The Cheetah

[Steve Holmes]

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I don’t need to detail the popularity and mass following Carroll Shelby’s magical original Cobra had. The Cobra had it all; aggressive looks, exclusivity, immense sound-track, barn-storming performance, and all the character of the man who created it. Yet much of what makes the Cobra so special, at least, in the US, is its impressive racing pedigree. From the launch of the original 260ci powered Cobra in 1962, right through to the monstrous 427 three years later (and which remained in production until 1967), the Cobra had few true rivals in motorsport. But really, how much true competition did the Cobra actually have?

With Fords input, the Cobra was created as a competitor for Chevrolets Corvette, both as a marketing tool, and as a race car. It didn’t start out that way, of course, as Shelby first approached G-M about supplying him with engines for the car when still at concept stage, but after they turned him down, he was able to sell the idea to Ford.

In competition, the Cobra competed in sports production racing, as rival to the Corvette. On debut at Riverside in 1962, Bill Krause, driving CSX2002, pulled out and passed the leading Corvette of Dave MacDonald early in the race, and proceeded to draw away, until sidelined with a broken wheel hub. But from that point on, the Cobra had little on-track competition.

The FIA production sports car Grand Touring division required that at least 100 identical units be produced within 12 months, which really meant that any real Cobra competitor required manufacturer support. The Corvette did, but G-M were deep into their no-racing ban, and although Zora Arkus-Duntov initiated plans to have a limited number of special lightweight Corvettes built, fitted with alloy 377ci engines, and homologated for GT racing, G-M knocked the Grand Sport project on the head after only five cars were built. The Grand Sport proved it would have been a genuine competitor to the Cobra, having been significantly faster when they went head-to-head in late 1963 at Nassau, but would never get to face the Cobra in GT competition.

Other companies, such as Rootes Group in the UK, and Cobra racer Jack Griffith in the US, sought to jump on the Cobra band-wagon, producing small block Ford V8 powered sports cars (Sunbeam Tiger and TVR Griffith) that were produced in the required numbers, but that were really intended to mimic the Cobra’s success, rather than de-throne it. British company Ginetta built a small block Ford V8 powered car called the G10, but only six of these were produced.

However, the Cobra’s on track success may have been very different had one man realized his own ambitious plans. Bill Thomas, of Bill Thomas Race Cars, had built quite a reputation by the early ‘60s for building successful racing Corvette’s and for his powerful Chevy race engines. With the death of the Grand Sport before it had even got off the ground, Thomas proposed another G-M based production car, the Cheetah, which would be designed specifically to knock the Cobra off its perch.

With close G-M ties, Thomas’ concept was sound. Rather than G-M have to go to the hassle of building specialist parts, Thomas’ Cheetah would utilize as many production Chevy parts as possible, fitted into a purpose-built chassis, which his own company would design and build, to the minimum 100 units required. Each production Cheetah would be assembled at Thomas’ own workshops. All G-M had to do was supply the required parts, and some funding, and Thomas would take care of the rest.

The Cheetah was an impressive machine. It featured a 90 inch wheelbase, and although the first two cars built (including the prototype) would have alloy bodies, the production cars would all have fiberglass bodies. Underneath was a Don Edmunds designed chrome-moly tube-chassis semi space-frame, in which the Thomas fettled 520hp 377ci fuel-injected Chevy engine sat so far back, the Muncie M21 was connected directly to the Positraction diff. G-M cerametalic drum brakes were fitted all-round, and each finished production Cheetah weighed just 1,700 pounds (770kg).

Jerry Titus test drove the prototype at Riverside in 1963, and as technical editor for Sports Car Graphic magazine, his opinion carried a lot of weight. And his glowing report brought a flood of orders for Thomas. One car was sent to G-Ms Milford Proving Grounds for testing, and produced some impressive results. The Cheetah still had plenty of bugs that needed ironing out, such as extreme cock-pit temperatures, chassis flex, and lack of engine cooling, but these could have been sorted.

However, it mattered little, as G-M soon made it clear they weren’t going to provide the support needed. Additionally, Thomas’ workshop caught fire after only 11 cars had been completed, with around five additional cars still being built. Although most survived, the Cheetah project died, and Cheetah owners were left to race against much more radical competition in Modified Sports classes, though still managed to notch up numerous race wins.

Sadly, the Cheetah would never get to face the car it was designed to topple, the Cobra, and like the Grand Sport, will remain a case for Chevy racing enthusiasts of what might have been.

[pallmall]

I understand there is a Cheetah here in NZ, that has been in NZ for many years.
Never raced, but is being rebuilt currently.

Can anybody tell more?

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, really? Thats interesting. Would love to know more. It seems there are 8 Cheetah's known to still exist. So they're very rare. One of them was turned into a roadster when still near new. This was Ralph Salyer's example, which had its doors blow off on the Daytona banking at 200mph due to unequal cockpit air pressure. Crew chief Gene Crowe solved that issue, plus the cockpit heat issue, by chopping the roof off.

There is a company that makes very accurate replicas and several of these have been constructed.

[Jac Mac]

There is a company that makes very accurate replicas and several of these have been constructed.

That might be 'Mr Bruce' on Club Cobra, although I think there are also some other players, a 'different' car, not really my cup of tea, much rather have a 'Daytona Coupe' myself....someday;):cool:

[faminz]

there is a neat DVD called Legendary Chevys that can be found here and there is one segment about the Cheetah. This is it as posted on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBG9MPnpXF4

[Steve Holmes]

Thats a great piece of footage Brett. But wouldn't it have been good if the owner could have stomped on the loud pedal a bit harder!

[faminz]

agreed steve, but even so its a mean looking, awesome sounding 'cobra killer' eh?

[Steve Holmes]

This is another piece of footage, and the owner thinks his car, or the body at least, is the old Instant Motion drag car.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQrRau250HU&feature=player_embedded#at=42

If thats the case, this car used to be pretty wild!

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Note the owner also says that Mike Argetsinger drives the Cheetah for him in vintage racing events. Mike has recently released a book on Mark Donohue called "Technical Excellence At Speed", which was brought to my attention by Roaring Season member Chad (OCTARD-USA) who rates the book very highly, for those of you interested in the career of Mark Donohue.

Its available here: http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Donohue-Technical-Excellence-Speed/dp/1935007025

[vette8]

Duncan Fox was rebuilding a Cheetah

[woody]

Johnny Rush in Oamaru built a sports car and called it a Cheetah. Its first race was the Waitati hillclimb where John flipped it over after clipping a bank. Car had no body panels and John sustained a serious foot injury. I was a flag marshal.

[pallmall]

Duncan Fox was rebuilding a Cheetah

So, that may have some relationship to what I have been told, which was only a small part of what the teller knew.
Will have to go and see if I can loosen up some lips.

[Steve Holmes]

Duncan Fox was rebuilding a Cheetah

Got anymore info on that Steve? By the way, good to see you on here.

[Steve Holmes]

Johnny Rush in Oamaru built a sports car and called it a Cheetah. Its first race was the Waitati hillclimb where John flipped it over after clipping a bank. Car had no body panels and John sustained a serious foot injury. I was a flag marshal.

Yep thats right, with a 105E motor. I think there were a couple of other specials built using that name too. Was obviously a pretty popular name for a race car.

[woody]

In the 66 GP programme I see that Colin Lumsden No 120, was racing a Chev Cheetah Special. Anybody know anything about this car? It was a saloon car race.

[Steve Holmes]

Huh, thats interesting. That'll be the race these shots were taken at: http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?90-The-Steve-Twist-Collection-Part-2 I wonder what that was?

[bry3500]

http://billthomascheetah.com/

[John B]

Duncan Fox was rebuilding a Cheetah

Yes, Duncan Fox did bring back a lot of Cheetah parts from the US approx 25 years ago, with the intention of building up a Cheetah to race here in NZ. But unfortunately he simply didn't have the time to devote to the project.

At the beginning of this year I persuaded Duncan to sell the whole project to me, and we are currently building the car to race in classic / historic events. The goal is 'NZ Festival of Motor Racing' 2013.

[Oldfart]

John, that will be awesome in the true sense of the word. Good luck with the build. Welcome aboard.

[Jac Mac]

The Cheetah body molds /Jigs & right to produce etc were up for sale in the USA recently-last couple of months-Club Cobra website had info )

[pallmall]

Yes, Duncan Fox did bring back a lot of Cheetah parts from the US approx 25 years ago, with the intention of building up a Cheetah to race here in NZ. But unfortunately he simply didn't have the time to devote to the project.

At the beginning of this year I persuaded Duncan to sell the whole project to me, and we are currently building the car to race in classic / historic events. The goal is 'NZ Festival of Motor Racing' 2013.

Thanks John, that explains the little story I heard. I don't think there would be any objections if you put some in progress build photos on here for us to see, please.

[kiwi285]

It must be a popluar name for sports cars. I see on my list that I have two Cheetahs listed. No 001 to Bruce Wooten and No 002 to Bruce McCoy.

[Howard Wood]

Can't believe how much more work I have got done over the last weeek this site has been down!

