Hemmings Find of the Day

We’ve seen this narrative before. Car goes racing back in the day, car gets replicated quite a bit for road and race use, original examples of car thus become more prestigious and more valuable. Only this isn’t a Shelby Cobra we’re talking about; instead, it’s the Cobra’s nemesis, a Bill Thomas-built 1964 Cheetah for sale on Hemmings.com. Documented as one of three Alan Green Chevrolet Cheetahs, it has extensive period-racing history and has been used since as both a street car and for vintage racing. Today it wears its original body, restored to its original Alan Green livery, and appears ready for even more track time. From the seller’s description:

The second of three Cheetahs ordered by Alan Green Chevrolet of Burien/Seattle, Washington, this car was built to racing specifications and was the only Alan Green Chevrolet Cheetah to be road-raced. Its outstanding documented racing record includes 10 Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) events in 1964-65. In 2009, this Cheetah received a FIA-issued Historic Technical Passport (HTP). The HTP makes this Cheetah eligible for any FIA-sanctioned vintage event in the world. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only Bill Thomas Cheetah to have a HTP.

Alan Green Chevrolet took delivery of this Cheetah in March, 1964. It was raced extensively during the 1964 and 1965 seasons, usually under the Alan Green Chevrolet banner. Its maiden race, a California Sports Car Club event, took place at Pomona, CA, on March 22, 1964. Although, it was delivered in red, it was repainted Alan Green “green,” in approximately June, 1964. Pictures from the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside International Raceway in October, 1964 are the first to show the car in Alan Green “green.”

The drivers for Alan Green Chevrolet included Jerry Grant, Allen Grant (unrelated), Don Jansen, Gary Gove, and Larry Webb, at numerous tracks including Riverside, Laguna Seca, Mosport, Westwood, Seattle, Cottati, Portland, and Kent. For fun, Larry Webb took it to the local drag strip, where he reported it turned in the mid-10 seconds at 134 mph.

In May, 1966, Jerry Copely of Medford, Oregon, purchased this Cheetah from Alan Green Chevrolet. Copely painted it purple and raced it for one year, winning the SCCA Regional Championship for his class. In March, 1967, when his wife became pregnant, Copely sold the car to Barrie Grant (not related to the other Grants) of Grants Pass, Oregon.

Barrie Grant raced the Cheetah through 1970 at tracks in Washington, Oregon, and Western Canada. He picked up two more SCCA Regional Championships. During this time, the Cheetah was first yellow, then blue.

In May, 1972, Rob Pinkham of Lake Tahoe, California, purchased a very used and tired Cheetah from Barrie Grant. Pinkham’s ten-year restoration transformed the former race-car into a street car, adding things like a functioning horn, turn signals, and a single windshield wiper. In 1982, Pinkham licensed the car for the street.

In May, 1989, Fred Yeakel of Trabuco Canyon, California, purchased the Cheetah from Rob Pinkham. Yeakel removed the original Alan Green Chevrolet race car body and stored it in the rafters of his garage. He located a never-mounted body in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which, in 1964 configuration, was painted red, numbered “8,” lettered with the “Alan Green Chevrolet” logo on the front fenders, and installed on the car.

Yeakel vintage raced the Cheetah in this configuration on the West Coast for 21 years. After debuting in a VARA race at Willow Springs in 1990, the Cheetah raced at vintage events including: more than ten times at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races; Wine Country Classic (Sonoma); Los Angeles Vintage Races; Portland Historics; Tustin Thunder; and vintage events at tracks such as Seattle, Las Vegas, Crows Landing, Thunderhill, Phoenix, Willow Springs, and Palm Springs.

Among other vintage awards, the Cheetah received the in-class trophy at the 1993 Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Also, the Cheetah won the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC), Seniors Tour Series, Entrepreneur’s Cup for front engine cars in 1994 – the first year for the USRRC Seniors Tour.

In the fall of 2012, Yeakel decided to put the original Alan Green Chevrolet race car body back on the frame and restore the car to its 1965 livery. The process took over a year and included installing a new modern wiring harness and rebuilding the dual air meter fuel injection. The original American Racing five-spoke magnesium wheels remain on the Cheetah.

This Bill Thomas Cheetah, once raced by Alan Green Chevrolet, and successfully campaigned on the vintage circuit for more than two decades is offered with a plethora of documentation, including a manual for the dual air meter fuel injection system, wiring diagram, FIA HTP document, letters and ownership documentation from prior owners, and presentation book.