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itsworn · 6 years

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$2.2 Million Shelby Super Snake Makes Headlines at 2019 Mecum Kissimmee Auction

The first weekend in January might seem early to begin the 2019 event season in the muscle car hobby, but it seems to suit Mecum’s auction schedule quite well. The Silver Spur arena in Florida’s Osceola Heritage Park bridged the first two weekends of January with 10 days of sales. Hundreds of muscle cars were offered at this event, ranging from survivor-status machines and pristine restorations to drivers that were bought right. As always, this event helps provide a solid barometer for what is going on with market demand and values as we open the current year. Prices noted will include buyer’s premiums.

Snake Bit

A heated bidding war between two potential buyers drove up the price of the one-of-one Shelby Super Snake to a final selling price of $2.2 million.

By far the most exciting sales moment of the event was Friday’s offering of the legendary one-off 1967 Shelby Super Snake Mustang. The fastback had been constructed using a GT40-derived 427ci racing engine for Goodyear to use in research tire testing. It had eventually been sold for $5,000 to the public through a Shelby franchise dealer after the tire job was completed and the company had returned the special pony back to Shelby American for refreshing. Well preserved, this Ford has been lightly restored to its as-released-to-Goodyear condition, and the one-of-one supercar had previously established the top price for any Mustang, selling for $1 million at a Mecum event several years ago. With changes in the market during the ensuing time, could the Super Snake strike again? Oh, yeah.

Shelbys are proving to hold their value well, particularly models made before Ford took over production in 1968. This 1967 G.T. 500, documented as a dealer demonstrator and the personal car of Shelby regional rep Ed Casey, sold for $330,000.

Bidding climbed rapidly to $800,000, then $900,000, and the reserve came off as the $1-million threshold was crossed. Two bidders then went hard after it at $100,000 a pop, finally settling at hammer time to a monster $2.2 million.

Indeed, Shelbys were strong at the event, with a 1965-to-1966 G.T. 350 carryover model bringing home $440,000, and a documented 1967 G.T. 500 dealer demonstrator going to its next home thanks to $330,000. In all three cases, provenance and singular-example conditioning was key, factors that tend drive the top of every established field of collecting. It was remarked to me by one Shelby-experienced onlooker that Shelbys are unique among American builders, with an international appeal thanks to Carroll Shelby’s racing prowess, AC relationship, and personality. Literally all competition Shelby cars have pushed up in value over the years, and cars produced by Shelby American before Ford’s takeover of the franchise seem to hold a special appeal regardless, though the 1968-1970 models remain in solid demand as well.

COPOs and Hemis: Reality is Selling Cars

The fifth-highest sales price of the entire sale was the $495,000 paid for this ZL1 Camaro, 15th of the 69 built and a former Dick Harrell team drag car.

There is an adage about the skittishness of the stock market: When people sense it is unstable, it pushes up prices in other fields, including collectible cars. While the stock market has seen rapid gyrations during the past year, many still feel the fundamentals are solid, so money has remained there to an extent. For people who purchased top-dollar cars during the previous uncertainty, the current environment might, frankly, not be conducive to doubling your money like the past owner of the Super Snake did, and that fact is a result of market forces outside of the hobby.

Hemi E-body hardtops were all bidding up to somewhere under the $300,000 mark, and COPO Camaros were likewise. Selling prices were in the $160,000-$220,000 range here, with several nice cars changing hands and several others going home with their owners. The big exception was a beautiful ZL1 Camaro in silver, number 15 of the 69 built and once raced out of the Dick Harrell team stables by Jim Leatherman. It crossed the block late on Saturday to sell with a $495,000 final price. The top two Yenko sales were a Daytona Yellow 1969 Camaro automatic (one of 30 built) and a well-restored 1966 Yenko Stinger with a Phase III-style race engine, both at $220,000, the later at far over its estimate. Several other 1969 9561 COPOs were no-sales at $200,000-plus, with a 1969 SS/RS in Hugger Orange with houndstooth being our favorite.