Kiwi285, the Cheetah/Cheaters of Wooten and Bruce McCoy (recently sold) are Formula Fords built by my brother Donald and me in 1974/5. At the time any FF which went well was automatically labeled a cheater so we though we would get in first. The name has morphed into the more PC Cheetah over the years.

001 was driven my me in the FF championship 1974/75 then sold to Norm Lankshear May 1975. 002 was sold as a new car early 1975 to Bob Donaldson.

[kiwi285]

Howard thanks for the info and history. I remember now that they were single seaters.

[John B]

The Cheetah body molds /Jigs & right to produce etc were up for sale in the USA recently-last couple of months-Club Cobra website had info )

You're absolutely right. The BTM business was for sale on eBay with a starting bid of US$100,000 but didn't meet reserve. But remember that the BTM Cheetah, although authorised by Bill Thomas before he died, is not an exact period copy of the 1963 car - it uses a lot of modern components.

There has been a lot of talk about this sale in Cheetah circles, because it all seemed a bit odd. The company is selling the rights to build copies of the original 1963 Cheetah, but they are also advertising that they were about to start producing copies of the 1965 'Super Cheetah' - a car that was never completed (the prototype was originally thought to be lost in the factory fire that ended the production of the original Cheetah).

BTM are also 'selling' access to their archives of Cheetah images, documents, technical information, etc. Seems like they need cash!

[John B]

Thanks John, that explains the little story I heard. I don't think there would be any objections if you put some in progress build photos on here for us to see, please.

I'm currently redesigning my website so that I can document the entire build of the Cheetah, and will provide a link once it is up and running. I've also created a couple of Albums on my forum Profile page - check them out.

We intend to build an exact period clone of the 1963 Cheetah for historic racing (it's not a restoration because the parts we have are not all from one of the original 16 Cheetahs, but it's not a typical replica either because all the parts will be period correct - hence the term clone). Here's what it looks like now (don't worry we won't be using those wheels!)...

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It's certainly going to be a rare beast - only approx 16 Cheetahs were built before a factory fire ended production. And it should be quick! The original 1510 lb (685 kg) Cheetah used the modified running gear from the 1963 Corvette, but the 327cu.in V8 was stroked to 377cu.in. with 500+ hp. It was clocked at 215mph (346 kph) at Daytona in 1964 - with drum brakes!! Our Cheetah will be built to the same specs. It should look something like this...

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[kiwi285]

That car will certainly be a great addition to the historic fields when it is completed. Do you have any approximate deadline. When you talk about the same spec - do you mean still using drum brakes !!!!

[pallmall]

Thankyou.

[John B]

That car will certainly be a great addition to the historic fields when it is completed. Do you have any approximate deadline. When you talk about the same spec - do you mean still using drum brakes !!!!

Can't decide about the brakes. As you know the Cheetah was based upon the 1963 Corvette, and GM wanted Bill Thomas to use as many Corvette parts as possible (even the Corvette tail lights). The 1963 Vette didn't has discs, so the Cheetah didn't have disc brakes. Thomas finally opted for 11" Chevrolet passenger car drum brakes, as used in NASCAR at that time. Apparently they were very effective because the aluminium bodied Cheetah was only 685 kg (the fibreglass only bodied cars were slightly heavier).

However, in 1965 the Corvette was finally fitted with disc brakes as standard equipment, and some of the racing Cheetahs were then upgraded to discs. So we may construct our car as a "1963 Cheetah as raced in the 1965 season".

As for an approximate deadline, we would love to have it on the track for the 2013 NZ Festival of Motor Racing, but maybe that is a little optimistic. We have only just started on the project, having spent the last 12 months doing research, CAD design, and collecting parts. If we had the money I believe 12 months is do'able (the Cheetah is a very basic little machine), but we need to sell another race car to fund this project ... same old story!!

[John B]

Here are a few more images...

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[Steve Holmes]

Wow, John, you're really done your homework! I hope you can put together a build thread. That'd be fantastic to see coming together. I think that first photo in post 29 shows just how fast the Cheetah really was. One of the Cheetahs is on the front row next to a mid-engined King Cobra, and ahead of another King Cobra and a Chaparral. What a shame GM weren't interested in this project. I think these cars would have been devastating in the category they were created for.

Interesting point about there being a replica of the Super Cheetah being built. I thought the original Super Cheetah only made it as far as being a drawing? Did it progress further than that?

[bry3500]

Any chance you opening a youtube account with timeline footage of the rebuild John?....Awesome project!!

[John B]

Wow, John, you're really done your homework! I hope you can put together a build thread. That'd be fantastic to see coming together. I think that first photo in post 29 shows just how fast the Cheetah really was. One of the Cheetahs is on the front row next to a mid-engined King Cobra, and ahead of another King Cobra and a Chaparral. What a shame GM weren't interested in this project. I think these cars would have been devastating in the category they were created for.

Interesting point about there being a replica of the Super Cheetah being built. I thought the original Super Cheetah only made it as far as being a drawing? Did it progress further than that?

Yes Steve, I've spent the last 12 months doing my 'homework' on the Cheetah, and have collected a large amount of information. I've also been in contact with the owner of Cheetah number 6 (the Alan Green 'Teardrop 8' in some of the images above), and he is being very helpful. And yes, it is a shame that Bill Thomas didn't manage to create the 100 cars required to qualify it as a 'production' car. Although it still out-performed many of the mid-engined C-Sports/Modified cars that it had to compete against.

The Super Cheetah did make it as far as a 1965 prototype, but was thought to have been destroyed in the factory fire. But apparently it was only damaged, and did survive ... see below.

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[John B]

Any chance you opening a youtube account with timeline footage of the rebuild John?....Awesome project!!

I certainly will be posting both images and video of the Cheetah rebuild on my website (as soon as it is redesigned to accomodate the new project). I currently use YouTube to post all my car-related videos.

[bry3500]

I certainly will be posting both images and video of the Cheetah rebuild on my website (as soon as it is redesigned to accomodate the new project). I currently use YouTube to post all my car-related videos.
can you post a link to your YT account and website John? ..thanks
In the 60s when I was collecting Slot Cars the Cox Cheetah was the bees knees,I I still have a couple of Cheetahs in my collection , 35th and 42nd scale, an all time fav car..hope you bring it across across the Tasman for an airing when it's completed :)

[Jerry Entin]

6047
Here is a continuation Cheetah ran by Robert Boyce of Melrose Park,Illinois

Robert has modified the engine placement and suspension and how the rear end is mounted in the chassis. His car is very fast, also has 680 hp+ engine with dry sump and disk brakes.

[Jerry Entin]

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Cheetah continuation Roadster of Ron Keck
This roadster is a copy of the Ralph Salyer Cro-Sal Cheetah roadster. It also has a high horsepower dry sumped Chevy engine. Ron is from Montgomery, Illinois.

[John B]

6047
Here is a continuation Cheetah ran by Robert Boyce of Melrose Park,Illinois

Robert has modified the engine placement and suspension and how the rear end is mounted in the chassis. His car is very fast, also has 700 hp+ engine with dry sump and disk brakes.

Hi Jerry,

I originally replied to your post on the "1967 Road America Can-Am" thread in this Forum, but I guess this is a more appropriate thread for discussing the awesome Cheetah. If you have read my posts above, you will see that I'm building a Cheetah here in NZ using some original Cheetah parts brought from the US over 25 years ago, plus a collection of 'period correct' 1963 Corvette parts.

You can imagine how excited I was to see that you had joined "The Roaring Season", as I have until now never had the chance to communicate with someone who actually raced a Cheetah back in the 60's. I hear that it was a hard car to master? Is that correct? Maybe that's why it "spun out" in the Elvis movie! I believe your old Cheetah, now painted blue, is still owned by the guy in New Jersey.

We desperately want to make our car totally accurate, so we can race it in classic events. We have most of the parts, but don't have the original Bill Thomas dual air meter injection system, or brakes. My research tells me that all the racing Cheetahs ran 11" Chevrolet drum brakes, but one car (I believe it was the Clarance Dixon Cadillac sponsored car) was converted to run Corvette disc brakes. Do you recall anything about this?

Any information would be really appreciated, as this is a difficult project to undertake here is NZ where there is little knowledge or information about the Cheetah, and obviously no actual cars to examine. Thank goodness for the internet!

Regards, John

PS : I believe this is you at the Stardust International Raceway on October 3rd 1965, where you finished first in a club race (just before the accident at the Times GP at Riverside latter that month)?

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[nigel watts]

Can't wait to see it in the metal John. The rear end of the 'super cheetah' looks a lot like the Marcos.

[John B]

Can't wait to see it in the metal John. The rear end of the 'super cheetah' looks a lot like the Marcos.

Yes Nigel, the rear end of the proposed Super Cheetah road car certainly does look like the back of the Marcos. Check this out...

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I certainly prefer the rear end of the original 1963 version.

PS : Your images from the NZFMR were superb - incredibly clear!

[John B]

And here's a few more images of the Super Cheetah, as it is currently being advertised for sale on eBay...

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[John B]

And this is what the Super Cheetah was meant to look like if the project had been completed...

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[Jerry Entin]

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Here is Ralph Salyer's Cheetah before he took the top off.
Ralph ran this car with help from his good friend Gene Crowe.

