Rare Opportunity: Former GM President John F. Gordon's 1964...

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Rare Opportunity: Former GM President John F. Gordon's 1964...

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Summary:

Used 1964

Location:

Phoenix, MD

Description:

Southern California native Bill Thomas was among the legion of racers who had tasted victory behind the wheel of a Corvette in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Also a talented engineer, Thomas had experience tuning nearly everything in the Chevrolet lineup for more performance, including the Corvair, the Chevy II, the mighty 409, and fuel-injected Corvettes. With the Corvette’s dominance in road racing up against the then-new Shelby Cobra, Thomas turned to his connections at Chevrolet and developed the Cheetah.The Cheetah featured a chrome-moly tube-frame chassis with a minimalist interior and the drivetrain mounted so far back that it not only had no conventional driveshaft, but also dictated the looks of the car, with its very long hood and only minimal bodywork behind the rear axle. Built on a 90-inch wheelbase and with a curb weight of approximately 1,750 pounds, the ultra-lightweight Cheetah enjoyed an exceptional power-to-weight ratio with its Corvette-based, fuel-injected small-block V8. Chevrolet participated in the car’s development, assisting Thomas in various aspects, including driveline, brakes, tires, wheels, and more, despite GM’s official ban on any racing involvement. The goal of the Cheetah program was to reach homologation, with 100 cars built to take on the Cobras directly. Just 16 cars were ultimately built (with 11 reportedly surviving today) and by the time the Cheetah was ready to race, homologation rules had changed to where production needed to reach 1,000 examples, which would have been impossible for Thomas to achieve, particularly given the almost clandestine nature of Chevrolet’s involvement. PROTOTYPE #2 Wearing serial number 126364002, this 1964 Cheetah has been documented as the second prototype built. It features aluminum bodywork (the short run of production cars wore fiberglass bodies), a fuel-injected small-block Chevrolet V8, independent suspension, an aluminum interior, dual Corvette radiators, and other performance-enhancing components. The seller shares that this Cheetah was ordered by GM as a development project. The seller’s records indicate that the vehicle was subjected to a battery of tests at the Chevrolet Engineering Center between December of 1963 and April of 1964. Later, the car had race history, including at Riverside in California. The last time this car was publicly offered for sale was in 1969. It presents today as unique opportunity to own a piece of American racing history. POWERTRAIN Thomas based the Cheetah around the already proven—and rapidly improving—Chevrolet small-block V8. The 327-cu.in. V8 in this prototype Cheetah was sourced from a 1963 Corvette and mounted far back in the engine bay for better weight distribution and balance on the track. With Rochester mechanical fuel injection and 11.25:1 compression, Chevrolet rated the Corvette fuelie engine at 360 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque in 1963. Power is directed to the rear axle via a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual transmission that is mounted directly to the rear axle, which features a 3.36:1 final-drive ratio. Spent gases exit via chromed exhaust headers that terminate just below the door openings. It is also equipped with triple fuel tanks. EXTERIOR This Cheetah’s aluminum body was refinished in red and appears to remain in excellent condition. In keeping with the car’s singular purpose to win races, brightwork is minimal, including the door handles, the three gas caps (one for each tank), and the headlamp and taillamp trim rings. There are unfinished vents in aluminum on the hood and on the bodywork above the widely flared rear fenders. The gullwing-style doors themselves are also minimal in nature, nothing more than a thin skin with no interior trim, no glass and an aluminum bar to give them basic structural strength. The Rochester fuel-injection unit is visible on top of the engine via a domed Plexiglas window cut out in the center of the hood, close to the windshield. INTERIOR Like the rest of the car, the Cheetah’s interior was designed and built with a focus on performance. The cockpit is entered by climbing over the wide side-mounted fuel tanks. Like the floor of the car and the transmission tunnel, the tanks are exposed, unfinished aluminum. There are carpets currently in place on the floor of this Cheetah. Instrumentation consists of Stewart-Warner gauges with a Jones tachometer. Seats are upholstered in silver vinyl with minimal padding. In true endurance-racer style, a spare tire sits behind the driver and passenger on the shelf above the rear fuel tank. There is no trunk or hatch opening at the back of the Cheetah. CHASSIS The front suspension of this Cheetah consists of custom-fabricated upper and lower control arms with coilover shocks. The independent rear also utilizes coilover shocks. Four-wheel drum brakes provide the stopping power for this lightweight sports car. Much of the underbody is covered with unfinished aluminum that presents as a very smooth undertray the length of the body, save for an opening under the engine oil pan and transmission bell housing. The car wears American Racing 15-inch magnesium alloy wheels, mounted with Michelin XWX radial tires, sized 215/70VR15 in front and 225/70VR15 in the rear. The spare alloy wheel in the passenger compartment is mounted with a Goodyear tire. DOCUMENTATION The seller states that this vehicle will be sold on a clean Arizona title in his name. A 154-page book documenting this Cheetah's full ownership history, back to then-president of GM John (Jack) F. Gordon, and detailing the work of Frank Winchell, head of research and development and the man in charge of Cheetah testing under Gordon, is included in the sale. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlayMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 1:11Loaded: 19.31%0:00Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -1:11 1xPlayback RateChaptersChaptersDescriptionsdescriptions off, selectedCaptionscaptions settings, opens captions settings dialogcaptions off, selectedAudio TrackPicture-in-PictureFullscreenThis is a modal window.Beginning of dialog window. 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Escape will cancel and close the window.TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentBackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentWindowColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanTransparencyTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDropshadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsReset restore all settings to the default valuesDoneClose Modal DialogEnd of dialog window.

Transmission:

Manual Transmission

Features:

Radial Tires, Tachometer

Posted:

July 15 on Americanlisted