ome married couples work out together, some take cooking courses, and some enjoy wine tasting at the local country club. But for Justin and Jenny Moses of Braselton, Georgia, marital bliss comes in the form of a screaming Chevrolet engine and a four-speed manual transmission. The couple campaigns two cars in the Southeast Gassers Association, which is a growing organization that focuses on reliving the glory days of drag racing with period-correct, heads-up racing. With authentic pound-per-cubic-inch classifications and a very strict rules package that applies to both the appearance and performance of the vehicles, this group races hard and thrills spectators all over the Southeast.
With wild paint schemes, and even wilder antics on the track, the two cars might seem like the stars of their racing program, but Justin and Jenny are the real highlights, always providing a helping hand or a good laugh when fellow competitors need it most. The camaraderie and fellowship within the Southeast Gassers Association is second to none, and that’s why it’s one of the fastest-growing organizations in all of drag racing. Justin and Jenny became involved in this gasser group nearly 10 years ago, and their racing crew includes family and friends who pitch in to keep the operation rolling from race to race.
Since then, the car has been through a cycle of upgrades, wild rides, and repairs. The first major change was swapping the small-block for a vintage-styled big-block Chevy with a cross ram intake manifold and two four-barrel carburetors. From there, it was a seemingly endless progression—as he made more horsepower, he needed to plant it to the ground, and as he got the chassis figured out, he needed more power to hang with the A/Gas class, since these are true heads-up classes. Justin seems to have found the sweet spot with the car’s current setup, but he continues to dial it in every time he rolls into the staging beams.
The engine is made up of several BES Racing Engines components, assembled by Joe McGlaughlin. It consists of a Dart Big M block, stuffed with a forged rotating assembly with a ground-pounding 16.0:1 compression ratio. The hard-hitting stroker combination features Brodix aluminum cylinder heads and a custom-grind camshaft, spec’d by BES. On top of the engine is an Edelbrock Victor Ram tunnel ram intake with two 4150-based carburetors. They are modified to flow 1,000 cfm each into the thirsty big-block. For 2021, Justin’s induction combination will face a penalty, so he’s changing to a TR2 “bread box” tunnel ram to be more period correct. In its previous combination, the engine cranked out 1,049 hp and 850 lb-ft of torque on the dyno at Engine Labs in Tucker, Georgia.
Justin’s wife, Jenny, has been by his side during the entire build, and she’s spent lots of late nights at the dragstrip to reach this point in their racing program. She lines him up in the groove every pass, and often dresses in vintage attire to continue the theme of these ’60s drag cars. Although she enjoys her duties as a backup girl, she wanted to get more involved in the Southeast Gassers Association, so she set about building a car of her own.
Vehicle: 1956 Chevrolet 210
Type: Big-block Chevy
Displacement: 532 ci
Compression Ratio: 16.0:1
Bore: 4.600 inches
Stroke: 4.00 inches
Cylinder Heads: Brodix by BES Racing Engines
Rotating Assembly: CP pistons, Callies crank, aluminum rods
Valvetrain: Titanium valves, PAC springs, T&D rocker arms
Camshaft: Bullet camshaft, custom grind by BES
Induction: Edelbrock Victor Ram tunnel ram, dual 4150-style carburetors
Ignition: MSD Pro-Billet Distributor
Exhaust: Custom fenderwell headers
Ancillaries: Electric water pump drive, electric fan
Output (at crank): 1,049 hp, 850 lb-ft of torque
Transmission: G-Ford G101A four-speed, Ram clutch
Rear Axle: Ford 9-inch, 35-spline Moser axles, 5.29:1 Pro Gear
Front Suspension: Ron Pope axle, Speedway Motors leaf springs, Competition Engineering shocks
Rear Suspension: Leaf springs moved inboard, custom ladder bars, Viking shocks
Brakes: Wilwood discs
Wheels: American Racing Torq-Thrust D 15×4.5s and 15x10s
Tires: Moroso Drag Special 7.10-15 and Mickey Thompson 29.5×10.5-15 slicks
Upholstery: Jim Shrader
Material: Mostly aluminum
Seats: Kirkey
Steering: Vintage Superior metalflake
Shifter: Long inline
Dash: Original with custom switch panel
Instrumentation: Vintage-style gauges
Audio: Nope
HVAC: Vintage Air
Bodywork: Paul Vanderpool
Paint By: Paul Vanderpool
Paint: Blue base with lace and endless lines
Hood: Fiberglass one-piece front end
Grille: Original
Bumpers: Fiberglass rear
Vehicle: 1955 Chevrolet 150
Type: Small-block Chevy
Displacement: 355 ci
Compression Ratio: 13.0:1
Bore: 4.030 inches
Stroke: 3.480 inches
Cylinder Heads: Dart Iron Eagle
Rotating Assembly: GM forged crank, Eagle rods, Eagle pistons, Mahle pistons
Valvetrain: Stainless steel valves, Crane roller rocker arms, Comp pushrods
Camshaft: Lunati solid roller
Induction: Edelbrock tunnel ram, dual Holley 660-cfm carburetors
Ignition: MSD Pro-Billet Distributor
Exhaust: Custom fenderwell headers
Ancillaries: Aluminum water pump
Output (at crank): 550 hp, 465 lb-ft of torque
Transmission: Jerico magnesium DR4 four-speed, Ram clutch
Rear Axle: Ford 9-inch, 35-spline Moser axles, 5.88:1 gear
Front Suspension: 1955 Chevy truck axle with Speedway Motors leaf springs
Rear Suspension: Leaf springs, custom ladder bars, QA1 shocks
Brakes: Speedway Motors front disc conversion, rear drums
Wheels: ET Classic V 15×4 and U.S. Mags 15×8.5
Tires: Coker Classic 185R15 redline and Hoosier 29.0×9.0-15
Upholstery: Mostly original
Material: Black vinyl
Seats: Chevelle bucket seats
Steering: Grant
Shifter: Long inline
Dash: Original
Instrumentation: Original cluster with vintage-style tach
Audio: Nope
HVAC: Nada
Bodywork: Paul Vanderpool
Paint By: Paul Vanderpool
Paint: Silver base with panel paint, endless lines and custom lettering
Hood: Original
Grille: Original
Bumpers: Front bumper removed, original rear
So far, Jenny has competed at several Southeast Gassers Association races, and has been consistently in the 7.0-second range. The car certainly grabs the attention of the crowd, and she takes after her husband with long, smoky burnouts on a regular basis. The car is a little bit tamer than Justin’s but still leaves hard when Jenny dumps the clutch.