A convertible LS6 is rare; one with Berger provenance is rarer still. This one was bid to $375,000 but did not sell.

Hemi B-bodies have also settled down, with a one-of-one loaded 1971 Hemi Charger in strong at $209,000 leading the pack. Engine expert Larry Shepard brought in his 4,200-mile, one-family 1971 Hemi Road Runner to see a $176,000 final sale, and a beautiful 1970 Hemi Coronet Super Bee, bronze four-speed with matched bronze bench-seat interior, brought $159,500, giving the market a real world price on these models when coupled to the $137,000 1970 R/T sale last year. And speaking of big Hemi cars, one of MCR’s mechanical alumni, the former Roy Badie Hemi GTX featured in the magazine’s very first supercar shootout during the 1980s, showed up here and hammered sold for $110,000. A number of other Hemi cars were under the $100,000 threshold, and some went into Mecum’s The Bid Goes On when block prices did not meet the expectation of sellers.

While these cars are considered blue chip models, we would say there does appear to be some softening in this area from the highs of previous years. While a quarter-million is never “pocket change,” for those who are well-heeled to play at this level, it is possible to buy some very good cars, keeping in mind that issues of provenance and condition are always the best indicators of future strength.

Fresh Air

This 1969 Z/28 was one of the last 427 Camaro conversions done by Baldwin-Motion. It was drag raced by its first owner until he brought it to Baldwin-Motion for conversion in 1974. It subsequently passed through several hands before being bought by Mike Guarise in 2001, who had it restored to its Motion glory. It sold for $93,500.

While big-block Corvette roadsters led the pack among the big dollar post-1960 sales, there were a number of valuable convertibles among the 816 droptop examples here in Florida. Top bid for any muscle version was $375,000 for a remarkable Berger-sold 1970 Chevelle LS6, which was turned down by the seller. That put a 1970 ’Cuda, U-code 440-4BBL with factory A/C and elastomeric bumpers, in as the top muscle-era sale at $165,000. Of the 36 droptops whose price topped $100,000 and sold, four were GTOs, two were Mopars, one an LS6 Chevrolet, and one more a Shelby; the rest were not muscle cars, though a number of Bid Goes On cars hit the $170,000 mark or over.

There were also some excellent deals if you have been in the market for “fresh air” in the cockpit. Top deal in our opinion was a scarce yet solid 1970 Olds Cutlass Supreme Indy 500 pace car edition, believed to be a small-block, that sold for $27,500. A number of other 4-4-2s, Chevelles, and performance Mopar 440ci converts were sold for less than $75,000. Topping $100,000 were two of the aforementioned GTOs, both from the special BMF Collection that ran on Friday, one a black 1969 Ram Air IV at $132,000 and the other a green 1971 455 HO at $110,000.

Formerly in the Tim Wellborn collection, this 1971 Hemi Charger R/T is believed to be the only one painted Plum Crazy and with a white top and interior. It sold for $209,000.

This is a marketplace that is perhaps a little more mercurial at the moment, and if you have been wanting one, shopping could prove productive. There are deals out there. One noticeable car that did not sell was a real 1967 SS427 Impala, maroon with matched red interior and a rare L72/four-speed/console combination, which climbed to an even $100,000 before rolling away unsold. In this case, we can understand why that owner might have wanted to wait. A very nice piece.

Competition – Hesitation Kills

Tim Wellborn later joked his phone was ringing within moments after buying a 1971 Road Runner for $44,000. It was a Wedge-powered version in Petty Blue. With 43s on the doors and Richard Petty on the hammer in the announcing stand as it crossed the block, this display car from the Petty Garage was one of several vehicles from King Richard’s stables, which ranged from 1950s GMs to late-model machines, that sold at no reserve. If you want to buy a vintage race car, this is the season for it, as prices on factory specials and vintage racers alike are off of their highs of a decade ago. Top charger here was a documented 1964 Ford T-bolt that thundered to $247,500 on Saturday, while the top seller not considered among the “factory drag” models was the Chrisman Bros. legendary land speed car from 1954, which had raced up to a big $484,000 final total an hour later.

