Well, no idea whose this was, but it was certainly unique!  Not only did the owner stay with the 39 front end instead of putting a 40 or 41 nose on it, but he was running a 383 wedge Plymouth motor.  A good motor, to be sure, but certainly not the most common gasser motor out there.

Whadya mean...it's not a Gasser?  Oh, okay...you caught me!  Ron Rinauro's Blown Hell 55 Chevy wasn't a gasser.  Who cares?  It was just too cool anyway!

The early days of Brasher & Cummings, one of Northern California's better known gassers.

While certainly familiar with their top fuel car, here's one I don't think I ever saw.  The Champion Speed Shop C/G 37 Chevy.  SBC w/Six 2 bbl. carbs...those were definitely the days!

Another one that's definitely not a gasser!  The P-51 car was thrilling to watch.  Somewhere around 2000-3000 RPM, smokin' em for the quarter.  If you missed seeing (and hearing) this thing run, I'm sorry for you.

Junior Thompson's Austin (pre-lettering).  Junior was ALWAYS "in the hunt"!

Scott Hunter's Malfunction AWB Chevy II with injected BBC.  Okay...it's not a gasser either...but these things were great fun to watch.  In the early funnycar days, gasser vs FC match races were very exciting and not at all uncommon.

Well...looks like I screwed up on that one!  I received the following email on 4/15/03:

It was Richard Scott and Dennis Hunter, ok...Thanks.  Mr. Scott has passed on, but Dennis is alive and well in La Crescenta, CA.

Thanks to whoever sent that info...it was unsigned, and I couldn't figure a name from the email address.

"Big John" Mazmanian's beautiful Willys was another one that was always in the hunt during the SoCal Gasser Wars.

John is looking for this car.  If anyone out there knows where it is, there are a couple of folks interested in talking to you.

Another one that couldn't be counted out during the Gasser Wars was the MGM/C&O Hydro pickup and it's successor, their Austin pickup.

Nunes & Murray were another of the Northern California teams that campaigned a competitive blown gasser.

Ron Nunes is still around and is a serious threat in the Nostalgia Pro Super circuit.

My personal favorite, The Shores & Hess Anglia.  Shown here in A/Gas trim, Jim & Skip were the first to put a blower motor in an Anglia and forever changed the face of blown gassers.

Not much to say...Stone, Woods & Cook will probably always be thought of as the baddest gasser of all time.

I have no idea whose car this is.  That motor is not an inline six...it's an inline eight!  It's hard to see in the photo, but there's a small "ci" just below and to the right of the number on the door.  So if this is to be believed, that's a 398 cubic inch straight eight!  Anyone out there know anything about this 33?  I'd really love to get more info.

Unfortunately, I can't quite make out the name on the door. Anyone remember who ran this car? Does anyone remember a "Hilborn Torque-Stick"?

This is what early 60's Gassers were all about. Probably an all-steel body with a Chevy (maybe) motor, Steel wheels, Ford (?) truck scoop on the hood, etc. Notice the tabs for the tow bar. This one sure wasn't trailered. Anyone else remember the white shoepolish signs on the back window..."Race Car In Tow".

Well...this is cool.  I got an email the other day that identifies the "Du-All" Willys a bit better:

Hi,
A friend referred us to your website because he saw my Dads willys on there.  A color photo by Daryl Huffman of the Thurman Ferguson Du-All B/G Willys.  The car was owned by Gene Thurman, and my Dad was his driver/partner.  I would have to ask my Dad for the details, but I believe they ran a hilborn injected 331 Chrysler in this car, and ran in the 10s.  We have alot of black & white pictures of the car, but not many color.  My Dad & Gene have often wondered where this car may have ended up??
thanks,
Herb Ferguson (jr.)
So I wrote back to ask him for a bit more info and to see if he was able to share some of the other photos.  He was able to share a lot more info on the car. 

Byron,
I don't have the ability right now to send pictures via computer. I got some more info on the car from my Dad though: They built the car in 1960 out of Fontana, and raced it pretty much from 61-65. At the time of the photo (Pomona), the car had a 331 chrysler with a 300 style 2 4barrel setup and fender exit exhaust, later changing to a undercar megaphone style exhaust. Thier last engine was a half inch stroker 354 with hilborn injectors, and later on around 64 they installed a fiberglass tilt front end.  The transmission was a cast iron torqueflite built and modified by Hilborn Transmission (not related to the injector outfit) out of San Bernardino.  They used a pushbutton shifter to shift it. The "Torque Stick" was Hilborn's name for his automatic trans, because it was supposed to "shift like a stickshift" transmission.  It had an 8 3/4 chrysler rear axle, and the engine setback was 10%.  Also thats a 58 Ford big truck hood scoop turned around.  He can't remember what front axle they were using, possibly Ford.
Later,
Herb Jr.

Well, at least I guessed right on the scoop!  Thanks much, Herb.  It's great to have someone step up and tell us about some of these cars.  Byron

Greer & Barber, C&W Motor Parts out of Pomona, CA. One of my favorites. Not only did this little C/Gasser haul, it was an exceptionally clean and nice car.

Hamberis & Mitchell out of the bay area of California (memory says So. San Francisco...anyone?). Don't know much...make that anything...about Hamberis, but Mike Mitchell was later to become "The World's Fastest Hippie". Mike just passed away this last August (2000) and he is missed.

Aside from the fact that the Henry J (or is it an Allstate?) here ran in A/Gas and had a Sig Erson Cam, I know nothing about it. Anyone remember this car?

John Loper's "Little Hoss" A/Gas Anglia. John's always clean little car was an NHRA record holder and consistent winner in the 63-64 time period.

Safeway Sandblasting had a combo you didn't usually see in a door car. No youngsters, that's not a Chrysler Hemi...it's an Ardun OHV conversion on a 290" Ford flathead. This looks like it was a kickass little C/Gas Supercharged car driven by Bones Balogh.

The Souza Brothers & Dad car was another 33 Willys from the Bay Area of California. Running A/Gas with what was basically a Super Stock motor, a 427 Ford with 2-4's. It's funny, a 10.25 sure doesn't seem fast by today's standards, but in 1965, that was "hauling the freight"!

The Teixeira Brothers out of central California made quite a name for themselves with this 41 Willys.

I remember watching this little Anglia many times...or maybe I only saw it a few times and it made a big impression! The "Little Toad" was powered by a Fuel Injected Hudson 6 cylinder engine, and it hauled! If you've never heard a "bad" 6 kicking butt in the quarter, you're missing something. They have a sound that's all their own...and it's cool!

Gene Altizer & Neil Kibler's "Traveler" Willys. This was a badass Gasser! A big part of the A/GS "Ad Wars" of the 60's, there were many match races that took place between this car and the Willys' of Stone, Woods & Cook, and "Big John" Mazmanian.