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It is our belief and focus that all the vehicles competing directly resemble as closely as reasonably possible the "gas class" vehicles of the mid 60's - the so called "Gasser Wars" relived.
Geezers & Their Rides
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Chuck Lipka and Marcella Lipka - Eureka, Mo '40 Willys 455 c.i.d. Olds Blown An all steel '40 Willys coupe built over a 2 year period in Chuck's garage by Chuck & 4 friends, from a basket case dragged out of a Canadian National Forest. This car was the poster child for the 2006 NHRA Hot Rod Reunion held at Bowling Green, Ky Chuck along with his wife Marcella are the guiding lights of the Geezer Gassers. They are the promoters and the ones that somehow mange to keep this bunch in some sort of order. Without their leadership this group probably wouldn't exist. |
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Owner: Gary Blasey, Clifton, IL Driver: Brian Blasey '40 Chevy Original Gasser from the '60's brought out of retirement Poster child for the 2007 NHRA Hot Rod Reunion The 1940 Chevy coupe was purchased by Gary Blasey in 1958. He was 17 at the time and had to borrow half the money from a friend. This awesome sum was $7.50. The farmer who had the car had run it into a tree to stop it because the brakes had failed and this us how he found it with the grill pushed into the radiator and the front fenders in bad shape. But he loved it at first sight. It looked like a gasser to him and that's all he could think of. The dream was born over the next two years. It was first run on the strip late in '61, Gary had a grin so big he could hardly get out of the car. In the beginning it sported a 261 c.i. Chevy 6 cly. and it's first runs were in the 14.80's. At that time this was good enough to run with the super stockers which was 335hp/348 c.i. Chevy. WOW! This is fun running with the big guys. Over the next ten years this engine was run in all kinds of configurations and finally go it to run in the 13.90's. In 1972 the V8 was installed and the car because of many reasons didn't get raced very much any more. With the V8 it's best times were in the 11.10's. It has been in storage since 1974 and now here is is racing again after 27 years of storage. |
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Dave Bowen 1952 Chevy 2 dr. sedan All steel, black hot rod primer
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Bill Caughron, Louisville, KY Powered by 389 SB Injected Chevy |
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Big Al Chernik, Freeland, MI '41 Willys Chrysler 392 Hemi GMC 6-71 Supercharger w/Hilborn Injection Al located this stock 4 cylinder Willys in Northern California in 1965. After a 2 year commitment with the army, and a "scenic" tour of Vietnam, work began on the "hot rod". By 1969 the car was on the street with a 327 Corvette motor and a 4 speed. It remained that was until May 1992. The 90's brought about a renewed interest in hot rodding across the nation. This Willys needed a complete rebuild. The car was totally dismantled. The frame was boxed and reinforced, a new front and rear suspension was put in place, along with a glass tilt front end to make access to the blown Hemi motor easier. Topping off all these mechanical improvements was a fresh coat of candy apple paint. The Willys was modeled after "Big John Mazmanian's" '41 coupe from the 60's.
Al & Judy who live in Freeland Michigan have been married for 35 years and have 2 children. The family cheers on Al at the drag races, with son, Ryan, helping with the chores in the pits.