[Jerry Entin]

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Ralph Salyer's and Bud Clusserath's Cheetahs
This photo was taken by the late Richard Macon at Augusta, Georgia during the 1964 USRRC races.

[Jerry Entin]

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Here is Ralph Salyers Cheetah with the top removed, now called the Cro-Sal Special

[Jerry Entin]

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Ralph Salyer and his son Mark in matching jackets

[John B]

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Here is Ralph Salyer's Cheetah before he took the top off.
Ralph ran this car with help from his good friend Gene Crowe.

Jerry, I love this shot of Ralph's Cheetah with tape around the door to stop it from being blown off - as happened to him earlier in the season at Daytona. The door also blew off Jerry Grant's car at Pacific Raceway in 1964.

Do you know how they got around this problem (other than not driving at 215mph or cutting the roof off!)?

[John B]

Another shot of the 'taped up' door to prevent it from being blown off at high speed! Wonder what happened to the driver's door - this wasn't taped closed.

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[John B]

This gives an idea of how far back the driver sat in the Cheetah. Their bum was only just in front of the diff!

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[Jerry Entin]

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Here is the Cheetah driven by Jerry Titus at Pomona. The Kurtis at the side is Doug Hooper in the Alligator, a Kurtis Special run for Doug by Bill Campbell.

[Oldfart]

The photo in post 48 shows pretty clearly the lack of back support that was commented on at the time! I had always imagined that something like a sprintcar seat would have been fitted, but it's more like a kiddy seat! John you must feel like you are in heaven with Jerry chipping in here!

[John B]

The photo in post 48 shows pretty clearly the lack of back support that was commented on at the time! I had always imagined that something like a sprintcar seat would have been fitted, but it's more like a kiddy seat! John you must feel like you are in heaven with Jerry chipping in here!

You're right 'Oldfart', the driver looks incredibly vulnerable! Although we are building our car 'as-originally-raced' it still has to have a motorsport approved cage, so we will add a diagonal bar with padded support behind the driver's head - and hope I don't get from behind by a bloody great muscle car!! We won't fit a high-back seat in a car like this.

Yes, being able to communicate directly with Jerry Entin (we've exchanged several e-mails) is a real privilage. Only a handful of drivers raced the Cheetah, and I've been luck enough to correspond with two of them.

[Steve Holmes]

Jerry, thanks so much for posting those beautiful photos. I'd love to hear of your experiences racing the Cheetah.

[Jerry Entin]

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My Cheetah at Riverside in 1965
This isn't the greatest photo it is out of focus slightly, it shows the color of the car which was Corvette Nassau Blue.

Hi Steve: I hope this doesn't bore some of the forum members. I had been running Ol Yeller 2 and I thought the Cheetah was built with better technology. I thought it would be a more modern quicker car. When I bought it the engine was blown up. I got the heads and a set of Weber 58 side draft carbs with it. I asked Bill Thomas to make me a fresh engine. He said he was behind schedule and it would take around 3 months to deliver the engine. I then went to Earl Wade, I knew him from working with a fellow named Don Nicholson. They had helped me in the past and their engines were very good. Earl used Mickey Thompson Aluminum rods in this engine he made. They were for drag racing and they proceeded to snap in half while warming up the engine at Riverside for a club race. I then put in a stock Corvette engine, this was about 360 hp. This made the car way underpowered. I never had a good engine in the car the whole time I owned it.

[Jerry Entin]

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Me with Ol Yeller 2 around 1964
This was the first race car that I ever bought. It had finished 2nd in the 1960 Riverside Grand Prix and I was there with my schoolmate Spencer Stillman. He took me to the races with him. I bought the car in 1963 when I turned 21. Max Balchowsky who built it got it in an Elvis Presley movie for me called Viva Las Vegas. I was paid $4,000 for the movie and they wanted to wreck it and would have given me another $4,000 and the remains. I said no I didn't want it wrecked. It was after I had raced this car for a year that I bought the Cheetah.

Here is a good story on Max Balchowsky that I think the forum member will enjoy. I am in this story at the 7:33 mark and do the driving of the car at the 12:09 and 17:47 and 29:37 and 33:50 scenes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ourvuotFuY

[Oldfart]

Jerry, thanls very much for the link. Dr Ernie was such an ambassador with the car at the NZ meetings 2 years back, what a car, what a story!
I was priviledged to see his NZ diary, even contributed a recipe.

[Jerry Entin]

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Jerry Entin in the Cheetah at Stardust Raceway with Max Balchowsky looking in

Old: Ernie Nagamatsu is trying to keep the Spirit of Max and Ina Balchowsky alive for this generation to see the work they did.

Back to the Cheetah. Everytime I drove it my little toe on my right foot got cooked. The exhaust headers came across that area and kind of cooked my toe medium rare. I had taken the Cheetah to Max Balchowsky to see if he could fix it's handling. He thought it was basically a sprint car that was designed to be run on dirt and that it wouldn't ever handle for road racing and if you wanted to road race it, drive it like a sprint car. I never found anyone who could come up with the solution to make it handle better. I took it to Las Vegas for the first race held at what was called the Stardust Raceway. The Stardust was a hotel in Vegas and they sponsored the building of the track. Max came with me as did Bill Thomas, he was the one who built the Cheetah with the help of Don Edmunds, a sprint car builder and very good welder. The car won against local club racer competition.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, Jerry, I'm loving your recollections! Just fantastic. Keep 'em coming. I watched the first section of the Balchowsky doco. Looks great. I'll watch it in full over the next couple of days. Actually, from memory, doesn't Viva Las Vegas also have a Corvette Grand Sport in it? Its a wonderful thing you did, not selling the car to the studio to be wrecked. Many others would have taken the money and run. That car is so full of character.

Re the Cheetah, many of the reports about the car suggest it didn't really have all the bugs ironed out before examples were sold. Your experiences of having your toe cooked are a good example. The cabin heat and cabin pressure are another. But the potential was there.

When you say you struggled to get the Cheetah to handle, what handling characteristics did it have? My understanding of it was that were was some chassis flex, which in hindsight could have been partially cured by it having a more rigid roll cage, but of course nobody understood the benefits in the early '60s from building a rigid cage.

Out of interest, did you ever race a Cobra, Jerry? Given the Cheetah was created to take on the Cobra, I'd love to know how the two cars compared.

Max Balchowskys suggestions for driving your Cheetah like a sprint car probably could well have worked well had you been able to get your hands on a more powerful motor.

[Jerry Entin]

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680 hp chevy engine out of Robert Boyce's Cheetah
Steve: I never raced a Cobra. I also never raced against one as they ran production class and the Cheetah was required to run in the modified class.

I went to the race shop of Robert Boyce today. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana and I examined his continuation Cheetah and was given many helpful ideas by Bob. For starters the continuation Cheetah was the idea of Mark Ulinski. He is the President of Harley Davidson of Racine, Wisconsin. He is the one who got Bill Thomas to approve the continuation version and it is Bob Auxier in Tempe, Arizona that actually made the cars. Robert Boyce got his Cheetah from Mark Ulinski after driving it for him in about 2004. He then installed this 680 hp engine in the chassis.

Robert Boyce has made many changes to the car. Most were to make it easier to drive and other changes were for safety reasons. I will explain them to the forum members in a bit.

[Jerry Entin]

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Robert Boyce with his Watson Roadster
This is the ex Leader Card Roadster built in 1960 for the 1961 Indy 500. Rodger Ward drove it in that race and finished 3rd. Robert is the owner of the continuation Cheetah and this is inside his race shop yesterday.

[Jerry Entin]

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Stub axle showing snap ring
This is a stock 1965 Corvette part. It is also a very weak link in the Cheetah drive train. If this snap ring ever is knocked loose the wheel would go under the car in the stock setup. Robert Boyce had this happen to him twice.

[Jerry Entin]

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Note in the middle of picture is Top Link
Robert added this top link to the Cheetah setup. This holds the rear wheel up if the half shaft snap ring ever pops off.

[Jerry Entin]

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Chevy 3/4 ton truck slip joint
Robert Boyce found running stock Corvette half shafts with his 680 hp engine didn't work. He converted these truck heavy duty slip joints to take the place of the weak stock half shafts.

[Jerry Entin]

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New rear trailing arm made by Robert Boyce.
On the Cheetah I had this part failed causing the rear tire to go under the car. Robert has made his new trailing arm assembly out of thicker material and more in the sprint car type of trailing arm than the original Cheetahs had.

I asked Robert when you first starting driving the Cheetah in 2004, what was wrong with it. His answer was "Everything". Over the 8 years Robert Boyce has run this Cheetah, he has made improvements in nearly every area of the drive train and chassis. Note he has mounted the battery on the side of the frame. Robert also is using 1965 Corvette disk brakes. The cars came with drum type brakes.

[Jerry Entin]

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Carbon fiber Cheetah rear body section
This is a lightweight body that Robert has for his Cheetah.

[Jerry Entin]

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Front hub assembly
When Robert Boyce went to the disk brake setup he had to use a 1967 Corvette front spindle. These have larger bearings in them, they are required for the disk brake switch. The steering arm is off a Chevy Impala and not stock Corvette.

