I have to admit that I was never fond of gassers. That is, I was never fond of them until the Southeast Gassers Association came to our local 1/8 mile track for a couple of days of racing. Trust me, if you haven’t seen one of the handful of gasser groups or associations when they put on races at tracks near you, you need to go. They put on one heck of a show. The cars are all built in the proper period correct style, the racing is evenly matched, and the sounds and sights of these noisy nostalgic cars tearing down the track on two wheels is quite a spectacle. If you can’t wait for them to come to town, then there is a cool little gasser just waiting for you in Concord, North Carolina. Currently selling on EBay with a current bid of $9,000, this 1962 Ford Falcon gasser may be the perfect thing to get you out of the stands and onto the drag strip.
The seller states that this Falcon was a barn find that has been upgraded, which explains the weathered lettering. While the specific parts that were upgraded are not mentioned, the list of modifications are extensive. The car is equipped with a 351 cubic inch Windsor V-8, C-6 automatic transmission with a Hurst shifter, and a Ford 9″ rear end. Added to that is a new aluminum radiator with dual electric fans, a newer Edelbrock carburetor, a 15 gallon fuel cell with an electric fuel pump, two transmission coolers, a custom driveshaft, and traction bars.
Underneath, we can see that the solid front axle suspension has received some freshening up. The tires look fairly new, but appear to be just street tires with the white wall mounted inward. The seller states that the car is street legal, so maybe a narrow front set of wheels and tires and a set of wider wheels with drag tires on the back should be the first big purchase for the new owner if they plan on doing battle at the track.
Inside, this gasser is all business. Once you sit your rear down in the duct taped Thunderbird seats and strap on the racing lap belts, there is not a lot to distract you. An add on tachometer is strapped to the steering column, otherwise the only instrumentation available is what Ford thought you needed in 1962. The floors have been stripped of any carpet and insulation, and the door and side panels have been replaced with what looks to be aluminum sheets with some wire brush on a drill swirling. Most importantly, some sort of severed zombie head is hanging from the rear view mirror. Hopefully it is included in the sale. Everyone needs one of these, especially this month.
Under the hood is the 351 Windsor engine we mentioned before. It looks to have stock heads topped off with a really nice set of finned valve covers, an aluminum intake manifold, and a custom set of headers exiting out the fender well. The seller lets us know that they are one of a kind, have augers, and are ceramic coated. I believe augers are pieces added to the headers to swirl the exhaust gases to aid in pulling combusted gases away from the exhaust ports. Hopefully one of our readers can confirm this or verbally spank me for being an idiot to the term.
From the rear, this gasser is all business. Usually when we see a Falcon, they kind of have that frumpy grandma car look to them. Not so for this one. The wide tires and the yellow traction bars are a pretty good clue that something is up. While I don’t think this car is putting out gobs of tire melting horsepower, the 351 V-8 combined with the low curb weight of an early Falcon should add up to some pretty fast times.
Gassers are an interesting part of drag racing history, and it is great to see these cars tearing up the tracks again. While I am not crazy enough to add one to my short list (racing turns money into speed, and I can’t go too fast on my shoestring budget), I will be a faithful spectator every time a gasser tour comes to town. You should be too.
The auger inserts are to quiet it down without the addition of mufflers. Mufflers would not look right on a gasser.
A351 Windsor????? Why not a Cleveland?
Lots of people have started with Windsor motors now, some using 302 heads.
I like it, it would be fun giving kids rides in it at local car shows. One of our car cruise buddies just got his 65 Fairlane done with a 331 stroker and a 4 speed, with his 4:11 rear gears he can almost pull the wheels off the ground in 3 of his 4 gears, stoplight to stoplight that car is truly wicked so don’t let the 351 scare you away from this car. JMHO
No roll bar?
It, like most “gassers” are for show. It won’t see a race track unless there is a show in the parking lot.
Steve R
I love this car. Although I never got to see it, my brother had a 61 Falcon Gasser in late 69-early 70’s with a straight axle, a 4 speed hydro and believe it or not a Chevy 409. It was my understanding, it ran 11 Seconds at a 130 mph in the 1/4 mile, at Orange County Raceway. Occasionally, he said he would throw some mufflers on it, and a borrowed license plate, and run it on the street. Ohhh those were the days of Hot Rodding. Thanks for the memory
Yeah, gassers are the coolest drag cars, except fuel cars, of course. This, I don’t believe is a “gasser” just a street version of one. I do believe, while a parachute isn’t required on gassers, a roll bar is. This is just a toy, but I bet it pulls the front wheels off the ground, and freaks out whoever is riding shotgun. Very cool.
Safety equipment is dictated by the ET, and in some cases the mph a car runs.
Steve R
The rules are very confusing, but I think, anything under 10.0 seconds in the 1/4 requires a chute and a roll bar. This is no 10.0 second car, but I bet not far behind.
351 is a wise choice; light weight and plenty of power, and this one has a very cool vintage vibe going for it. Any more than that and things could get real ugly real fast.
Ive never heard of augers but in the day we used to swirl polish our headers with the belief that it would help the exhaust flow faster,but dont really know if it helped
Take the front wing off, and paint it red, and it looks a lot like one I terrorized the streets around 1988-’89! Mine actually did have a racing history (roll cage,check). With a mild 302, 4speed, and 4 :11’s in a nine inch, it would yank the front tires off the street, no problem. Being young and with less sense, it was actually my daily driver, too much fun!
I’m not too impressed with the choice of braking equipment. I’d have to reconfigure a dual master cylinder system just for the confidence factor.
“… aluminum sheets with some wire brush on a drill swirling”
That’s not inaccurate but for street cred, going forward, use the term engine turned.
The rears are already awkward, if wider wheels and fatter tires are employed the rear end should be shortened.
Could be the angle, but neither axle looks centered in its respective wheel opening.
I suspect there is more posing going on here than implied by the ad.
Once again a really cool car is offered for sale, whish I could afford to buy this one. It would be LOTS of fun on the street.
Years ago I bought a 1969 SC/RAMBLER from original owner for $1500 with a 70 MACHINE engine and 4:56 gears. What a ride! Sold it 2 years later for $850 not running.
Someone pointed out that it only has street tires with the whitewalls turned inwards.I had a friend who raced the attached Corvette in the 60s. The front tires were off a tractor!
Aside from the awesome mechanicals, that lettering along the side is the wrong font for “all caps”. Just sayin….
“…The front tires were off a tractor!”
We used aviation tires…
Don’t 4get – this is 4 a ‘straight ahead’ run.
11.99 or faster in 1/4 mile u have to have a roll cage. 8.99 or faster you need a chute. Cutes r now a rite of passage. Your haulin a** in that bracket…