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Lead man, Steve Carpenter, gave us the inside story on this project and lead us through the build process and the thought that went into the build. Steve is a talented young guy, a transplant from Boise, Idaho who is really at home in the So. California Car Scene. Steve was in on this project from the beginning, as he has been on many of the very cool cars that have come out of GAS in recent years….. but more about those later.
The Galpin Gasser started life as a 1956 Ford Mainliner 2 Door Sedan . It had been an old racer in North Carolina and the Galpin team wanted to retain that look and feel when transforming it. They kept the 70’s straight axle which gave the car its’ great stance. New steering arms were added and the leaf springs were redone. They added Nicky Chicago old school bars, 66 inches long, chromed 9 inch posi and 31 spline axle.
Since they wanted the car to be “streetable” they got a Ford Racing Short Block 302 and sent it to M & R racing in Glendale … there it was stroked to 331 11/5 pistons, adding Comp Thumper Cams “Big Mother Thumper” ….. this gives it that “loping like a race car” sound, idling at 1500 rpm, sounding like 700 hp but driveable with pump gas. The team decided on Hooker Hedders with Injection heads from AP Performance, dynode at 525 HP. To keep it looking like an EFI system they used the Don Garlets Fuel Injection Faux Stacks with the carbs underneath. Looks like EFI but runs on carbs for a very cool effect.
A lot of thought went into the paint decision …. What to do ???? The idea was to retain as much of the look as it would have had in the 60’s as possible . There would be no flashy paint on this project. Suede black was the final choice, done in semi gloss and buffed out for that old “Earl Schieb”paint job look. Finish it off with authentic, Venditto REAL Gold Leaf lettering … all hand painted just like it would have been “way back then” and you have the “perfect look”. The interior completed the “look”, no leather here …. Vinyl tuck and roll was used on seats gleaned from a D100 Motorhome. The door panels are triangle patterned vinyl. The four point roll cage finishes off the interior.
Seeing this car roll down the road is a real trip back to Memory Lane…. Exactly what the crew at Galpin Auto Sports was trying to achieve! Steve drives this classic gasser to work every day and he says it’s a real head turner. Check out the details … we know you’ll be impressed.... we were ! We’ll be keeping an eye out for the next project from Galpin Auto Sports ! And we’ll keep you posted !
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