A relative steal: This King Cobra is one of what is believed to be three prototypes Ford built to compete with Chrysler’s aero warriors in NASCAR before the winged cars were banned and the Ford project was stillborn. The only one built with a Boss 429 and four-speed, it sold for $192,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $350,000 to $400,000.

GM’s Other Guys and AMC

Buick sales were led off by a classic from the 1950s at over $250,000, with a GSX from the BMF collection hammering home to a $126,500 finale. A 1970 Stage 1 was hammered “Sold!” for $39,600 on Friday, while several others did not meet reserves. In the Olds category, the top seller in muscle was lot S240, which garnered $99,000 for a 1970 4-4-2 convertible. A 1969 H/O hit $90,200; and the top 10 in the Olds category overall were mainly convertibles, led again by a big 1950s-era model at close to a quarter-million. A 1967 4-4-2 on Wednesday was well-bought at $17,600, and several nice 350ci converts under $30,000 were sold as well.

Pontiac, on the other hand, led with muscle, with an unrestored Ram Air III 1969 Trans Am at $165,000, followed by 10 other Ponchos at more than $95,000. A bid of $140,250 moved a 1-of-14 four-speed, A/C-equipped 1970 Judge convertible to a new home, while $101,750 was paid for a 1971 455 HO hardtop. A number of buyers did hold their reserves, but $18,700 was the magic number for a rebuilt 1970 GTO during the first day of the event. We also felt $34,100 for a truly beautiful 1967 428ci Gran Prix convertible in red and white was money well spent. Pontiac remains one of the better marques to have solid interest over multiple years between 1960 and 1980; top of the 1970s TAs was a 1976 50th Anniversary model with excellent originality and provenance that sold on Thursday for $110,000.

Longtime readers will no doubt remember the 1984 “Supercar Shootout” that pitted a Hemi GTX against a Stage 1 Buick for dragstrip supremacy and bragging rights that have lasted for decades. This is the very GTX that represented the Mopar faithful. It went to a new owner for $110,000.

Of the 3,500-plus cars here, just 15 were AMCs, with the top three sellers being a 1970 Rebel Machine at $67,100 and two 1969 SC/Ramblers that sold back-to-back on Friday for $44,000 apiece. This is one area where it appears demand is not driving pricing at present.

Mopes and Mercs

Of course, among the many muscle cars here were cars from Ford and Chrysler as well. Of 120 Dodges with results, 77 sold and probably one of the event’s best buys was a final Sunday morning no-reserve 1964 Polara 500 convertible, a solid mild custom with a poly-type 318, that hammered sold for $7,700. Two 2018 Demons and a rare 1962 Max Wedge joined Dodge Hemi cars in the $100,000 Sold! Club before the weekend ended. For Plymouth fans, with 55 sold of 83 results showing, it was a tie between a 1965 426 Fury and a lightly-modified 1967 Barracuda tying at $15,950 that we thought were well-bought muscle. With the exception of the blue ’Cuda convertible already mentioned, only multi-carb models were over $100,000 in the Mayflower tribe, with six 426 Hemi cars joined by one M-code 1969 6BBL ’Runner and a 1961 Fury convertible with long-rams.

If FoMoCo blue is in your veins, there were more than 600 to choose from here. Muscle came on strong starting with the T-bolt, followed by a prototype 1970 Boss 429 King Cobra NASCAR special at $192,500. If we had been shopping bargains, it was a 427-powered 1967 Ranchero at $11,000 on the first day that would have been our pick. Of the Mercs, the 428 Cougar we featured on a Facebook post ended at $110,000, then a big drop to $40,700 for a modified 1964 K-code Cyclone hardtop. A second 289 model, a 1964 convertible, was our buy of the week at $12,100. Rare pre-1960 Mercury models were stronger than muscle-era stuff this year, and Ford street rods built right were also in the top 10 from Dearborn.

