Dave Hales "S & S '37 Willys Gasser
2003 Inductee - East Coast Drag Times Hall of
Fame
S&S RACING TEAM
1937 WILLYS GASSER
In the early 60's the S&S Parts Co. in Falls Church, Virginia sponsored five Gas Coupe and Sedan racers. These S&S Racing Team gassers included the A/GS cars of K.S.Pittman/Chuck Stolze, the A/Gassers of Gene Altizer, Fred Bear's B/Gasser, the Hill-Zartman "Filthy Forty" C/Gasser, and the Willys coupe owned by Dave Hales and campaigned in D/Gas and C/Gas. This last car is the one we will focus on here. All of the other race cars mentioned above have met an untimely end over the years. The only S&S Gasser still in existence from the period is the Hales Willys.
The story begins in November 1962, when after several months of searching, the Willys was discovered in a field in Southern Maryland. The overall condition was "lousy" but $25 later the car was on it's way to Virginia. Over the upcoming winter the "nasty" junker was converted into a homemade "Gasser" and hit the strips six months later in the spring of 1963. Dave Hales not only owned and built this car but wrenched and drove it for 5 successful seasons. In 1963 the car was runnerup at the NHRA Nationals in D/Gas. It held the Eastern Drag News D/Gas Record in 1964. It briefly held the NHRA National Record in C/Gas and won the UDRA Eastern Meet in 1965 and held both ends of the D/Gas National Record in 1967. It was sold late in 1967 as the S&S Racing Team was winding down. The days of the Gassers were numbered and it was time to move on to other things.
What happened next is truly remarkable. After being raced by it's new owner for a couple of seasons it was resold and eventually disappeared. The next 30+ years brought a series of owners, all with good intentions and big plans, but apparently nothing happened. There have been 6 documented owners during this period and a time lapse indicating the good likelihood of a 7th. The car passed from owner to owner with very little taking place in the way of modifications or improvements. Time took it's toll and the car deteriorated considerably but it must have been stored indoors since body rust was at a minimum. The car remained amazingly intact even though all the running gear was long gone.
The car miraculously was found in Michigan in November 2000 by it's original owner and repurchased . It had been 38 years since the initial purchase. The original steel body shell, steel rear fenders, steel deck lid, and frame were all there and repairable. The Hill-Zartman fiberglass front fenders, hood, grille section, doors and seats that were installed during the original early 60's construction were still on the car. These pieces were in poor condition but salvageable. Also the original upholstery installed in 1962 was all still there and was able to be saved. Even the original single hoop roll bar was still in the car and untouched. Although suffering from neglect and disrepair, it was a dream come true for the Old/New Owner.
Locating period correct components is very difficult and time consuming, and recreating motor mounts, cross members, ladder bars, shock mounts, and numerous "small" pieces to depict the actual, original home made nature of the beast is also painstakingly tedious. Nonetheless, the project S&S Gasser was full speed ahead! And the same guy was getting to do it all over again himself!! Almost 40 years later!!
A 1957 Chevrolet 301" engine with Jocko cylinder heads was found that was actually built in the early 60's for another Willys gasser. Ironically, it is even the same year block used in the car before. Hilborn Fuel Injectors and a Vertex Magneto were also located along with an Ansen steel blow proof bellhousing and Borg Warner T-10 Transmission and an early Hurst shifter. A very rare Halibrand Championship Quickchange rear axle assembly was put together piece by piece to round out the running gear. A 40 year old set of homemade exhaust headers, Moon tank, Enderle fuel shut off valve, Packard 440 spark plug wires with Rajah wire ends rounded out the Major mechanical components.
The front wheels are 15x4 American Lemans Magnesium pieces and the rears are custom made "wide 5" steel 10x16 units exactly as used originally. A lightened Willys front axle, Chrome 90/10 front shocks and the actual original aluminum front disc brake assemblies finish off the front suspension. A box in the trunk with these rotors, hubs, bearings, calipers, brackets, bolts, grease caps and brake hoses, that were on the car 40 years ago, was probably the most amazing find of all.
What follows is a photographic review of the car's early history, the November 2000 reunion with the original owner, the restoration, and the finished product. There were thousands of unblown gassers in competition all over the U.S. in the Golden Era of Drag Racing (1955-1970). Most of these folks were individuals, with full time jobs and a passion to race... and with limited resources. This car pays tribute to all of those racers from that time period. Drag racing really was fun then, and ingenuity and innovation played a prominent role in what Gas Coupe and Sedan racing was all about. If you want to know what the cars were really like, take a look at this one.
Then
Now
CONTINUE to Photo Album of The Restoration
A “Special” Thank You to Dave Hales for the Photos and Story on this great restoration of a truly classic Gasser. Be sure and look for him and this beautiful car at The Thompson Gasser Reunion and other Events.
