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Red Baron Gasser
Real drag racing is a thing of the past folks. Hate to say it, but these "nostalgia races" being held today are a joke. A parody of a once great sport that used to bring in fans. Today it's all about the "show" and nothing about racing. Back in the 60's there was a thing called The Gasser Wars. They were match races that would pair off two cars in a class, in this case AA/GS, and the two would race to the end of the quarter mile trying to beat each other's time; A drag race. These cars, although beautiful to look at, would also go fast. Imagine that. The car that graces these pages is a 1933 Willys coupe. A steel bodied car with fiberglass parts bolted on to save weight, and, it's the original car. Not a tribute car, but the real deal.
Back in 1967, the Hills brothers, Pete and Bill, from Cleveland, Ohio, were a couple of drag racers. Pete was the driver, and Bill was the tuner and wrench. It was that year the two were given a 1933 Willys coupe to promote the company "Mr. Gasket" (Mr. WHO?). Pete and Bill wasted no time getting the car to legendary builder Chuck Finders. Chuck, fueled by fried chicken and sponsor money, chopped the car's top and partially boxed the original '33 Willys frame, made a set of long ladder bars for the Olds rear spinning 4:56 gears and dampened using Corvair coil-overs with a Don Long dragster straight front axle, turning the car around in just eleven days.
Read the rest of this article in ISSUE
23: Citric Acid
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