Chilly Willy Articles

The Era of the Wild Gassers
Canadian Classics - March 2000

For enthusiasts that were fortunate enough to follow drag racing in the early l960's, among their favorite memories of the sport were the wild antics of the gas coupes. Drag racers had discovered that the short wheelbase cars of the l930's and 40's made a great basis for their quarter mile endeavors. Among the most popular automobiles used were the Willys coupes of the mid to late `30's, the tiny English Anglia and Austin, and various other small coupes built back then. Most of the coupes were light in weight, had the room under the hood for a much larger motor, and looked great. The race teams started by stripping the car to its bare essentials. Anything that wasn't absolutely necessary was removed. Often, the interior of the car was nothing more than a single seat, steering wheel and gauges. The most distinct feature of the early gassers was their `nose in the air' stance. This look was achieved for a very important reason. Drag tire technology was not very. sophisticated ack then. Most rear drag slicks were retreads, using old street tires that were skinny and hard. Consequently, traction was a big problem. To overcome this, car builders used a theory known as weight transfer. With the front end of the car high and the back end low, weight was transferred to the back wheels, giving better traction. Another system that was widely used was a weighted back bumper. The car's original power plants were replaced by huge displacement motors with high horsepower, such as tha Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Lincoln. Eventually, other weight saving devices were utilized. Among these were the use of light weight fiberglass reproduction body parts, Plexiglas windows, and aluminum fire walls and panels.

The fan appeal of these cars was immediate. Not only did they look neat, the show they put on was fantastic. With their short wheelbase and huge motors, their unpredictability was very appealing. It was not unusual for the gassers to wheel stand off the starting line and with every shift. The car`s often became ill handling anywhere past midtrack, due to their high altitude stance. They were a memorable show on eachpass down the quarter mile.

Like So many of the classes in drag racing, the gassers got their start in California. Teams had already been established during the early days of the sport. By the early 1960's, California rivals, such as Stone Woods Cook, K.S. Pittman, and Big John Mazmanian set the standard for the class. The fan appeal was when each team boasted about their superiority over the others. The `gasser wars' raged on in the media of the day. Later, other teams, prominently from the state of Ohio came to challenge the west coast leaders. George Montgomery and Chuck Finders were among the better examples to emerge.

Bert Straus' Chilly Willy took on U.S. Cars during the 1960's

Drag racing publications covered the gasser scene extensively, and its impact was widely felt. Canadian drag racers, smitten with the gasser teams from the U.S., established many examples of the class. Our own gasser teams became local heroes to thousands of Canadian drag race fans thoughout the years. Several key teams ventured south of the border, and took on the best cars that the U.S. offered. We were able to prove, once again, than canadian drages racers would have to be taken seriously. Our teams broke class records with regularity at both national and regional events.

With ever changing technology and rule changes, the gasser era slowly died, reluctantly fazed out to make room for other emerging classes. But for fans of early drag racing, the thought of a wild Willys coupe charging down the quarter mile, will always be clear in their minds and their hearts.