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Crazy Gasser C1 Corvette Build Is An Unfamiliar Sight
By Verdad Gallardo

It's not every day we see a C1 Gasser-style build, but they're always head-turners.

TAlvarez

Just sold today on BaT for $79K.

Ted

ChrisBlair

Stunning

Skip Fix

Here is a classic C1 gasser Dallas International

l 1969

DZAUTO

I think that IT'S A CORVETTE, IT'S A CORVETTE, IT'S A CORVETTE, IT'S A CORVETTE, IT'S A CORVETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Too damn bad that many years ago these cars were shuned and rejected by NCRS. Subsequently turning away and turning off a lot of people from Corvettes. I firmly believe that NCRS did the most damage to the Corvette image than any other thing could do. And ya, I have been an NCRS member since 78, so I feel justified to criticize from the inside.

The only thing better than an old Corvette gasser, is TWO of them!

Leo Guggenbiller

What DZ said, Cept 1981

Drive em safe
Leo

capevettes

I followed that auction on BAT. Hard to beat a Solid Axle Gasser.
Re: NCRS I've been in the NCRS for a very long time. Many of us love these kinds of cars. Now they are being recognized as perhaps they should have been a long time ago.

peters220

I had a lime green 1960 in 1968. It had 10 inch I beams between frame and suspension. My mother called it "The praying mantis". Sorry no photos exist.

DZAUTO

And that is correct and I agree totally and it is way past due. But the down side is that irreparable damage has been done by the earlier "primadonnas" of NCRS and so many people that once lusted over a Corvette, have been turned off forever. It is a shame, because has become one of the few true American icons.

3JsVette

Excellent recreation of a bygone era. The only thing you could critique is that it's built to a higher stand than back in the day.

61corv

I would take this over a restomod with a ls engine - everytime!

Dad's '66 427

Dan Hampton

I am not overly familiar with NCRS's position on Gasser and other drag Corvettes of the 60s and 70s, but my '61, which is a former So Cal. drag car, was awarded the NCRS American Heritage Award. I am not sure how that came about, as the previous owner was the one who participated in the process. I have to assume the car's provenance was unique enough that it couldn't be covered by the NCRS manual/guidelines. I think there are around 50 cars, mostly race cars, that have this award.

I do agree with Tom, though. There are a lot of great ex-Corvette race cars (read Jim Dillion's fantastic book on Corvette drag cars), that should be recognized by NCRS. It was an incredible era that we will never see, again.

It is regrettable that the performance image of the Corvette, which is why the car was produced in the first place, takes a back seat to the aesthetic side of the hobby. After all, it is the old racers who carried the torch for the marque, and that is why most of us became true believers.

Jim Dillon

I would love to own the 62 that is featured in this thread. I also agree with Dan that the old drag cars helped make the Corvette as a true performance car. I have been helping Jan Hyde with the Corvette Registry to add some text and pictures of the drag cars. Really glad Jan wants to feature more of the drag cars. When you think that the Corvette won more eliminator titles in the NHRA during the 60s and 70s than any other car is amazing IMO. I am looking forward to watching some old Vettes go at it this year at a number of drag strips and hopefully make a pass or two myself. Nothing better than watching old Vettes going at it in the quarter mile. Plus would love to park that burgundy 62 in my barn any day.

bertbrown

Dan,
The progress to the American Heritage award took many years and the successful completion may have been because of my connection to the owners that raced the car and the fact it won a National event and was pictured in a number of publications back in 1962. The process started with John Amgwert coming over to the house to photograph the car for the cover of the Winter 1999 Restorer and publishing the racing history of the car. I next participated in an NCRS regional over in Berkeley in 2005 and that is where Roy Sinor viewed the car as an applicant for the award. Finally at the 2009 San Jose National the car was accepted to receive the award after reviewing all my documentation. I am sure that my friendship with Brendan Grassman, Earl Wade, Alan Lockwood, and Hugh Osterman helped move the process along. The other thing that may have helped in the American Heritage acceptance is the fact NHRA rules in the early Sixties for the Sports Production class prohibited cutting up the car and performing heavy modifications, in other words, it pretty much looked like a stock Corvette once you looked past the Americans, the slicks, and the traction masters. I'm sure NCRS was more comfortable with a car that looked close to stock.

I have to agree with the group that the Corvette got it's reputation by it's performance achievements. I know that when I was a teenager that I wanted a car that performed. That was why I ended up buying this car when I was 18.
Bert Brown
Danville CA

Dan Hampton

Great narrative, Bert, and thanks for posting. I like to think--perhaps wishful on my part--that "Dyno" Don Nicholson's early involvement with the car was also a "deal" maker with regard to the certification. Earl Wade, Don's chief mechanic, is also an important figure in the car's history, as you already mentioned.

Your point about the nature of the car's stock body, sans the wheel and tires, is an excellent one. I would suspect that was an important variable in making the cut.

If stock appearance was, indeed, a major part of the decision-making process, that unfortunately has precluded a lot of great cars from making it into the Pantheon of great Corvettes. You need to look no further than Jim Dillion's book to validate that point. I hope that NCRS, at some point, sees the light and recognizes the significance of these old warriors. They put the marque on the map. No doubt about that.

And as you said, you bought this car because of its performance capabilities--not because it distinguished itself on the "drive and dine" circuit........

bertbrown

Dan, as you state, yes Don Nicholson did have a lot to do with the car's success. He drove the car a number of times, in fact the broken off T-10 shifter that I sent with the car is courtesy of Don's forceful power shifting. He came back from that run with a set of bloody knuckles after his hand smashed into the ***** on the center console. Don and Brendan were friends from way back. I didn't mention Don as he wasn't really one of the guys I could call a friend as I only spoke with him a few times over the years.

Dan Hampton

I have been meaning to mount that shifter on a plaque of some kind. I am surprised that NCRS didn't want a DNA match from the blood found on the shifter for authentication purposes, but some things do, oftentimes, slip through the cracks...........