The car has campaigned through the Midwest in the last 10 years and is gaining a reputation. Improvements are always being made to make it more competitive. It has proven itself to be a real crowd pleaser. Even though it draws attention, while sanding still, Al takes pride in the Willys gasser heritage."Car show are great, but give me a quarter mile, green light and I'll give you a show!" |
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Tom Cray, Fenton, Mo '40 Willys steel 472 Cadillac normally aspirated |
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Steve Cregut, Tecumseh, KS '48 Austin steel BB Chevy normally aspirated |
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Steve Cregut, Tecumseh, KS '48 Anglia |
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Ron Doran, Pataskala, OH '40 Willys |
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Chad Hasselbeck 1937 Willys 4 door sedan Big Nasty I found the car by accident when I went to look at another car that a guy had for sale. The Willys body was sitting on a piece of plywood with casters so it was mobile. It was only the body and he had so much crap piled up on it and in it I wasn't even sure what it was. When he told me it was a Willys my dad and I knew we weren't going to leave there without it. We returned the next day to pick up the body and bare frame. Five years later the Willys started up and ran for the first time on June 11, 2008. The Willys is powered by a new GM 350 block that has been stroked to a 383. Backing up the engine is a turbo 350 transmission with all Coan internals and a Coan 5500 stall convertor. The rearend is a Ford 9" that is stuffed with a Moser center section with 4.56 gears and a spool. Moser 35 spline axles completed the rearend build up. Competition Engineering coilovers and ladder bars hang the rearend in the stock boxed framefails. The front end is a straight tube axle from Speedway Motors. A Vega steering box helps keep the wheels pointed in the right direction.. For safety the car features a fully tig welded chromemolly 10 point roll cage. To help from having to use that cage a set of chromemolly wheelie bars was later added. So far the best time in the car is a 10.77 at 119 mph. |
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Bryan Huffman Kewanee, Il. Drag raced for 40 years, ran in the all Harley Drags for 17 years |
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Charlie Long , Akron, Ohio '48 Ford Coupe Engine: 383ci Small block chevy This car was removed from a barn in central Ohio in 2008. We purchased it the fall of that year and my dad ( Dennis Atkinson ), my son Jordan Long and I began the build in our garage. After the body was blasted we realized that the bottom 6 inches of the car remained on the blasting booth floor. That winter we enlisted the help of ace body man Dave Owen, and together we rebuilt the body , modified the frame and made the tilt front end. The car is all steel and continues to be a work in progress. I must thank the Love of my Life, Donna for her patients and understanding during the whole project and for her continuing help as my crew chief. Also all the friends and family that make Charlies Speed Shop happen. We all have a big inspiration from my son SSGT. Charles M. (Shorty ) Long 5/30/77 to 9/3/07 he has watched and guided each and every nut, bolt and weld. Thanks Shorty, we miss ya |
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Owner: Bob Mitchell, Fenton, MO '40 Willys 460 c.i.d. BB Ford Supercharged My name is Barney I was born in 1940 at the Willys factory. I was soon sold and became the pride and joy of my first real owner. Through the years I had several owners the exact number I can't remember. Finally I was abandoned in a field in Southern Missouri. I sat there for many years without anyone paying any attention to me at all. Kids busted out my windows, critters used my interior as a home. The mid-west weather played havoc with me over the years until I was nothing more that a skeleton and hardly recognizable. Then one day sometime in the year 2000 a couple of fellers pulled up with a pickup truck and a trailer and began to load my pitiful body on the trailer. I had no idea at this point what was going to happen to me. They took me to Fenton, MO and I was unloaded into a warm garage where my new owner Bob Mitchell started to massage my body. I was in pretty sorry shape and some of his friends thought he was crazy, me too at first. Then Bob started cutting out the bad spots where mother nature had eaten holes in my body and started replacing them with new sheet metal. Before long I started to get back to the shape that I originally had. This went on for quite awhile and Bob's friends were amazed at what he was doing to me. I asked Bob what he was going to do with me? He replied, "I'm going to make you into an Ol' 60's gasser" Wow I said and why would you want to do