Car: Bill Thomas Cheetah Coupe

Year: 1964

What makes it special: The Bill Thomas Cheetah was an American sports car designed and engineered entirely with American components, and built from 1963 to 1966 by Chevrolet performance tuner Bill Thomas. It was developed as a competitor to Carroll Shelby‘s Cobra. In 1956 Thomas commenced work tuning and modifying Chevrolet Corvettes for racing for C S Mead Motors Co. By 1960, Thomas had started his own company, Bill Thomas Race Cars. In 1963 Thomas gained covert support from General Motors Performance Product Group head Vince Piggins to develop the Cheetah as a concept vehicle. It was designed by Thomas and Don Edmunds, his lead fabricator. Edmunds is credited with the bulk of the construction of the car.

What made it famous: Thomas arranged for material assistance from Chevrolet for the major components – the Corvette 327 engine, Muncie transmission, and independent rear-end assemblies. Other components were stocked from the larger GM parts bin, such as Chevrolet passenger car spindles, and NASCAR spec Chevrolet drum brakes. The production models used fiberglass bodies. The Cheetah’s chassis was constructed of Drawn Over Mandrel cro-moly tubing that was heliarc welded using a P&H Mining DAR-200 welder. The design of the car was unusual with the engine sitting so far back in the chassis that the output yoke of the transmission connected directly to the input yoke on the differential, basically making the driveshaft only a universal joint linking the transmission with the differential. With the engine positioned in this manner, the driver’s legs were beside the engine. The exhaust system headers passed over the top of the driver’s and passenger’s legs. The tops of the footboxes were curved to make room for Edmunds’ handmade headers. Despite some adverse handling tendencies on road courses, few cars could catch it in a straight line due to its Thomas-built 377 cu in displacement, dual air-meter, fuel-injected Chevy small-block V8 based engine. At the dragstrip, the car reportedly posted faster numbers than the 427 Cobra.

Why I would want one: The car for all intents and purposes was an all-out animal. In a straight line, there were few like it.

Fun fact: In 1964, race car rules changed from 100 cars needed for homologation to 1000 cars, prompting Chevrolet to advise Thomas that they would no longer support the Cheetah project. Thomas, faced with this negative factor as well as a fire that destroyed his factory on September 9th,1965 made the business decision to end production of the Cheetah and move on to other projects, including collaboration on the Nickey Chevrolet Camaros. The last documented Bill Thomas produced Cheetah was ordered in the fall of 1965 and delivered in April 1966.
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Car: Mercury Marauder 2-Door Hardtop

Year: 1963½

What makes it special: The Marauder nameplate was used by three distinct full-size cars produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from the most powerful engines available to the Mercury line, the Marauder was marketed as the highest-performance version of the full-size product range. During its first production run, the Mercury Marauder was a trim option on standard Mercury coupes; the equivalent of the Ford Galaxie 500 and 500/XL, the Marauder was given a “fastback” rear roofline.

What made it famous: In sharp contrast to the distinctive reverse-slant “Breezeway” roofline option, the Marauder hardtop coupe was styled with a sloping notchback rear roofline; matching the same roofline that was introduced at the same time on the contemporary Galaxies. This roofline was optimized to make the large sedan more competitive for stock car racing. Along with the “sportier” roofline, the Marauder trim package included bucket seats and central console, similar to its Ford counterpart. Shared with the rest of the Mercury sedan line, the Mercury Marauder was powered by Ford “FE-Series” V8 engines, shared with the big Fords and the Thunderbird. A 390 cubic-inch Marauder V8 was standard, with a 427 cubic-inch Super Marauder V8 replacing a 406 V8 in 1964. Along with 3-speed and 4-speed manual transmissions, a 3-speed “Multi-Drive Merc-O-Matic” automatic transmission was offered.

Why I would want one: It’s a great looking car and the V8 options make it even more enticing to own.

Fun fact: For the first time for a mid-year introduction, the Marauder was introduced as a “1963½” model as was an entire line of new, “sports” models from Ford in many of the existing series. All 1963½ Marauders were two-door hardtops.
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Car: Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 2-Dr. Hardtop

Year: 1959

What makes it special: Oldsmobile had three series for 1959, the Dynamic 88, the high-performance Super 88, and the ultra-luxury Ninety-Eight. The two-door hardtop was named the ‘Holiday SceniCoupe.’ The Oldsmobile Eighty Eight was a representation of an image. Especially during the beginning three years, the Oldsmobile 88 was one of the best performing automobiles. This was most likely due to its small size, along with the lightweight and advanced over-head valve high-compression V8 engines. 

What made it famous: The Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 for 1959 had fins that started atop the front fenders and rose as they went to the back in rocket-shaped appendages. The Oldsmobile designers called it the ‘Linear Look’ and was an extreme departure shape from its highly chromed 1958 predecessor. The Dynamic 88 was powered by the standard 371 cubic-inch ‘Rocket’ V8 engine and fitted with an optional 4-speed ‘Jetaway’ Hydra-Matic transmission.

Why I would want one: Those beautiful stylish fins and boatloads of chrome.

Fun fact: The Eighty Eight inspired a popular song ‘Rocket 88’ and a popular 1950’s slogan, ‘Make a Date with a Rocket 88’.
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