These videos bring back fond memories. During the 1970s I worked at an NHRA drag strip in South Dakota, mostly as handicap starter and later as EMT for the track ambulance. My favorite drag racers were the two engine behemoths running in a AA top gas class. Two hundred miles per hour in a quarter mile running on regular gasoline....amazing for the time.
LoL... Where did you find this bit of my history???
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