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bill dedman · 12-25-2010, 02:22 PM

Merry Christmas back atcha! Thanks!

Tires (slicks) back then, were nothing like what we have nowadays, in terms of bite. So, the racers did what they could to improve the situation by utilizing weight transfer and good, static weight distribution. My personal heroes from that era (1958-1966) , Pitman-Edwards were among the very first SUCCESSFUL practitioners of the application of Dual-Range HydraMatics behind a (seriously) blown Olds in a '41 Willys coupe,and they were aware of the importance of NO WHEELSPIN with that transmission, early in the game, apparently; and as a result,they once had a Willys coupe/race-car that weighed 3,600pounds! It didn't spin... LOL!! !Those cars usually were about 2,400-pounds, race-ready.

Most guys just built tall, short-wheelbase, cars that ended up squirrelly on the big end, and had a lot of frontal area.... but,they used their weight transfer to good advantage to overcome the limitations of those hard, ineffective, slicks of the day. Wheelstands were not uncommon.

NHRA eventually imposed a rule limiting the distance between the ground and the centerline of the crank as some builders had placed the engine so high in the chassis to aid weight transfer. Doing so didn't do anything to enhance their handling properties at high speed, as you might imagine... LOL!

A former racer/writer named "Don Montgomery" has written a book called "Supercharged Gas Coupes" that is near-comprehensive, and is filled with a huge amount of picturesof those early Gassers. If you like that sort of thing, you might think about getting a copy; I think it's still available. I got mine from Amazon.com.

Also worth a look is Larry Davis's "Gasser Wars" a more recent book about the cars we love...

Happy holidays!!!

12-25-2010, 02:22 PM	#4
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: More Legends of Drag Racing Merry Christmas back atcha! Thanks! Tires (slicks) back then, were nothing like what we have nowadays, in terms of bite. So, the racers did what they could to improve the situation by utilizing weight transfer and good, static weight distribution. My personal heroes from that era (1958-1966) , Pitman-Edwards were among the very first SUCCESSFUL practitioners of the application of Dual-Range HydraMatics behind a (seriously) blown Olds in a '41 Willys coupe,and they were aware of the importance of NO WHEELSPIN with that transmission, early in the game, apparently; and as a result,they once had a Willys coupe/race-car that weighed 3,600pounds! It didn't spin... LOL!! !Those cars usually were about 2,400-pounds, race-ready. Most guys just built tall, short-wheelbase, cars that ended up squirrelly on the big end, and had a lot of frontal area.... but,they used their weight transfer to good advantage to overcome the limitations of those hard, ineffective, slicks of the day. Wheelstands were not uncommon. NHRA eventually imposed a rule limiting the distance between the ground and the centerline of the crank as some builders had placed the engine so high in the chassis to aid weight transfer. Doing so didn't do anything to enhance their handling properties at high speed, as you might imagine... LOL! A former racer/writer named "Don Montgomery" has written a book called "Supercharged Gas Coupes" that is near-comprehensive, and is filled with a huge amount of picturesof those early Gassers. If you like that sort of thing, you might think about getting a copy; I think it's still available. I got mine from Amazon.com. Also worth a look is Larry Davis's "Gasser Wars" a more recent book about the cars we love... Happy holidays!!! __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 12-25-2010 at 09:29 PM.