[Jerry Entin]

6180
Steering rack assembly
Robert didn't feel comfortable with the stock 16x1 steering. He felt it was way to slow. He has a 8x1 rack installed. To achieve proper bump steer the rack was moved several inches from the original mounting place. Robert also didn't like the angle the steering wheel sat at. He has put on a quick release wheel and instead of reaching up for the wheel, he has it angled more straight at the driver.

Robert also lowered the chassis to sit at 3 1/2 inches above the ground. This required moving suspension pickup points and also lenghtening A arms.

[Jerry Entin]

6182
Side view of Cheetah
Robert Boyce has lowered the engine in the chassis by quite a bit. He has also added disk brakes and quick release steering wheel. He has strengthend the chassis and changed the suspension gemoetry. He has modified the shocks and springs. All this in a effort to make the car easier to handle and safer to run. This is an on going effort of Robert Boyce and his mechanic George Heyder.

[Wal Will]

Now that is a Cheater!

[Jerry Entin]

6183
Dry sumped motor lowered in chassis, new mounts made by Robert Boyce

Wally: Lets put it this way. A Lotus 23 with a legal twin cam 200 hp engine is not going to run with this baby on the straights.

[AMCO72]

I was going to say right at the beginning of this thread that this machine looked lethal!!!! And it appears as though I was right. Modifications and more modifications to get the thing to stay on the tarmac. So what are you calling it. Surely not THE Cheetah......maybe Cheetah II? And no the legal Lotus 23 probably wont stay with it on the straight, but I'll bet it will run rings round it in the corners.........'straights are for fast cars......corners are for fast drivers'.

[Steve Holmes]

Jerry, thanks for the photos and detail on this car. I actually really like Roberts updates. They're sympathetic to the period, using mostly period parts, and are improvements made on what was a model that probably left the factory a little too early, with a number of bugs that still needed ironing out. Roberts upgrades are in many ways what may have been done by Bill Thomas if history had been different, and GM had given their support, and his factory not caught fire.

With this being a continuation Cheetah, Robert doesn't need to keep it 100% correct. Looks like he has some other interesting cars in his collection.

[Jerry Entin]

6184
Cheetah interior, note dry sump tank on passangers side.

Steve: To say Robert Boyce has interesting cars is an understatement. He has 5 Indy cars all running in like new condition, a Superformance GT 40 a NASCAR ex Michael Waltrip car and Vintage Sprint car and street rods and classic cars. It would be a whole thread on his workshop and collection.

I will stick to the Cheetah here. I am sure Robert feels the same as you, this is a continuation car and it is legal to take any of the bugs or unsafe features and correct them. This has taken years to accomplish.

[Jerry Entin]

6185
Heat exchanger for the engine oil
I have never seen this one. Usually you would use an oil cooler. Robert says it works fine.

Here is a very nice story on Don Edmunds, he was the builder of the Cheetah. He also was the Indy Rookie of the year in 1957.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfb3fgXH4jc&feature=player_embeddeda

[Fred Yeakel]

Hello everyone. My name is Fred Yeakel and I live in Southern California USA. I am new to your site. I know two of your members, John B and Jerry Entin. Jerry and I both drove the Cheetah in the 1964-65 time period. From 1963 to 1966 I raced first a 1959 then a 1957 Corvette in "B" production in the Cal Club region of the SCCA. Jerry and I raced on many of the same race weekends. I knew Jack Goodman who owned Dixon Cadillac in Hollywood. I would help Jack at the track with his Cheetah. As a reward he offered me the opportunity to drive the Dixon Cheetah at the February 1965 Cal Club races at Willow Springs. Jack's Cheetah was originally a street car. Then he and Rolf Picard decided it would be fun to go road racing. Jack had Bill Thomas fit a dual air meter FI to the car and off they went to drivers school. In July 1965 Jack had Bill Thomas put a 396 big block motor and a Munci Rock Crusher transmission and off we went to the San Louis Obispo regional races for a shake down with Rolf driving. What a disaster. It would stick in gear and overheat. Then Jack had Rolf run the car in the 1965 Times GP at Riverside. Jack made Rolf run 1 lap to collect the starting money then come in. I was told to drive it from the pit lane back to the trailer while Jerry was out there running his Cheetah. The car was slower with the big block than with the original motor. You might be interested in checking out my web site www.cheetahcars.com
Question for Jerry, did your car ever have disk brakes?

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/denny%20home%20che_zps6awajmrc.jpg
Harvey Lasiter with Denny Doherty owned Cheetah in the day
Harvey Lasiter put disk brakes on the car for Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas, after I sold the car to Denny. I also had this Cheetah in an Elvis movie called Spinout. Hope you are enjoying seeing what Robert Boyce has done to his car.

Fred: Glad your a member of The Roaring Season

photo: Harvey Lasiter collection

[Steve Holmes]

Fred, WOW, its great to have you here! Welcome aboard. You must have owned the Alan Green Chevrolet Cheetah for some time? Alan Green Chevrolet must have had quite an interest in motorsport in the '60s, as they ran a Camaro in the Trans-Am also: http://www.historictransam.com/Drivers/TonyHart.html

How have you got around some of the issues related to the Cheetah, such as the cabin heat and chassis flex?

Interesting that Jack Goodman wanted to fit a big block motor to the car you were involved with in the '60s. I'd have thought straight line speed would have been the one area the Cheetah didn't need any help with?

[Steve Holmes]

Fred: Glad to see you here on the Roaring Season. I didn't having disk brakes on the Cheetah when I had it.

Harvey Lasiter put them on the car for Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas, after I sold the car to Denny. I also had this Cheetah in an Elvis movie called Spinout. Hope you are enjoying seeing what Robert Boyce has done to his car.

Jerry, did you sell your Cheetah to buy your first McLaren?

I do recall seeing your Cheetah in the Elivis movie. Were you driving it Jerry? What is the blue front engined race car Elvis drives in the movie? Looks like one of the Ol Yallers.

[Jerry Entin]

6188
My McLaren Mk 1 with camera mounted on it during filming of Spinout

Steve: I bought my McLaren after the 1965 Riverside Grand Prix. I still owned my Cheetah. It was Ol Yeller IX in the movie that Elvis was driving. They painted it Blue.

A friend of mine named Bruce Kessler was the second unit director on that movie. He got my McLaren in it for me and it was called the Fox 5 in the movie and they painted it Gold. He also got my Cheetah in the movie for me and they painted it red for the movie. I made more on the movie than the cars cost me. So things were pretty good then.

You had to be a movie stunt man to drive in the movies. That is a good story in it's own. Most of these guys were from the cowboy days and would try any stunt no matter how dangerous it was. They didn't want any young guy getting in their union, unless you were related to one of them.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, Jerry, I'm really enjoying your stories. So your McLaren was the car that played the main starring role as the car Elvis drove? Did the film crew treat your cars well, or did they beat on them? Did you get to meet Elvis?

[Jerry Entin]

6205
Gene Crowe driving the Cro-Sal Special with Mark Salyer in passenger seat

Steve: Elvis was very nice and his buddies from Memphis were in Spinout also. They were dubbed the Memphis Mafia. They were his buddies from high school. You can see them in the scene where they are pushing the car.

At Dodger Stadium Elvis got into the Cheetah and I had a great picture of me holding the door open for him. My little brother has all my pictures from the day and I may be able to find it when I go to visit him in March. If so I will show it. The film crew and mechanics were all very nice. It was an MGM movie.

[Jerry Entin]

6206
McLaren Mk 1 next to 427 Cobra during making of Spinout
The driver of the White 427 Cobra was Bob Drake. He drove Ol Yeller 2 to 2nd place in the 1960 Riverside Grand Prix. The fellow with the helmet on is Cary Loftin. He was the head stunt man for this movie.

[Wal Will]

And tell the story about the motor sabotage Jerry.
This was around the time I met Jerry, I was working at Traco Engineering in L.A. on a McLaren project and Jerry used to come in on a regular basis.

[Jerry Entin]

During the making of Spinout, someone decided if my engine was wrecked in my McLaren, that the movie would take longer to make. Thus giving everyone more pay. They put ball bearings down the carburetors and they fell into the engine. Wally Willmott and Gary Knutson were at Traco working on the Indy Ford trying to make it go into Bruce McLaren's Formula One chassis. A young guy named Al Bartz was doing the work on the Olds engine for me. He worked at Traco at that time. Also working at Traco was George Bolthoff. Both of these guys would end up working with Bruce McLaren at later dates.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, I'm just loving this thread, and the stories you guys are relating! Fantastic stuff! What a neat adventure Jerry. So did the ploy to wreck your engine work?

[Steve Holmes]

6205Steve:
Gene Crowe driving the Cro-Sal Special with Mark Salyer in passenger seat

Steve: Elvis was very nice and his buddies from Memphis were in Spinout also. They were dubbed the Memphis Mafia. They were his buddies from high school. You can see them in the scene where they are pushing the car.

