The Cheetah - Bill Thomas' Attempt to Dethrone the Shelby Cobra in American Racing History
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
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We all know and love the shelby cobra, but why was it made? Well the answer is actually simple. To kick as and dominate on track. And in the SCCA production class championship they did just that. But before we get into the legendary cars lets just quickly talk about the racing series its self.
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Sports Car Championship was a pivotal racing series that revolutionized sports car racing in the United States. It was the first post-World War II sports car series organized in the country, and it lasted from 1951 to 1964.
Now In the early 1960s, the SCCA production class championship races were shaken up by the introduction of the legendary Cobra. And the cobra dominated the competition. However, one man was determined to create a car that could dethrone the Cobra and take the racing world by storm. That man was Bill Thomas, a former Corvette driver and mechanic who had started his own racing team.
Thomas approached General Motors with an ambitious request - to build a car that could compete with the Cobra using parts from the Corvette bin. And In 1963, Bill Thomas gained the support of General Motors Performance Product Group head Vince Piggins to develop the Cheetah as a concept vehicle. Designed by Thomas and lead fabricator Don Edmunds, the Cheetah was a unique creation that would showcase the level of work that Thomas' company was capable of producing. The financing for the project came from private investors, Thomas himself, and John Grow, a Chevrolet dealer from Rialto, California who would eventually own the prototype car.
To construct the Cheetah, Thomas arranged for material assistance from Chevrolet for the major components. This included the Corvette 327 engine, Muncie transmission, and independent rear-end assemblies. Other components were sourced from the larger GM parts bin, such as Chevrolet passenger car spindles and NASCAR spec Chevrolet drum brakes.
Once the drivetrain components were delivered, Edmunds began laying them out on the shop floor and taking measurements. Using chalk, he sketched the basic outline of the chassis. Edmunds' design methodology for the majority of cars he built during his career was to sketch what he thought a car ought to look like, then build it. Once the chassis shape was determined, Edmunds sketched the body. He showed his drawings to Thomas, and after a few minor changes, began construction.
The Cheetah was built with a perfect weight distribution between the front and rear axles in mind. To achieve this, the Corvette engine was pushed as far back as possible, eliminating the need for a driveshaft. The V8 engine was directly connected to the rear axle via a limited slip differential, resulting in a long hood and pushed-back cockpit.
While this setup made for an impressive weight distribution, it also made for a notoriously hot cockpit. The engine's left-side exhaust ran right above the driver's feet, making for an well lets say uncomfortable driving experience. Despite this, Thomas was determined to create a true game changer in American production car racing, and the Cheetah's massive 6.3-liter engine with over 500 horsepower was a testament to this. So she was ready, superlight weight body, perfect weight distribution and a 500hp V8. So what happened?
#Cobra #Cheetah #BillThomas
Cheetah win all the way :) I had a slot car version of the cheata growing up always been my favorite design.
Yep had one too
back in the day
It’s clear you both Chevy fans ,
Me too. We would race my Cheetah slot car at Bert's Hobbies in Santa Fe Springs, Ca. circa 1966.
Had they brought it out, it would have been interesting to see which one was the legend today.
I think they would both be legends and as we know today, they both are. Both cheetah and Cobra are fantastic cars to see a vintage race events. I know, I have one.
@@RobertEHunt-dv9sq you're a lucky man to own one!
I won't deny the possibility but I will believe it when I see it.
last era of golden era american sporscar
The Super Cheetah seemed to have been the inspiration for the first Marcos, especially the handling of the Duck Tail rear end..
Except the Marcos was years before the Cheetah.
@@grahambell4298 Ops, meant the Marcos 1800 not that Mini Marcos. Wasn't the Cheetah was 1963, Marcos 1800 was 1964,?
@@kahhowong3417 The first Marcos (designed by Frank Costin) dates from 1959. The Dennis Adams designed 1800 was penned in 1963 and debuted in 1964, whereas this still born 'Super Cheetah' is dated 1965 in the illustrations, so Marcos definitely first. But I'd agree that there is a similarity though.
@@grahambell4298 Accepted. I think this means we agree the Marcos just one of the most beautiful car designed and just "looks right" as the Jaguar E-Type of the same generation. Perhaps the still born Cheetah says it all as the Marcos "spirit" is still evolving.
@@kahhowong3417 Agreed. It's a shame that the 1965 Cheetah proposal never reached reality because it could have been one hell of a car.
The narrator "Inspector Cluso"
Boet, with that accent you must be a Saffa? Thanks for the video. Beautiful car, but with drum brakes all round I think it was at a bit of a disadvantage.
The problem. Bill Thomas was no Carroll Shelby
Yeah bill didn’t have enough money to pay off the FIA to change the rules lol
They're very first race of a Grand sport Corvette. Ken miles one in a GT350
I thought the Cheetah and the GS Corvette were the coolest cars.
Bravo Bravo for this report
GM was so successful in thee 60s they were under threat of being broken up under antitrust law violation. GM didn't support racing program like ford. otherwise ford would have been wiped out along with porsche and ferrari as well
I recall that the cheetah didnt handle well, had less effective braking than Cobras, and were quite unreliable . And the cobras suspension and disc brakes were far superior .
After that they were the Nassau Bahamas create Shelby built a 1600 lbs 390 Cobra put the track was too brutal but it destroyed the the Grand then the 427 came out and put Chevy out of business
You soft peddled the excessive heat problem in the cockpit of this car. It became impossible to drive for any great length of time, not just uncomfortable. The driver was squashed into an uncomfortable position in addition to the heat. You didn't even mention the car's abysmal handling characteristics? Another example of a cool looking car that looked good on paper but was destined for failure, with or without GM's assistance!
It would have DESTROYED the cobra shelby new it so he paid someone to burn down the factory !!!