This is the 1964 Chevrolet Engineering Aluminum Bill Thomas Cheetah Test Mule (126364002), the second Cheetah prototype, commissioned secretly by John F. Gordon who retired as GM’s president in 1965. Bill Thomas, a self-taught engineer, began his career in the 1950s working on Corvettes for C. S. Mead Motors, achieving nearly 100 victories. In 1960, Thomas founded Bill Thomas Race Cars and by 1962 had caught GM’s attention, who brought him in as a performance car specialist. When Carroll Shelby’s Shelby American combined Ford’s V8 engines with AC Cars’ chassis and body to create the Cobra, Thomas sought to rival it with a Chevrolet-powered competitor. Due to GM’s racing ban in 1963, the Cheetah project was developed in secret. Thomas enlisted racecar builder Don Edmunds to design the vehicle with approval from GM’s Vince Piggins. Edmunds, who became lead fabricator, initially designed the Cheetah as a styling exercise, but Thomas later aimed to take it racing. Once the chassis and buck were completed, California Metal Shaping provided an aluminum body and Aircraft Windshield Co. developed the windows. The first prototype was completed by Edmunds, Don Borth, and Thomas. Between 1964 and 1970, the Cheetah entered 66 races with 54 events and secured 10 wins. As racing shifted toward mid-engine configurations like the GT40 and homologation rules changed, Chevrolet stopped supporting the project. Production halted permanently after a factory fire at Thomas’ Anaheim facility in late 1965. Only the first two prototypes had aluminum bodies; the rest used fiberglass from Contemporary Fiberglass and Fiberglass Trends. Prototype 002 was finished in December 1963 and tested secretly until April 1964. It was later found in a barn by BTMLLC of Arizona and restored to near-original condition.
How many made? Serial numbers go from 001 to 029. 16 cars with 13 rebuilds.
Engine: 5.4L Chevrolet small-block V8
Debut: Riverside International Raceway on February 1, 1964
0-60mph: n/a
Top Speed: n/a
Photo Credit: @am_media_ny
Research: @rarecarsonly
1964 Chevrolet Engineering Aluminum Bill Thomas Cheetah Test Mule
22.10.2024
Bill Thomas