At Dodger Stadium Elvis got into the Cheetah and I had a great picture of me holding the door open for him. My little brother has all my pictures from the day and I may be able to find it when I go to visit him in March. If so I will show it. The film crew and mechanics were all very nice. It was an MGM movie.

Another superb photo. Thanks for posting. Yeah I'd love to see your photos from the filming.

[Steve Holmes]

Hello everyone. My name is Fred Yeakel and I live in Southern California USA. I am new to your site. I know two of your members, John B and Jerry Entin. Jerry and I both drove the Cheetah in the 1964-65 time period. From 1963 to 1966 I raced first a 1959 then a 1957 Corvette in "B" production in the Cal Club region of the SCCA. Jerry and I raced on many of the same race weekends. I knew Jack Goodman who owned Dixon Cadillac in Hollywood. I would help Jack at the track with his Cheetah. As a reward he offered me the opportunity to drive the Dixon Cheetah at the February 1965 Cal Club races at Willow Springs. Jack's Cheetah was originally a street car. Then he and Rolf Picard decided it would be fun to go road racing. Jack had Bill Thomas fit a dual air meter FI to the car and off they went to drivers school. In July 1965 Jack had Bill Thomas put a 396 big block motor and a Munci Rock Crusher transmission and off we went to the San Louis Obispo regional races for a shake down with Rolf driving. What a disaster. It would stick in gear and overheat. Then Jack had Rolf run the car in the 1965 Times GP at Riverside. Jack made Rolf run 1 lap to collect the starting money then come in. I was told to drive it from the pit lane back to the trailer while Jerry was out there running his Cheetah. The car was slower with the big block than with the original motor. You might be interested in checking out my web site www.cheetahcars.com (http://www.cheetahcars.com)
Question for Jerry, did your car ever have disk brakes?

Fred, it seems your car had its wheel openings flared when it was converted to street trim. Did you have to go an un-do this work when you bought the car or did you fit another body?

[bry3500]

Awesome thread..Jerry , I'm loving your input here...

[OCTARD-USA]

This very recent addition to the Friedman Collection images on Flickr, posted by The Henry Ford Museum:

1964 Augusta USRRC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/sets/72157629381172336/with/6901621502/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/sets/72157629381172336/with/6901621502/)

has some of the best Cheetah detail shots I've seen. Of course there are a bunch of other great cars and location images in there as well.

For the best viewing experience, I'd recommend you click the applicable buttons (magnifying glass, then "View All Sizes", then "Original") to take you to the largest version of each of these proof sheets.

[Steve Holmes]

Chad, thanks so much for that link. Some stunning pictures in there, I wish they could have posted them individually, but I'm sure the time to do that would have been too much. The pics are superb, and not just those of the Cheetah, but I see Chaparral I and II, and one of the Corvette Grand Sports in there too, among others.

[John B]

Steve, this is the easiest way to get to the individual images in the "Dave Friedman collection (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/collections/72157628488413505/)"...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/collections/72157628488413505/

[John B]

And here is another set of racing images (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/collections/72157629285223977/)from the Henry Ford photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford)on Flickr...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehenryford/collections/72157629285223977/

[Steve Holmes]

Oh thats brilliant, thanks heaps John.

[John B]

Finally made a 'little' progress with the 1963 Cheetah. We've finished the chassis, and I'm a bit surprised just how small and light it is! No wonder the car was so fast.

14579

14580

How the hell does a 377cu.in. Chev fit into this? More importantly, how the hell am I meant to fit into the car?

14581

14582

[John B]

The 40 year old fibreglass body has finally been mounted (temporarily) onto the newly reproduced chassis. And amazingly it all seems to fit together OK!

14583

14586

Damn this thing is small. Just a 90 inch (2286 mm) wheelbase, and 140 inch (3556 mm) overall length.

14584

14585

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, looking great John!

[ERC]

Great stuff! Good to see CW's F5000 on its wheels too...

[John B]

Great stuff! Good to see CW's F5000 on its wheels too...

Sharp eyes Kemosabe! Yes, CW's F5000 is looking sharp, but apparently won't be racing at the NZFMR - just on display from what I understand.

[Jerry Entin]

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1586/cheetahatriv.jpg
Cheetah at Riverside in 1965

[Steve Holmes]

Nice photo Jerry, is this you pictured?

[Steve Holmes]

The magazine Hot Rod Deluxe has released a special collectors edition 'Best of the Best' issue recently, containing old Petersen Publishing photos taken for various magazines from the company between 1955 - 1965, including Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Car Craft, Sports Car Graphic etc. There is a nice spread from 1963 Sports Car Graphic which shows four very neat photos of the Cheetah in the test, including two interior shots and an engine bay shot.

[John B]

The magazine Hot Rod Deluxe has released a special collectors edition 'Best of the Best' issue recently, containing old Petersen Publishing photos taken for various magazines from the company between 1955 - 1965, including Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Car Craft, Sports Car Graphic etc. There is a nice spread from 1963 Sports Car Graphic which shows four very neat photos of the Cheetah in the test, including two interior shots and an engine bay shot.

Looks like I better check that out Steve. Is the magazine available here in NZ?
Cheers, John

[mid-year]

1614116142161431614416145

[BMCBOY]

I found this great shot some time ago, but I don't have a clue who took it

16151

[Steve Holmes]

1614116142161431614416145

Wow, superb article there Pete, thanks for posting.

[Steve Holmes]

Looks like I better check that out Steve. Is the magazine available here in NZ?
Cheers, John

yep, you sure can John, though it can be a bit hard to track down sometimes, but here is a link to the front cover image: http://www.socalsac.com/automotive/hot-rod-deluxe-magazine-march-2013-0

[John B]

I found this great shot some time ago, but I don't have a clue who took it

16151

The image above is a current-day shot of Fred Yeakel's "Teardrop 8". This is the only Cheetah still racing, and it has a very interesting history. It is chassis number 6, and has been through many reincarnations since 1963. It raced with a number of different body modification before being turned into a hot rod. Fred bought the car and rebuilt it as a race car, and now competes in historic racing in California.

As it was originally raced in 1963...
16217

Then after some changes to the body in 1964...
16218

Then as a road-going hot rod...
16219

And finally as it is now...
16220

[John B]

yep, you sure can John, though it can be a bit hard to track down sometimes, but here is a link to the front cover image: http://www.socalsac.com/automotive/hot-rod-deluxe-magazine-march-2013-0

Thanks Steve. I'll track it down.

[John B]

yep, you sure can John, though it can be a bit hard to track down sometimes, but here is a link to the front cover image: http://www.socalsac.com/automotive/hot-rod-deluxe-magazine-march-2013-0

Thanks again Steve. Found the magazine today in my local book shop. The Cheetah article was only a two-page spread, and it contains images that I have in other magazines, so can't justify spending $20.95!

[mid-year]

162611626216263

[John B]

Here is a full view of the schematic above...

16272

And another schematic of the chassis...

16273

Amazing that such a fragile, simplistic looking car was capable of 215 mph / 346 kph (as recorded at Daytona in 1964). It must have been a scary ride!

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, amazing! That cut-away is really stunning!

[zombie289]

Not really a "Cheetah" , but cool nonetheless.....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-FIBERGLASS-TRENDS-CHEETAH-WITH-MOLDS-PARTS-GASSER-RAT-ROD-HOT-ROD-/290878690289?pt=Salvage_Parts_Cars&hash=item43b9b893f1&vxp=mtr

Oh and the latest Hot Rod Deluxe magazine that came out on the weekend (here in the US)has a great write up on the Cheetah.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, that is completely amazing! I'd seen pics of that drag car pictured in the Ebay auction, but always just assumed it was a genuine Cheetah converted for drag racing. I know there was at least one Cheetah that was used as a drag car.

[Ray Bell]

Amazing to come across all of this...

I saw Spinout the other day, recognising the McLaren and the Cheetah in it, but not knowing they were Jerry's cars!

Jerry kidnapped us when we were in the US last year, we had a great time with he and Carmen at and around their home in Spring Lake.

Somewhere I believe I have a photo or two of Mike Argetsinger driving the Cheetah at Elkhart Lake (a circuit I'm sure suited it well!), I'll have to look for them and post them.

[Jac Mac]

Point of interest here, CMS [ California Metal Shaping...called California Metal Stamping in the article] must be the same outfit that made up the first set of panels for the first Cobra Daytona Coupe, before they were farmed out to the Italians.

[jim short]

At Leadfoote Jason Liefteen ??{oldfart come in} ran a white car rather like this,cant remember it running but prety shure it did.

[Steve Holmes]

Amazing to come across all of this...

I saw Spinout the other day, recognising the McLaren and the Cheetah in it, but not knowing they were Jerry's cars!

Jerry kidnapped us when we were in the US last year, we had a great time with he and Carmen at and around their home in Spring Lake.

Somewhere I believe I have a photo or two of Mike Argetsinger driving the Cheetah at Elkhart Lake (a circuit I'm sure suited it well!), I'll have to look for them and post them.

Yes, Jerry has certainly enjoyed quite an adventurous life. He did promise to post some of the photos he took while on set for those movie's.

[Oldfart]

At Leadfoote Jason Liefteen ??{oldfart come in} ran a white car rather like this,cant remember it running but prety shure it did.