this, I ask. "Because ever since I was 14 and saw my 1st Willys gasser I've wanted one and I finally found you" Over the next couple of years I got new sheet metal, a fiberglass front end to replace the old one that was missing and a big block 460 ci Ford motor, with a blower no less. Man am I in tall cotton now. Bob installed some safety equipment so that he could drive me both on the street and the strip. Shot my wonderfully restored body with some primer and gave me a new set of shoes, (wheels and tires for the non gearheads). I ran around in the primer for a year or so then Bob decided that I need some paint so he shot me this cool red color that I am today. Now I'm a "Geezer Gasser" and spend my leisure time at the nostalgia drags, racing and hanging around with "Ol' Gassers" like myself. Occasionally Bob just takes me for a spin around town, man life is great and to think that I almost rusted away to nothing sitting out there in that field for all those years. What a Life!!!! |
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Owner: Bob Mitchell, Fenton, MO '40 Willys Pickup 460 c.i.d. BB Ford Trans Ford C6 This little Willys pickup has a fiberglass cab with a tilt fiberglass fron end. The bed was
all hand built by Bob. |
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Harv Nayman, Gasport, NY '40 Willys 355 ci SB Chevy Power |
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Ron Normann, Hebron, Il '41 Willys Coupe Powered by Blown 427 ci Chevy 671 Mooneyham Blower This '41 Willys was created to be shown at the SEMA show to display the
Sherman-William new "Flip-Flop" paint One of 6 cars originally raced by the Airoso Bros. from Tulare, CA |
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Hairy Hauler Owner: Ron Normann, Hebron, Il Driver: Kenny Hansing '41 Willys Pickup Powered by 350 SB Chevy The Truck was originally raced out of California as the "Lettuce Hauler". It was once owned by the "very famous" Harvey Nauman of New York. Very old school set up, original 60's American real magnesium wheels, old moon fuel cell, vintage sun tach. Best run so far is a 11:10. |
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Owner/Driver: Gene O'Connor Pembroke, Fl 1940 Willys Coupe "The Pilgrim" While at a cruise night with my 1941 Willys Pickup that I raced at nostalgia events for 11 years, a friend came to me and asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in a "coupe one of these". To which I replied, "have you been reading my mail?" The car was an 1980's street rod from Texas. I replaced the frame with a stock unit, boxed and cross members removed or modified to fit the 1957 Chrysler 392 hemi engine. With 40 plus years of experience in auto and truck repair and a life-time passion for Willys coupes, I set out to build what I think of when I think of a gasser from the Gasser Wars of the 1960's. In 2006 while at the Indy Goodguys event, with the car still in primer, Chuck Lipka asked me if I would be interested in racing with the Geezer Gassers. The rest is history and my wife, Mo, and I are having a great time with a great group of people doing something we all love. Specifications: |
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Philip Pofahl, Kenosha, WI '46 Ford Coupe '52 Olds387.5 c.i.d. '51 Merc rearend narrowed 4:56 (homemade spool) Turbo 400 Transmission Paid $75 for car in 1958 Painted in 1962 Glade Green Best ET: 11.77-111.00 MPH
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Bill Sworm, Rockford, IL '41 Willys Coupe 468 c.i.d Big Block Chevy At the age of 16 I first saw a Willys straight axle gasser in 1963 at Cordova, Illinois which was Quad CIty Dragway at the time and it was love at first sight. I swore I would some day race such a car but by the time I ran across Willy he and I were long since obsolete (1996) Things didn't go well with he and I for the first couple years* as two tacky survivors of the 60s we had considerable difficulty making our program work. He was unnamed until the day at Byron Dragway when my friend was driving him in a gambler race. It was October* the track was cold and largely unsprayed yet Willy chose to do a 6 foot circus act wheelstand. My friend did an excellent job of driving him out of it without panicking and just chopping the throttle which would have caused much damage. That's when I decided he thought he was PT Barnum so he became PT Willy with PT Barnum's words to live by "e;There's a sucker born every minute"e; lettered on the doors with his new name PT Willy. He never did such a wheelstand before or after that one day. I finally found the first guys that raced him through lucky internet research done by a friend of mine.. He was originally raced under the name of Busse and Fout as an A/G car with supercharged 392 Chrysler. His racing career began in 1964 when I was just finishing my high school career and was mostly raced in the UDRA circuit. Ron