A three-ring binder of documentation came with this Thunderbolt, one of the real-deal T-bolts made by Ford subcontractor Dearborn Steel Tubing for drag racing. A high bid of $247,500 sold it.

Conclusion

The year is young, and if any thing is certain for 2019, it is that nothing is set in stone. So long as the overall U.S. economy remains strong, Mecum and the other auction houses will continue to find new homes for cars of owners who want to sell. Moreover, there is no lack of buyers for either the rarest or the reasonably-priced vehicles. This modest level of adjustment is healthy for the hobby, and it will be interesting to see where things pan out as the year goes on.

Not just another Mustang, this is a rare (one of an estimated 340) German export T-5 convertible from the Wayne Davis collection. Ford couldn’t call its ponycars Mustang in Germany as the name was already copyrighted by a truck manufacturer. The subject of a concours restoration, the Nightmist Blue drop-top sold for $93,500.

The first owner of this Canadian-spec In-Violet ’Cuda was a drag racer who took its Hemi to replace the blown motor in his Super Bee. Years later the original engine was found, and it came with the car when it sold for $214,500.

The highest price paid for a Yenko car at Kissimmee was the $220,000 bid for this Daytona Yellow Camaro, a double COPO that received a body-off restoration in 2004.

Longtime road racer Don Yenko was turning Corvairs into hot Stinger models before his crew ever turned a wrench on a Camaro. At a selling price of $220,000, this example, the 74th of the first 100 built in 1966 and a nearly perfect MCACN Concours Gold winner, doubled its pre-auction estimate.

This flight of 1971 models had mixed results on the block. The Trans Am in the foreground, with its matching-numbers 455 HO and PHS docs, sold for $58,300. The ’Cuda in the background, its billboard announcing its 340 V-8, sold for $73,700. But $75,000 wasn’t enough to sell the unrestored, 15,000-mile Boss 351 Mustang in the middle.

Among the GTO convertibles on offer at Kissimmee was this one-of-45 1969 RAIV/four-speed from the BMF collection. Concours restored and carrying PHS documentation, it sold for $132,000.

There were 411 Chargers built in 1968 with a Hemi and a four-speed. This one retains its matching-numbers engine and unrestored interior, and is believed to have gone just 36,000 miles. The final $148,500 bid found it a new home.

Mecum called this the “Holy Grail of Cougar muscle cars,” a one-of-one (per the Marti Report) equipped with a 428 Super Cobra Jet, four-speed manual, and Drag Pack option with 4.30 gears and Traction-Lok. A high bid of $110,000 bought the cat.

Some 96 Twister Special Mustangs were made in 1970 as a promotion for Kansas City-area dealers. Half had 351 Cleveland engines, the other half, like this example, received 428 Super Cobra Jets. The $130,000 high bid did not sell the ’Stang.

Late of the Gast Classic Motorcars Museum in Pennsylvania, this unrestored 1969 Trans Am showed just under 31,000 miles and retained its original 400ci V-8/four-speed drivetrain. It changed hands for $165,000.

Hemi expert Larry Shepard has had this 1971 Hemi Road Runner in his family since new. His father drag raced the car after replacing the factory motor with a race Hemi and stripping out the interior. It then spent years in storage before Larry reinstalled the original Elephant and interior and resprayed the sheetmetal in its factory Tor Red. Larry parted with the car for $176,000.

This pair of ponycars landed in Mecum’s The Bid Goes On after crossing the block. The Camaro, a double-COPO car and one of 58 made with the Rally Sport option, failed to sell at a high bid of $200,000. Next to it is a Paxton-supercharged 1968 Shelby G.T. 350 that was a no-sale at $75,000.

One of the best deals at the auction was the $27,500 paid for this 1970 Olds Cutlass pace car.

Speaking of bargains, $29,700 was all it took to buy this 440-powered 1973 Dodge Charger, which had to be far less than the cost of the car’s rotisserie restoration.

Listed as having its matching-numbers engine and “extensive documentation,” this drop-top 1966 4-4-2 changed hands for $52,800.