Racing Ray ran the car with a Synergy V8. Scratch built Hyper Cars DSN 390 (had Jason Lieftings name on the roof)

[Steve Holmes]

Not really a "Cheetah" , but cool nonetheless.....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1965-FIBERGLASS-TRENDS-CHEETAH-WITH-MOLDS-PARTS-GASSER-RAT-ROD-HOT-ROD-/290878690289?pt=Salvage_Parts_Cars&hash=item43b9b893f1&vxp=mtr

Oh and the latest Hot Rod Deluxe magazine that came out on the weekend (here in the US)has a great write up on the Cheetah.

Pauly I managed to pick up a copy of that today. 5 pages of really nice photos. Thanks for the heads-up.

[oldman]

More Cheetah´s at
http://www.hotwheelsbr.com/cheetah/Cheetah-publicacoes.htm

[Jerry Entin]

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/2682/e7qs.jpg
Brian Garcia and Jerry Entin and Mark Salyer and the Cro Sal Special
This was at Elkhart Lake for the July Vintage weekend and Brian Garcia was driving the Ron and Jennette Keck owned continuation Cheetah, Cro Sal Special. He was doing a fine job of it and I brought Mark Salyer down to see the car and meet the crew.

Photo: Ron Keck collection

[Jerry Entin]

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/9514/v9e6.jpg
Cro Sal Cheetah and the Robert Boyce Cheetah coupe

photo: Ron Keck collection

[Steve Holmes]

Oh wow, great photos Jerry, thanks for posting. It may just be the angle, but has the Cro Sal sprouted a small front chin spoiler?

[Jerry Entin]

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/4775/3im6.jpg
Here is a better photo showing the front end


photo: Ron Keck collection

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Jerry, must have been getting a bit of lift at speed?

[Steve Holmes]

Your pics of the Cro Sal Special really highlight what small cars these are Jerry. They sure packed a lot of punch!

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks to Grant Ellwood for sending me these pics, plus the following description:

"I was at Virginia International Raceway for Friday practice of the Vintage Drivers Club of America. While doing my pit-walk I came across the Cheetah in the pics below, stopped and had a chat with the owner-driver Jay Stephenson from the Atlanta, Georgia area.

"Jay bought the car from an estate sale 15 years ago and did a full restoration, completing it recently. Apparently the car was built up from parts salvaged from the fire at Bill Thomas's factory, most everything is original including the fuel injection".

24739

24738

[Steve Holmes]

24742

24740

24741

[Steve Holmes]

24743

24744

[Rod Grimwood]

Aren't they Weber's, bloody nice looking bit of machinery. Any more photos of the week end Grant.

[Spgeti]

That is just amazing.

[Grant Ellwood]

Aren't they Weber's, bloody nice looking bit of machinery. Any more photos of the week end Grant.
Could be Webers Rod, I probably misunderstood some of Jay's comments plus my memory is pretty wonky these days. Guess he meant that he has the original injection unit, probably under his bed at home. The Webers would certainly be easier to set up especially while trying to get to know the Cheetah first few times out on track. What a monster (the car, not you Rod)!

[Jac Mac]

Weber IDF's.

[Rod Grimwood]

Thanks Grant, sneak in under that bed, I got a good home for that injection.

[John B]

... I probably misunderstood some of Jay's comments plus my memory is pretty wonky these days. Guess he meant that he has the original injection unit, probably under his bed at home ...

Grant, do you know if the fuel injection unit is the standard Corvette Rochester system (as used on the Cheetah road cars), or the Bill Thomas modified dual air metering system (as used on the factory Cheetah race cars)?

[Grant Ellwood]

Grant, do you know if the fuel injection unit is the standard Corvette Rochester system (as used on the Cheetah road cars), or the Bill Thomas modified dual air metering system (as used on the factory Cheetah race cars)?

John, I don't know which system it is but I can give you Jay's email address, contact me at -
ellwoodusa@yahoo.com
I'm sure he would be delighted to chat to another Cheetah owner.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3210_zps8c51a966.jpg
Ron and Jennette Keck with their continuation Cro-Sal Special Cheetah

This was at Elkhart Lake last weekend and 12 Cheetahs were at the event. This was the fastest Cheetah at the event. Brian Garcia did a fine job of driving it.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3208_zps1b6a7dc9.jpg
Fred Yeakel and his Cheetah
Fred Yeakel and his daughter Jeni drove for 36 hours to make this event. Jeni also got to drive the Cheetah on the track for a few laps.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3221_zpsbda43096.jpg
The Blue Cheetah and the Keck car raced at this event and the Yeakel car was driven around the track by Jeni Yeakel for a few pace laps.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3217_zps28e6d196.jpg
Some of the Cheetahs had crate motors in them.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3213_zps24348f50.jpg
This red Cheetah had the dual air meter setup that was popular in the day.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3216_zps5f1f3881.jpg
This Cheetah was presented in flat black primer, I don't know if he wanted the Rat Rod look or the car just wasn't finished.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3207_zps4b759289.jpg
The Cheetah reunion area showing some of the cars. There were 12 Cheetahs at this reunion. Missing was Robert Boyce and his red Coupe. He just didn't have the help to make the event.

[Steve Holmes]

Awesome photos Jerry, thanks for posting. How many original Cheetahs were there?

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3218_zpsc476d177.jpg
There were 12 Cheetahs at this event and one real one belonging to Fred Yeakel

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/100_3221_zpsef343e82.jpg
Rear view of the two Cheetahs

[Shano]

Those things look scary Jerry. They must be a heck of a buzz to drive.

[Allan]

From the Elvis movie "Spinout"25567

[Jerry Entin]

Allan: That photo you have posted is from the MGM movie called Spinout starring Elvis Presley. The red Cheetah was my car at the time. I also had my Mk 1 McLaren in the movie. They painted that Gold and called it the Fox 5.

I made more on the movie then the cars cost, so that was very nice.

[Jerry Entin]

Allan: That photo you have posted is from the MGM movie called Spinout starring Elvis Presley. The red Cheetah was my car at the time. I also had my Mk 1 McLaren in the movie. They painted that Gold and called it the Fox 5.

I made more on the movie then the cars cost, so that was very nice.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Cheetahs_zps708815b7.jpg
A group shot of the Cheetahs as captured by Dave Ferguson

copyright: Dave Ferguson 2014

[Allan]

Great photo Jerry. How many Cheetahs were factory built and how many of them still exist?
Allan

[bry3500]

from Wiki
"No official records are known to exist documenting the exact number of cars produced, but best estimates indicate as many as 23 cars were built to varying degrees of completion and configuration. This estimate is based on the number of fiberglass bodies produced by the chosen manufacturer selected by Thomas and by the documented production number of the last known original Cheetah."

[RGM]

No connection to this thread but my sister from aust today showed me how to load music onto my computer and I was listening to a
Elvis cd as I read this thread and along with a couple of bourbons it made mt afternoon

[RGM]

No connection to this thread but my sister from aust today showed me how to load music onto my computer and I was listening to a
Elvis cd as I read this thread and along with a couple of bourbons it made my afternoon

[Racer Rog]

Have I read some where that they are producing these cars again as a continuation, or was that just the voices in my head again.
Roger

[Fred Yeakel]

Thanks for the post Jerry. These are the only pictures I have seen of the event. Anyone interested can view our site dedicated to the original Bill Thomas Cheetahs produced in Anaheim, California from August 1964 through April 1966. www.cheetahcars.com

[Steve Holmes]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Cheetahs_zps708815b7.jpg
A group shot of the Cheetahs as captured by Dave Ferguson

copyright: Dave Ferguson 2014

This is a neat photo!

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/cheetah-1_zpsdd443b7e.jpg
Here is the Cheetah of my late friend Albert Way, his brother Ron Way is going to restore it this year so it may be seen once again. It had a fiberglass body when I had it and Albert had this new Aluminum body built for it.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, that looks amazing Jerry! Is this your old car that had the big block?

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Cheetahengine_zpsffd5afc5.jpg
Small block chevy with weber 58's in chasiss #2 owned by Ron Way

Steve: I never had a big block in my Cheetah, Albert Way has restored my old car with a new aluminum body and has a small block with Weber 58 mm side drafts on it. He has since passed away and his brother Ron Way now has the car.

photo:Ron Way collection

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/denny%20side%20cheetah_zpsa4v6prr1.jpg
Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas with his Cheetah in the day
Denny traded me a Triumph 500 Daytona motorcycle and cash for the car. I had to pick the motorcycle up at a towing yard as Denny had left it one night outside a bar and it was towed. This was 2 months before I made the deal with him. I had quite an impound bill on the bike.

photo: Havey Lasiter collection

[Fred Yeakel]

Great picture Jerry. Is that in the Hollywood hills?
You sure got Bob upset about your claim that your car was chassis # 2. Love these guys that come along 30 years later and try to tell us what happened back in the day. We were there. We raced the cars. We worked on the cars. Guess that is not supposed to count for anything.