Fout came and visited him after we made the connection and had some slides and photos of him that were priceless. I copied a couple of them to put in my trailer with the photos of him taken during our association. One at Oswego, Ill and one at BEAUTIFUL US 30 DRAGWAY* for those of us from the midwest that recall the SUNDAY ads played endessly on WLS Radio in Chicago. Both tracks that have long since disappeared except in the memories of fossils like Willy and I. We have run across 3 of his former owners at various events we raced with Geezer Gassers. Including myself* I can account for 6 owners* but who knows how many more there may have been* if only he could talk. I have resisted the urge to repaint and restore him* as the tackiness shows his seniority and credentials in drag racing. He and I photograph ok 20 feet away* but close inspection reveals us both to be old and tacky which is why it now says "e;taking names and kicking asses since 1964" on his hood to explain the tackiness. A brief list of his parts is:
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Dan Tackett, Saucier, MS Blown 393 Hemi I have been in around racing since my early street racing as a teen that landed me a job with the Ms. Highway Patrol. They figured if they couldn't catch me they would hire me. I retired in 1996 after 25 years. I build a lot of hot rods but have always enjoyed the old gassers. I purchased a '39 Ford coupe that had been in storage for 20 yrs. The car was purchased for the original owners son. I have been working on the car for about 2 months. Frame is done,, tubs are in, blown 392 hemi and glide installed. Doing body work now and expect to have it in primer soon. |
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Randy Tavoletti, Chicago Heights,
IL '41 Willys Steel body Blown SB Chevy 355 c.i.d. 671 GMC blower Powerglide Trans & Coan torque converter '57 Olds rearend 4:88 posi A Gasser from the 60's redone for safety The car was purchased in Gary, IN. It was raced under the name of E. Smalls Whine-O, the owner was from around the North-West suburbs of Chicago. It has been raced at
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Wizard Racing / LaGrange, Ohio 48 Anglia Owners / Ron Bauer Larry Hiller Mike Kovacs Martin Stead / Driver Steel body / glass nose & trunk lid After attending a gasser show we decided that is something we have to do. We found a project on EBay , and went to town all winter. Everyone donated time and money and by the following spring we went racing. The first year was a learning time and I must say Fun. Last year we stepped it up and was lucky enough to run with the group at Norwalk Blue Suede. We can't wait for 2010. |
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Owners: Bob Worrall, Glendale, Mo &
Bob Hajek, Kirkwood, Mo Dan Mann, Fenton, Mo - Driver Jim Predeau, Pevely, Mo - Grunt '49 Anglia Injected SB Ford Steel body National Record Holder in the '60's
Several Canadian racers have looked at the car, and have said it really could be the original, but over the years of lost history, one never knows Needing parts for the car, we contacted Dean Kersten, at his Company, Anglias Obsolite, talked for a few minutes, asked info we had, said the name Mister Crude. He said he had a magazine with that named car in it, E-mailed it to me and the photo was the car we had purchased, and the History trail started again We have collected a large amount of history on the early days, but again as history goes there is a large void of time...when the Rydell, Hope, and Lang sold the car and moved on too race the Vega in Modified Production, the history ended. We would like and hope to find more info on the car during that period The history of the car had stopped, until the car was pulled out of the "lawn tractor shed" in East Moline, IL., and the fellow we purchased the car from made reference, that the car was supposed to be a Gasser from the 1960's and was called Mister Crude Building of the CarWe brought the car home and looked at it for several months, then a good friend, Bob Mitchell, stepped in and took over. You may know Bob from his two red Willys, known as Barney, and De'Railed...he and several, NO ALOT, of friends put their fingerprints on it. We jokingly refer to ourselves as the MFRA (Murphy Flats Racing Assoc.) of Missouri. We are very lucky, because here in the St. Louis area their are six of us racing the Old Style Gassers with the"Geezer Gassers" and they all helped alot. The Crude Crew, we have a group of four that are involved on a weekly if not a daily basis, we have a great time, and have fun...Bob Hajek my partner in the car; Danny Mann who has the driving duties; Jim Predeau, who does all the things none of us want too; and myself Bob Worrall Our best time in 2007, was 9.69 et, with a speed of 137 mph |
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Robert Yust, Cincinnati, OH '51 Henry J |