Ha! You’re not gonna stump me with this one. I know the car … in fact, I know it VERY well. It's a “Chevy" Cheetah and was built by Bill Thomas with a little “under the table” help from Chevrolet. GM had officially pulled out of racing, but Chevy was slipping Bill some “special” parts on the sly, to build them for Chevrolet's "secret" racing program. GM finally ditched the support and the project suffered an early demise. I don’t remember all the details, but I believe Bunkie Knudsen was the go-between and the target was Carol Shelby. Note: In the early 60's, I was just a kid, but my dad was campaigning a Corvette in SCCA racing at the time. The Shelbys were tough to beat and GM didn't like it. Chevrolet had visions of a Ford/Shelby - Chevy/Cheetah shoot-out, but it never really went anywhere.

Coincidentally, I later went to work for Jack Goodman as the Service Manager at (Clarence) Dixon Cadillac in Hollywood. I was there 4 years, then left to work in the head office for a Limo manufacturer in Beverly Hills for a few years. Jack made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and I returned to Dixon in ‘85’ish. I remember sitting in his office with him and asking about the pics he had of his Cheetah.

Jack bought the car, brand new, in ‘64 (?) and raced it around the circuit in Sou. California for a while. I think it had an injected 327 originally, but after a few engine swaps down the line, it finally ended up with an L88 427 (aluminum head) big block. After he sold it, I think it continued on the racing circuit for a while before a collector snatched it up. I saw it at auction (Barrett or Mecum I think) a few years ago. I believe there were only about 15 or so built and Jack’s is one of the very few survivors.

Interestingly, Jack was just a (super) rich playboy. His mother was one of the Fishers of (General Motors’) Fisher Body Division. Dad was a major mucky-muck with GM. Word was, mom bought the Cadillac dealership from Clarence Dixon (an old, well established dealership in Hollywood) and gave it to Jack so he’d "have a real job"! He also inherited a boat load of cash, but it all went up his nose. (It was Hollywood in the 80’s) Jack had a plane he'd fly and I remember the time he got busted piloting the thing while all coked up and lost his pilot's license. He was pretty much absent most of the time and the dealership slowly went down the toilet with no leadership. I saw the handwriting on the wall and bailed out (in ‘86? ‘87?), then went to manage a Caddie dealer over in Glendale, (near Hollywood). By ‘88, Jack had blown the whole wad and the dealership closed its doors. I finally threw in the towel and moved back to Florida in '89 to start my own business. I'd had enough of the L.A. craziness.

Jack also had a super cool and VERY rare, ‘53 Cadillac Eldorado LeMans convertible that his dad had given him as a kid. I used to throw a dealer plate on it and drive it from time to time. I’ve often wondered whatever happened to that car and should probably try to research it some day. It was worth a ton of money, so I'd have to assume it's in someone's collection someplace.

P.S. Bill Stroppe and Bill Thomas worked together out of Stroppe's shop, but in '63, Thomas wanted to team up with Stroppe to take on the Cheetah project for GM. Stroppe was a Ford/Mercury guy (see Stroppe Bronco) and stayed the course with Ford. Thomas left Stroppe and went to start the Cheetah project for Chevrolet. With no interest from Stroppe, Thomas hooked up with Don Edmunds for the project. For a little more street cred, I knew Bill Stroppe well. Bill (Willie) Stroppe Jr. and I are still very close friends and I try to get together with him whenever I'm in L.A., in fact, we'll be headed that way the end of this month. Here's a pic of us hooking up for breakfast on one of my trips. We have some crazy memories, from our younger years, to go over whenever we get together! There was a time I woke up on Willie's couch more often that I woke up at home!

willie stroppe.jpg