[Steve Holmes]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/denny%20side%20cheetah_zpsa4v6prr1.jpg
Denny Doherty of the Mamas and Papas with his Cheetah in the day
Denny traded me a Triumph 500 Daytona motorcycle and cash for the car. I had to pick the motorcycle up at a towing yard as Denny had left it one night outside a bar and it was towed. This was 2 months before I made the deal with him. I had quite an impound bill on the bike.

photo: Havey Lasiter collection

I love this photo! Thanks for sharing Jerry.

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/cheetah%20ad_zpstbtwzcuy.jpg
Here is the ad for my Cheetah at the time I bought it.
John Grow who owned Friendly Chevrolet in Rialto, California was very nice to deal with, a real straight shooter as they say.When I bought the car I was told it was the second car made and the factory racer. I don't think that John Grow would lie to me and sell me the 3rd or 4th car if they existed at that time.

I am glad you are enjoying the picture that Harvey Lasiter had in his collection. It had never been seen before I put it on The Roaring Season and Fred Yeakel's Cheetah site.

Competition Press Ad above

[Paul Wilkinson]

http://bringatrailer.com/2015/02/06/finally-a-real-one-1964-bill-thomas-cheetah/

[John B]

http://bringatrailer.com/2015/02/06/finally-a-real-one-1964-bill-thomas-cheetah/

Wow! After 25 years ownership Fred is selling his "Teardrop 8" Cheetah for US$580,000 (NZ$790,000).

This car has appeared several times in this thread, and has an interesting - and well documented - history. It started as a race car in 1963; was converted to a street car in the 1970's; was then restored back to its 1963 racing specs; then recently updated to how it raced in 1965. Until very recently it was still completing in historic racing in California.

[Steve Holmes]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/cheetah%20ad_zpstbtwzcuy.jpg
Here is the ad for my Cheetah at the time I bought it.
John Grow who owned Friendly Chevrolet in Rialto, California was very nice to deal with, a real straight shooter as they say.When I bought the car I was told it was the second car made and the factory racer. I don't think that John Grow would lie to me and sell me the 3rd or 4th car if they existed at that time.

I am glad you are enjoying the picture that Harvey Lasiter had in his collection. It had never been seen before I put it on The Roaring Season and Fred Yeakel's Cheetah site.

Competition Press Ad above

This is superb Jerry! Thanks for posting. What was this car like to drive? Were the cockpit temperature issues sorted by then?

[Steve Holmes]

Wow! After 25 years ownership Fred is selling his "Teardrop 8" Cheetah for US$580,000 (NZ$790,000).

This car has appeared several times in this thread, and has an interesting - and well documented - history. It started as a race car in 1963; was converted to a street car in the 1970's; was then restored back to its 1963 racing specs; then recently updated to how it raced in 1965. Until very recently it was still completing in historic racing in California.

Yeah, wow! Great car, I always loved the beautiful flares this car featured. They weren't factory, but they sure looked good.

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[John B]

Wow, another Cheetah has now come onto the market. It is approx. 15 years since the last genuine 1963 Bill Thomas Cheetah was sold, and suddenly there are two for sale.

It seems that another Cheetah owner is taking advantage of all the interest generated by Fred Yeakel's car that is for sale at US$580,000 (NZ$760,000), so they have decided to advertise their car for US$620,000 (NZ$815,000).

Anyone out there with a spare NZ$1,575,000? You could have a matching pair!!

[Oldfart]

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This stunner was on Sports Car Digest this morning. Not often photographed view, I am sure fairly often seen by other cars :)

[rf84]

This car looks purposeful and aggressive from any angle but this shot really sums the car up-low, wide and minimalist.

[gokiwi]

Cutest bum around :-)

[Roger Dowding]

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This stunner was on Sports Car Digest this morning. Not often photographed view, I am sure fairly often seen by other cars :)

Great view, thanks Oldfart, and no funny tail-lights

[John B]

CHEETAH FOR SALE - HERE IN NZ

If you can't quite stretch to the NZ$760,000 and NZ$815,000 being asked for the two Cheetahs currently for sale in the USA, my 1963 Cheetah project here in NZ is for sale.

After working on a Cheetah in the USA in the 70's, Duncan Fox (Auckland-based McLaren guru) originally brought all the components back to NZ to assemble his own Cheetah. I bought all the parts from Duncan three years ago, but unfortunately now have to sell the project. The details are...

► ENGINE :
1963 Corvette 327 cu. in. V8 engine (to be stroked to 377 cu. in.)

► GEARBOX :
M21 Muncie 'Rockcrusher' gearbox

► CHASSIS :
Exact recreation of chrome-moly tube chassis

► DIFFERENTIAL :
1963 Corvette diff and half shafts

► BRAKES / SUSPENSION :
Corvette brakes and uprights with fabricated wishbones and trailing links

► STEERING :
Triumph Herald / Triumph Spitfire rack

► WHEELS :
15" American Racing 'Torq Thrust' (not the BMW wheels in the images)

► BODY :
Fibreglass front, body and gull-wing doors.

► WINDOWS :
Pexiglass front and rear screens

► WEIGHT :
Goal weight (as raced in 1963) approx. 750kg.

All parts are 'period correct', so this would make a very quick classic racecar. Remember, one of these cars was clocked at 215 mph at Daytona in 1963.

CAD drawings of the chassis and suspension will be supplied, plus a large number of books, magazines, photos and research material.

I would be happy to offer advice and information after the sale, and Andy Culpin can finish the project for the new owner if required.

Call John for more information...

► Phone : 09-414 5959
► Mobile : 021-378 989
► E-mail : john@spr-models.co.nz

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[John B]

And here are some more images of the Cheetah as it is currently...

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[John B]

And a few more...

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Note : The correct wheels are not fitted in these images. The correct (wider) American Racing 'Torq Thrust' wheels will be supplied.

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This final image shows just how low the Cheetah sits. The 1969 TVR Tuscan is not a big car, but looks lanky in comparison to the squat, 42" high Cheetah...

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[Oldfart]

Sad to see you won't be finishing it John. I was looking forward to that sight on track. Hope the next custodian can progress it.

[Roger Dowding]

Sad to see you won't be finishing it John. I was looking forward to that sight on track. Hope the next custodian can progress it.

Oldfart. I agree, John B was looking forward to getting it all together, whoever gets it will have a very unique and serious racer. Good Luck to the buyer.

JB the TVR is great too !!.

[John B]

Sad to see you won't be finishing it John. I was looking forward to that sight on track. Hope the next custodian can progress it.

Not as sad as I am Oldfart. I was looking forward to racing it, but circumstances out of my control mean that I have to sell it. I really, really hope that the buyer continues along the 'period correct' theme, and doesn't change, update, or modify it. The Cheetah deserves to be raced in 1963 specifications.

[John B]

Oldfart. I agree, John B was looking forward to getting it all together, whoever gets it will have a very unique and serious racer. Good Luck to the buyer.

JB the TVR is great too !!.

Hi Rog. Yes the TVR will be fun, but not quite as 'rare' or as 'powerful' as the 500hp / 750kg 1963 Cheetah.

The TVR will be built to 1969 TVR Tuscan specs, with a period correct 289 ci.in. Ford V8; 4 speed; TR6 suspension; and Jaguar diff. The Tuscan is heavier than the Cheetah at 1000kg, but interestingly both cars share a 90" wheelbase.

Cheers, John

[Jerry Entin]

Here is an interview I did while I was in California recently. It was shot by Jeni Swanson and it is her father Fred Yeakel and myself talking about the Cheetahs.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0BB4yv4-p8

[Steve Holmes]

Nice one Jerry, that was awesome!

[Oldfart]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISxJ5HGZVns&feature=player_detailpage

For the promo of the Cheetah Evolution. Does a good looking girl sell cars?

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Cheetah%20at%20Santa%202_zps1zde3baz.jpg
Jerry Entin in his Cheetah at Santa Barbara in 1965

photo: Mike Schwartz

[Jerry Entin]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Brian%20in%20cheetah_zps6y0garzf.jpg
Brian Garcia in the Ron and Jeanette Keck Cheetah at Elkhart Lake in 2016
Brian was leading Group 3 at the Hawk Vintage races until a tire failed and he limped home in second.

photo: Chuck Brandt

[Roger Dowding]

The Wine Box set, now has a photo of a Cheetah as a background

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The teardrop " 8 " was a very well known Cheetah in the USA at the time

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[Roger Dowding]

The background pic, the teardrop " 8 " - a Dave Friedman photo, Dave is a prolific motoring photographer who has produced many books, and collaborated on others.. " Modern GT Racing, " " Vintage American Road Race Cars 1950-1970" , " Corvette Grand Sport " " Pro Sports Car RACING in America 1958 - 1974 " and others - the last book features the grid at the June 1965 Players 200 practice with Gary Gove's Cheetah Chevrolet on the third row.

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[Steve Holmes]

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y525/JerryEntin/Cheetah%20at%20Santa%202_zps1zde3baz.jpg
Jerry Entin in his Cheetah at Santa Barbara in 1965

photo: Mike Schwartz

Thanks Jerry, superb photo of you in your old Cheetah.

[Steve Holmes]

The Wine Box set, now has a photo of a Cheetah as a background

36067

The teardrop " 8 " was a very well known Cheetah in the USA at the time

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This is cool!