Don’tcha just love the long intake runners on this 1961 Fury convertible’s Sonoramic 383 V-8? Part of the Wayne Davis collection, the Fury had been treated to an “extensive” restoration and sold for $121,000.

“Patina of authenticity” is how Mecum described the paint condition on this unrestored 1967 Coronet R/T. It’s one of 121 built with a Hemi and A833 four-speed. An $82,500 high bid sold it.

The post $2.2 Million Shelby Super Snake Makes Headlines at 2019 Mecum Kissimmee Auction appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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jesusvasser · 6 years

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Big-Block and Pony Cars at the 2018 San Marino Motor Classic

One of the things we enjoy most about the San Marino Motor Classic (SMMC) in California, besides the fact that it’s a 20-minute drive from home, is the diversity. This is the kind of concours d’elegance where you can expect the expected—prewar Classics, brass-era cars, even a steamer or two—as well as the totally unexpected. Comedian, podcaster, and film producer Adam Carolla brought 10 of Paul Newman’s race cars. (“The salad dressing guy?” my daughter asked.) A 1970 Buick Estate Wagon was not only on display, but it also won a class award, as did a 1967 Ford Country Squire. And we were glad to see that the Historic Vehicle Association had its own class of well-preserved originals, with awards given to a 1954 Jaguar XK120, a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr, and a 1972 Citroen SM.

Like we said, diversity.

We were there with camera and notebook in hand because a healthy percentage of the 350-some cars parked on the beautiful grounds of Lacy Park were muscle cars. Class Manager Joe Salvo and Assistant Class Manager Paul Ginsburg worked hard over the past year to gather enough high-performance Detroit iron that they filled four classes, two for big-block cars (GM and non) and two for pony cars (Mustangs and the rest). Motor Classic in the show’s name may have to change to Muscle Cars if Salvo and Ginsburg keep this up.

As if stunning cars parked in a gorgeous location weren’t enough to recommend this show, it also takes place in early June, so the SoCal weather is usually perfect (not too hot, not too gray). There’s a wide assortment of food trucks parked on the grounds to sate any taste. And all money generated by the concours goes to local charities. This year the show raised more than $300,000 for the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA, the Rotary Club of San Marino, and the USC Trojan Marching Band, members of which played on the grounds throughout the day. Now in its eighth year, the SMMC has generated $1.9 million for charity.

Mark your calendars: The next San Marino Motor Classic is scheduled for June 9, 2019. Visit sanmarinomotorclassic.com for more info.

We are suckers for original-owner muscle. Apparently the SMMC judges are, too, as they gave Tim Munyer’s 1967 Chevelle SS396 First in the American Big-Block Muscle Cars 1962-1972 GM class. After buying the Tahoe Turquoise Chevy as a new car, Munyer put 17,000 miles on it in two years before storing it in his parents’ garage because his employer, Ford Motor Company, didn’t like him taking it to work.

Taking First Place in the non-GM big-block class was Christopher Sullivan’s immaculate 1968 Shelby GT500. First sold in Los Angeles at Downey Ford, the Shelby went through a six-year rotisserie restoration, during which Sullivan reused as many of the car’s original parts as possible, including the complete original interior. It was well preserved, he said, because the car spent nearly two decades in storage, “walled off by stacks and stacks of books.”

Ken Woolcott’s 1966 Mustang GT took First in the Pony Cars–Ford Mustang class. The convertible was entered in his name, but he says the car actually belongs to his 14-year-old son, Spencer. “We are an all-Mustang family,” Woolcott explains. His father owned seven, “and after he passed we sold all of them to buy this one.” It’s an original GT delivered in the very rare, 1966-only Ember Glow color. When Woolcott bought the GT it was “all original but tired,” and underwent a two-year restoration by Joe DeMeo in Los Angeles. “I drive the hell out of it between shows. I don’t like trailer queens.”

