The Old Black Studebaker that started the “Gasser Wars”

 “This car was the first of a series of Gassers and Funny Cars campaigned by JR. Thompson over many years.  This car won “Little Eliminator” in the first U.S. Nationals in Oklahoma City (in) 1958.  It ran every weekend at Lions Drag Strip, Pomona, Santa Ana and many other drag strips. This car was raced and beat the best of the gassers during the ‘Golden Age of Drag Racing’, including Doug Cook, Tim Woods, Pitman & Edwards, Ed Weddle, Dick Harryman, Howard Johansen and many others.”─As told by owner/builder/restorer Sonny Messner.

“Gasser Wars”─How it started!  It has long been debated about how the “Gasser Wars” began.  Let’s provide evidence for important piece of racing history. You may remember in late 1950’s Ed Iskenderian and all the other cam grinders like Engle and Howard were running competitive ads in Drag News.  Quoting Ed Iskenderian taken from an ad in Drag News July 1958 page 7 entitled, “The First Race that started the Gasser Wars between Isky & Howard Cams─July 6, 1958.”  In the ad it stated, “The ‘King’ Gets Dethroned.  Sunday, July 6, was a rough day for self-proclaimed royalty at the 6^th Annual So. California Championship held at Pomona, as the heralded ‘King of the Blowers’ ended a brief one week reign and blew a 2 car-length decision to Junior Thompson of Speed Engineering, Long Beach.  In racking up his decisive win Thompson registered a Top time of 108.50 mph and an E.T. of 12.50 sec.  Thompson really goes on gas with his supercharged Chevy V8, powered by Isky Cam and Engineering Kit.”  And there you have it.—See actual historic ad photograph below.

There are the facts. Junior was running an Isky 505 in a ’41 Studebaker so the Iskenderian ad showed Junior triumphing over Doug Cook who was running a Howard cam in his ‘37 Chevy coupe with the newly popular Chevy 265 c.i. overhead engine against Junior’s B/Gas black Studebaker which was also running the new Chevrolet overhead V-8.  The rest is history right on down to the battles that involved Big John Mazmanian, Stone-Woods-Cook and K.S. Pittman, and many more.  Once the Gasser Wars began Junior states, “Several of us would travel together throughout the country and challenge the locals.  We went everywhere.”

How did Sonny recreate this important celebrated race car?  As told by Junior Thompson the original owner/driver, “Sonny had me busy for months asking questions, getting details and old photos to do a full-restoration.”  What a tribute for Junior to have an old friend, Sonny Messner, who actually ‘wrenched’ on this car in the old days do this flawless recreation.  To this day they are good friends and talk regularly.  In fact Junior and his son Tommy Thompson did all the engine work on the blown-injected small block Chevy to install in this 1941 Studebaker 4-door sedan.

Sonny is also a fanatical purist when it comes to details on vintage race cars. If you know him you know what I mean.  He will take an old photograph of a decal, such as a “Pennzoil” decal and have a computer whiz recreate the exact design and shape.  Then he finds a professional to replicate it and paint it on the car as it was “in the day!”  Now that is commitment to a hobby, wouldn’t you say?

Hole in hood: Here is a detail you’ll enjoy.  Those of us old enough to remember this car remember the tear-hole in the hood.  Do you know how that happened? Do you want the truth?  The Drag papers reported that a blower piece had gone through the hood.  In fact it became an important trademark of the car as the story spread.  Junior even had a painter do some flames, on the hood, around the tear-whole.  What a story!  HOWEVER, here is the truth, and nothing but the truth from the mouths of Sonny, Junior and Eddie’s, “It wasn’t a blower part that made the hole. The truth is Eddie Thompson (Junior’s older brother) was coming back from a run in the ’41 Studebaker, in the return lane.  At the same time Junior was making an actual run down the strip in a ’55 Chevy B/Gasser and blew a clutch.  To everyone’s amazement some of the debris flew in the air and into the return lane where it went into the hood of the ’41 Studebaker Eddie was driving. Wow!  That’s the truth.  As Eddie stated a few months ago, “All the Drag papers got it wrong.”  Junior said, “We just decided to go with the story over time, why fight it.”

A point of interest: We all remember the days of picking up Mexican blankets in TJ and then throwing them over our unfinished car seats.  Well this car has those blankets on them and boy do they look authentic.  I reached over at the 17^th Annual CHRR and touched them, and guess what “they’re covered with car grease, you remember the feel right!”  Wow that’s authentic.  And look at all the period perfect decals all over the car.

Historic items: Lion Drag Strip (original lion with car), Orange County Airport, Santa Ana “Every Sunday Drag Races”, Joe Hunt Magnetos, Santa Anna Drags “Class Winner”, Champion Spark Plugs (woman on globe) and my personal favorite “Alfred E Newman” hisself with the caption, “What me worry?” painted on a tonneau cover over the rear seat area—what a face, do you remember that guy? (Mad Magazine)  And the car wouldn’t be complete without those Mooneyes peeking out behind the rear M & H Racemasters slicks on those period perfect Halibrands.

Custom fabrication?—for sure!  For the younger generation who has the best engineered parts available and high tech fabrication shops available, well ingenuity is a thing of the past they just shop around and buy what they need!  Talk about creativity in the old days, look at the tranny-tunnel cover, wow now there is some tuff bullet-proof installation, or is it???  As we looking closer we see that the cover is hand cut sheet metal (thin gauge) with Philips screws and paw prints from those greasy hands all over?  Now people that’s real-racing! Wouldn’t you agree?

How about the blower-hole in the hood, custom by George Barris you ask? Maybe not, how about custom by metal-shears held by Eddie, Sonny, Junior or whoever else might have been standing around and offered a helping hand.

And what about that chassis, is that one of Dragmaster’s latest? How about those headers, are those professionally engineered Doug’s Headers? And that steering wheel must be one of those Titanium specialty wheels?  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  Chassis by Studebaker, steering wheel by Studebaker and headers by a bunch of guys welding muffler pipe pieces together.  Ingenuity was the name of the game!

Current owner: Sonny Messner is now moving onto other projects and has asked me to sell this beautiful piece of Gasser War’s history.  Sonny wrenched with Junior and Eddie in there early heyday and then moved over to wrench with Big Daddy.  Today Sonny after 40 years of bugging Don, now owns the original “Swamp Rat III” Garlit’s first custom frame car.

Sonny says, “If you want to see the ’41 Studebaker B/G in person I have plans to be at the March Meet and 18^th Annual California Hot Rod Reunion.  Look for the ’41 Studebaker parked by “Swamp Rat III”, the GMC Garlit’s tow vehicle and my silver-blue Lincoln Zepher─I take them everywhere I go.”  To quote Sonny, “I like to live and not waste precious time.”  We agree with you, let’s “drive-em”, “race-em” and “show-em!”

Written by Don Burdge of Historic Race Car Forum

 He is offering the Studebaker Gasser for $42,500.00 OBO on www.HistoricRaceCarForum.com for the first time!  Contact Don at 619.804.8033. For credentials see www.DreamRodLocator.com.