why do some gassers sit front higher than rear

[53pop]

as a lot of people building gassers i have been looking at a lot of photos and reading about gassers to understand how they work and have noticed that a fair few sit with front up higher than rear ,watching the videos the flat level gassers seem to run better than the ones that sit front high so can some give a reason for the stance :dunno::dunno:23469

[Nervous Nick]

Allan,
This could well be a thread that runs for a while, as there are many theories as to why Gassers ran with a nose high stance. The most common of these, is all to do with tyres as in the early 60s race slicks were in there infancy, and racers soon discovered if you can get the weight of the car on the back wheels more quickly, then your run down the quarter mile would be conversely quicker. The easiest way was to set the nose high as the weight travelled rearwards far more efficiently. Raising the nose soon however was getting out of hand hence the introduction of the 'Crankshaft' height rule.
I have been lucky enough to interview several key Gasser racers and crew from that period, and several of them agree that they had a different reason which is just as valid and simple. They realised that the cars looked more aggressive and the crowds in the stands loved to see them in this guise. They knew that they were walking a fine balancing act, as raising the nose also had the effect of making the car unstable, but this driving by the seat of your pants generated column inches, sponsorship and an emerging fan base. Promoters loved this and when you added rivalry between certain cars they had a winning formula.
They put on a show and part of that for many was the stance of the cars as it set them aside form other classes.
Hope that helps, by the way those Convo Pros on your Lego Gasser are far to modern for the Gasser Circus!!!!!!

[53pop]

hi nick thank you for taking the time for giving a good reason ,i can see the reason behind the thinking but as you said they had to get the balance just right ,sorry about the convo pros but could not find period ones

[mike noble]

i thought it was to make changing the oil easier............

[yjohnb]

I'd guessed weight transfer but had not thought about the showmanship , wow !!!