Longtime reader Tom Gipe first saw a Panther Pink Challenger with a black roof in MUSCLE CAR REVIEW in 1984 and said to himself, “I have to have that car!” Years of searching turned up this T/A in a barn in his father’s Illinois hometown in 2004, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He saw the car again at Mopars at the Strip in 2011, and was finally able to buy it in 2015. His two-year restoration was finished last September. “It’s a pretty basic one,” Gipe says of the Challenger. “Standard dash, automatic, no light group.” Among the non-Mustang Pony Cars at the SMMC, Tom’s Challenger nabbed First in class.

Jack Thomas’s 1968 Charger, in Turbine Bronze with black stripes, “looks like all the ads you saw when the car was new,” he says. He bought the factory Hemi/four-speed car just a couple months before the show. Though it had been through a rotisserie restoration, “now I’m fixing what’s incorrect.” Most of the wrongs he righted so far have been underhood, ranging from the incorrect battery and ground wire to the improper orientation of the air cleaner, the lack of a PCV valve, and the use of generic heater hoses. It’s a long and time-consuming process, made more so by Thomas’ recent knee replacement. We appreciated his commitment enough to give him our MCR Magazine Award.

In 2014, Delco Hagen came to the SMMC with his Monaco Orange 1969 Chevelle hardtop, sporting an aluminum-headed L89 version of the 375hp big-block underhood. He told us he was working on a convertible twin for that car, but back then he had no idea it would take years to get the drop-top done so he could show them together (as seen in our opening photo). “It was a basket case,” he explains, “with parts missing and wrong parts. The previous owner promised parts he didn’t have. That’s why it took four years to restore instead of two.” Terry Sparks performed the restoration on both cars, with Hagen chasing needed parts. Other than the convertible’s power windows, the two cars are identically equipped. The SMMC judges gave Hagen Second in class for the convertible, Third for the hardtop.

Other than a repaint done 21 years ago, David Sparks’ L72-powered, 70,000-mile 1966 Bel Air is “100 percent original,” he says. The plain-white-wrapped sleeper was still wearing the emblem of its original-selling dealership when Sparks bought the car 12 years ago, allowing him to trace its origins to Munford, Tennessee. Apparently there were no racers in that town. According to the son of the dealership’s owner, “No one wanted a hi-po 427 with a manual transmission and the heavy-duty suspension,” says Sparks.

Taking Second in the non-Mustang Pony Car Class was Jim Mikkelson’s Hugger Orange Camaro SS350. The convertible is immaculate now thanks to the efforts of J&H Restorations of Riverside, California, a far cry from how it arrived from Iowa after Mikkelson bought it on the internet. “It was supposed to be restored, but when it showed up it had some issues,” he tells us, understating the car’s shoddy condition. J&H basically “took the car apart until nothing was wrong,” and then rebuilt it correctly. It’s a numbers-matching car heavy with options—literally. “It has power windows, which are rare, only about one percent of the Camaros got them, because they add 500 pounds to the car.”

The first time George Tutundjian saw this 340 ’Cuda it belonged to the original owner. Five years later he spotted the car again on a used car lot and bought it. “But then I sold it, regretted it, and bought it again 30 years later.” Other than a repaint of the Curious Yellow in the 1980s, the ’Cuda remains in remarkable original shape. It’s a two-fender-tag car loaded with options ranging from the vinyl top and billboards to the cassette player with microphone.

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orca-sketcher · 6 years

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#inktober2018 nr. 7, made it through the first week again😁

L105 Fluke, a male Southern Resident, born in 2004 to mum L72 Racer.

The Southern Residents are starving to death before our eyes. We have to take action now; breach the dams, ban salmon fishing and stop the pipelines! Check out pnwprotectors.com, damsense.org and whaleresearch.com for more information on how you can help. This is up to us!

#orca #killer whale #inktober #artists on tumblr #southern resident killer whales #inktober2018

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snini-9 · 4 years

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February 17, 2021: J, K, and L Pods- Haro Strait

L86 Surprise! and L125

L86 Surprise!, L125, and L109 Pooka

K34 Cali

J26 Mike and J42 Echo

J47 Notch and a friend

L106 Pooka and L86 Surprise!

