55 Gasser frame project

[chevynut]

I think it's just technique and experience.

I really don't think so. The technique and experience give you the perfect "stacked dimes" look that he can do and I'm not nearly as good at. But the shiny, smooth welds he can do seems to be something else. My son has a lot of experience TIG welding on my frames and at a heating and A/C place he worked at for a few years and his welds have a finish similar to mine. Earle and I discussed amperage settings, and we're about the same. He uses a smaller gas cup than I do so I plan to try that. I just haven't figured out what the difference is.

[chevynut]

Do any of you have an opinion on rear axle position on a gasser? I know they usually use pretty large diameter tires, and I know that can be an issue with the rocker clearance. Earle recommends moving the axle back 1/2" to 1" for this reason. Do you see any reason NOT to do that? I have it set up at the stock location now. This car is going to sit high, with the rocker being 2.4" above the tire centerline but it could drop that much with suspension travel.

[Rick_L]

I think that "real" gassers didn't move the axle back - they cut away whatever metal was in the way.

Moving the axle back decreases the weight on the rear tires, something you didn't want to do in the day. In fact right after the gasser trend was the factory experiment and then funny car trend, and those cars moved the axle forward for the weight distribution.

On the other hand, about 95% of the "gassers" these days have few of the small details like the originals. So most don't care or don't know, or even want to know.

[chevynut]

I found out that the plan is to use 30.2" diameter tires on the rear. I don't know how close a 55 is to a 56, but I measured my Nomad and it has 26.13 " tires on the rear with about 1.5" clearance to the rocker. That means the max tire diameter would be about 29.13" on my car. So I moved the axle back 3/4" to make sure nothing rubs. That's still only .43" clearance, but I hesitate to move the axle any further due to shock fitment issues.

[Rick_L]

If anything a 55 probably has more metal in the way by a small amount.

The modern way of building a modified drag race car is to narrow the axle and install bigger tubs. And stretch the wheel opening, moving the front forward and the rear back. This style started right after the gassers, where they just made that big radius cutout, with the radius as big as necessary.

How much clearance you should plan for is a matter of the type of tire. Street tires don't grow significantly. Some real drag slicks grow tremendously.

[chevynut]

The gasser frame is finished and the chassis assembled. Last week we finished the welding and the assembly of this project. It took a lot longer than I expected with all the changes to the plan and everything I had to adjust as we went. Earle designed some upper rear shock mounts and they were supposed to clear the trunk floor. After crawling under my sedan several times, taking measurements, and cutting and fitting the parts I finally got what I believe will work. The owner didn't want to cut his trunk floor like Earle's standard mounts require you to do.

I also didn't like the Speedway Motors shackle mount bracket. This is a 2-piece frame and the bracket would have had to sit right on the jogged part of the frame which I felt was unsafe. Plus they zinc plate them so you really need to strip the zinc to weld them. So I fabbed some new brackets that I feel are better and safer.

Here's some pics.

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[markm]

I think that "real" gassers didn't move the axle back - they cut away whatever metal was in the way.

Moving the axle back decreases the weight on the rear tires, something you didn't want to do in the day. In fact right after the gasser trend was the factory experiment and then funny car trend, and those cars moved the axle forward for the weight distribution.

On the other hand, about 95% of the "gassers" these days have few of the small details like the originals. So most don't care or don't know, or even want to know.

My 55 was a half assed gasser back in the day, they cut the rear quarters 12 inches above stock opening, stock rear springs with welded diff and stupid long shackle's

That rear suspension looks way more advanced than any gasser I ever recall seeing.

[Geoff]

Really, really nice work on that gasser chassis Lazlo.

[567chevys]

Looks really nice , also that floor looks Great !!


Sid

[Justin@ECP]

The more I look at this build, the more I get into gasser setups