[Alan Hyndman]

A promising sign that a Cheetah will be at the Goodwood Members Meeting this month:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zidWaqU-fjo

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, thats a really cool video Alan. Great find! Its interesting the owner says the car was stopped from racing because of a change in the homologation rules when it was new. I believe this is incorrect. The intention was always that the Cheetah would compete in the FIA GT division against Cobras and Corvettes etc. But there weren't enough cars built for it to qualify. So it was forced to run in Group 7 against the emerging breed of Can-Am cars. Jerry Entin will know for sure.

I assume in historic racing the Cheetah will be allowed to race in the GT division? I hope so, it'll be extremely competitive, and one of the few cars able to give the Cobra Daytona Coupes a run for their money.

[duncan fox]

Here is an interview I did while I was in California recently. It was shot by Jeni Swanson and it is her father Fred Yeakel and myself talking about the Cheetahs.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0BB4yv4-p8

The owner of the ex Jerry Entin car Ron Way had lunch with me yesterday, I have known the Way boys since the early 80's he reports that he has almost completed the work that his late brother Albert started when he fitted a new alloy body. I had always thought of Als 2nd Cheetah as a late car but it seems I was mistaken , its an early car with a later lower front wishbone. Jerry positively identified some of the rear suspension parts on the car as his number 2 car.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks for the video Duncan. Jerry and Fred are two real authorities on this subject.

Going back to the Goodwood MM video, I'm actually surprised a few more Cheetah's haven't appeared in European historic GT racing, particularly the continuation cars and replicas. The FIA rules do allow replicas, as long as they're completely accurate, and in recent years a number of Cobra Daytona Coupes have started appearing, which of course have usually been the fastest whenever they race. The Cheetah would have to be one of the few cars that could take the fight to the Daytona coupes.

[Alan Hyndman]

The upcoming (April 2017) issue of Classic and Sports Car magazine is featuring a test of a Cheetah. The following is from https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine/classic-sports-car-april-2017/

3. The beast of Anaheim
The Cheetah was one of the best looking and ferociously quick GTs of its generation, but its drivers had to battle with heat exhaustion and wild handling. Mick Walsh tells the compelling story of its early beginnings and race career before being shoe-horned into the famous Clarence Dixon Cadillac-liveried car for a heart-stopping drive at Goodwood.

Maybe the article will stir interest to the point that we are inundated with them in a year or two.

[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Alan I'll look forward to reading that.

[Grant Ellwood]

The upcoming (April 2017) issue of Classic and Sports Car magazine is featuring a test of a Cheetah. The following is from https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine/classic-sports-car-april-2017/

3. The beast of Anaheim
The Cheetah was one of the best looking and ferociously quick GTs of its generation, but its drivers had to battle with heat exhaustion and wild handling. Mick Walsh tells the compelling story of its early beginnings and race career before being shoe-horned into the famous Clarence Dixon Cadillac-liveried car for a heart-stopping drive at Goodwood.

Maybe the article will stir interest to the point that we are inundated with them in a year or two.

Just received a copy of the magazine, great article which gives a short but succinct history of the Bill Thomas Cheetahs, with input from TRS contributor Jerry Entin. Jerry also features in a photo on page 6 (separate to the main article on page 144) and shows " Jerry Entin blasts off the grid in his Cheetah at the start of the 1965 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside in California."
Many thanks to Jerry for sharing his experiences with these wild rockets, more to come I hope!

[Roger Dowding]

Guys, There is an article in the April 2017 issue of " Classic and Sports Car ",on the car,fully restored and run at
" Goodwood Festival " , some great photo's.
The Silver car in my model collection !!
Note also the Cro-Sal car the Roadster, and one of Jerry Titus' car the red one. Spark made 4 versions and I missed out on a green one, three is enough as won't fit in a wine box.

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[Steve Holmes]

Thanks Roger, I bought a copy of that issue a few weeks back. Great article.

[mrcheetah]

Jerry Entin never owned number #002 Period. The Albert/Ron Way Cheetah is not the Cheetah Jerry Entin owned Period. It is (NOT) the number #001 car or the number #002 car. I have pictures of the Albert way Cheetah before he bought it and 100's of pictures of him restoring it. Nor is it the Jerry Titus #36 Cheetah.
The Genuine Bill Thomas Cheetah Serial number #002 I just bought out of Oklahoma, It has its Genuine Bill Thomas issued Serial ID Tag. The owner keep it in 2 barns for 48 years since he bought it in 1969.The owner history is Crystal Clear, I am Certifying it this month Jan 2018 It still has its white paint from the 1964 Oct Riverside race.
I have known about this car for 24 years now. Now that it setting in my shop and I am starting restoration Jan 5th 2018 the Cheetah World will learn the history on this Genuine #002 Built Bill Thomas Cheetah Alloy body Prototype,
#001 and #002 were both evaluated by Chevrolet.
Bill Thomas gave John Crow owner of friendly Chevrolet the Jerry Titus Race Number #36 Cheetah for his investment in the Cheetah program when they broke relations off.
Friendly Chevrolet owner John Crow started out with investing in #001 Alloy prototype, When it was wrecked his investment was transferred into #002, Then after #002 was wrecked his investment was transferred to the Race number 36 Titus Cheetah. Bill and John went separate ways and John took control of the Titus Cheetah. This car was sold to Jerry Entin. Jerry Entin's Cheetah is not owned by Ron Way today. although the Ron Way Cheetah is Genuine Chassis rebodied by Jim Gammage and Jim gave Albert Way the large rear tank with the Cheetah Jim sold him, Jim bought the large rear tank from the Bankruptcy auction at Bill's Shop in 1970.

[mrcheetah]

The owner of the ex Jerry Entin car Ron Way had lunch with me yesterday, I have known the Way boys since the early 80's he reports that he has almost completed the work that his late brother Albert started when he fitted a new alloy body. I had always thought of Als 2nd Cheetah as a late car but it seems I was mistaken , its an early car with a later lower front wishbone. Jerry positively identified some of the rear suspension parts on the car as his number 2 car.

Jerry Entin never owned the Genuine #002 Alloy Prototype, He owned the #36 Race Cheetah Titus drove. Not #001 or #002 Period.
The Genuine #002 Prototype Alloy Cheetah is now in my shop at BTM Bill Thomas Motors in Phoenix Arizona for full restoration. I just bought #002 from the owner who bought it in 1969, stored in 2 different barns for 48 years. It has its GENUINE Bill Thomas issued #002 Serial Number tag.

[mrcheetah]

Great picture Jerry. Is that in the Hollywood hills?
You sure got Bob upset about your claim that your car was chassis # 2. Love these guys that come along 30 years later and try to tell us what happened back in the day. We were there. We raced the cars. We worked on the cars. Guess that is not supposed to count for anything.

The Genuine Bill Thomas Alloy Body Prototype #002 I just bought out of Oklahoma Dec 30 2017 It is setting in my BTM Bill Thomas Motors Shop. Restoration starting Jan 4th 2018. It has its genuine Bill Thomas issued Serial number ID tag. It was owned by same owner since 1969 I knew of this #002 Cheetah for 24 years. Jerry Entin never owned #002 Cheetah. Fact.

[khyndart in CA]

Photographer John Lacko recently shared these photos that he took art the Grattan Raceway, Michigan, in 1966.
I am not sure who is driving the Cro Sal Special Cheetah.
(The driver is Mike Pung as per John Lacko )
Note how the original number 26 has been altered to show a # 85.
Also note the support sticker for Mitt Romney's father who was the Michigan Governor at the time.
That is an early front spoiler set up.

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(Ken H)

[Roger Dowding]

Where and When , well it is not there anymore as John B has moved it from there.
It is one of John b photos too - I borrowed it ..

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[928]

it is for sale on TM roger.buy it

[Roger Dowding]

it is for sale on TM roger.buy it

Too much work for this " Old Car ' Guy ".... Hopefully some one gets it soon, and finishes what John started ..

[Steve Holmes]

Sadly, Jerry Entin passed away recently.

[Ray Bell]

Yes, he did...

Here's a photo of Jerry taken more recently. It was 2012 and, unlike every other photo taken of him, he's smiling:

https://i.postimg.cc/3NDyRXjS/0721fr2012jerryandjanet.jpg

And I make no secret of the fact that I would also be smiling if I could put my arm around her again...

[Roger Dowding]

Building a replica or a kitset, this may help ?

Note ; *** John B tells me he has the Magazine with this page in it and it will go with all the documentation and spares etc that John has for the car - which he is trying to sell..

As noted in 2021, I am not going to buy it, much as I would like to, my mechanical ability is a bit lacking and my knees and back etc are just not up to restoration work these days.
Hopefully whoever does will do a story on it as Hotrod 1 is with " U2 " style racer on this forum.


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As an aside JohnB recently shifted his recreation North - on a trailer, John said it was " the fastest the car has ever been ".
the photo[s].

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Hopefully we will hear / read more on the build.
The car was based on a body acquired in the 1970's and a recreation of a Cheetah Chassis,has been made.

[Ray Bell]

Looking forward to it...