J46 Star and J53 Kiki

L106 Pooka

L72 Racer

L87 Onyx

L118 Jade and L123 Lazuli

L55 Nugget

J39 Mako

J38 Cookie and L105 Fluke

J27 Blackberry

J26 Mike

L105 Fluke

J47 Notch

Photo Credit to the Center for Whale Research Encounter #8 - Feb 17, 2021

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jonathanbelloblog · 6 years

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Big-Block and Pony Cars at the 2018 San Marino Motor Classic

Like we said, diversity.

Mark your calendars: The next San Marino Motor Classic is scheduled for June 9, 2019. Visit sanmarinomotorclassic.com for more info.

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eddiejpoplar · 6 years

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Early History of Bill Thomas 427 Big-Block Conversions for Nickey Chevrolet Lives in This 1967 Camaro

History is truly the discipline of keeping an accurate record of events and stories. Muscle car people are often history buffs. Some revel in racing history, some are fascinated with factory assembly processes, some obsess over owner history, and some delight in digging up new information. Dean Klein is the quintessential history buff/muscle car aficionado. His historical penchant often drives him to uncover lesser-known stories of 1960s and 1970s muscle cars. Dean is making sure that no one forgets the Bill Thomas Race Cars story.

In the early 1960s, Bill Thomas rose to prominence via his involvement as a research and development specialist with General Motors’ racing program. He designed and built the Cheetah as GM’s response to the Shelby Cobra. He worked with Chevrolet in the development of various powertrain and chassis combinations for Stock and Super Stock racers. He was also contracted by Chevrolet in late 1966 to perform big-block conversions on the West Coast for the newly introduced 1967 Chevrolet Camaro. About that same time, Nickey also contracted Dick Harrell to perform big-block conversions in the Midwest.

Dean owns one of the California-based Bill Thomas Race Cars conversions, this Butternut Yellow 1967 Camaro. In December 1966, a gentleman in California purchased the car, originally an SS350, new for his girlfriend. The relationship ended sometime in mid-1967, and he got the car back. He wasn’t satisfied with the performance of the small-block engine, so Nickey Chevrolet, then “the largest performance parts dealer in the country,” says Dean, commissioned Bill Thomas Race Cars to convert the car to Nickey big-block status.

Dean has the original Bill Thomas Race Cars conversion paperwork for the Camaro, dated October 19, 1967. While most of the Bill Thomas conversions used 427-inch Corvette engines, this car received a “cheater” 427 engine that came in at 467 ci. The car was also equipped with a 12-bolt Posi rear with 3.07 gears. Best guess is that the owner was interested in high-speed highway cruising instead of quick acceleration. A “Bill Thomas Traction Kit” (a set of traction bars) was also installed, as was a set of “special mufflers,” a set of Rader wheels, and a set of “Perrelli” (sic) tires.

The original Camaro SS350 cost about $2,800 new in December 1966. The Nickey-Thomas big-block conversion cost $4,951.36. That puts the total cost of the car close to $7,750. In 1967 dollars, that was easily $2,000 more than the price of a nicely equipped 1967 427/435hp Corvette.

Those wheels are a significant piece of the Nickey-Thomas legacy. Manufactured by Rader Wheels, they were advertised in 1967 as the Nickey/Bill Thomas Camaro Wheel, available in 14- and 15-inch sizes at $120 for a set of four. “I have only seen three sets of original Nickey/Rader wheels ever,” says Dean. “I was able to buy two sets. I paid $1,300 for one set that needed to be restored, and $2,800 for the set that is now on the car, not including center caps.” Quick math shows he spent more than $4,000 just for the proper wheels for this Camaro. That’s dedication.

Bill Thomas Race Cars would end up doing just a small number of 1967 Camaro big-block conversions under the arrangement with Nickey. The cost of shipping cars from California to Chicago made the partnership cost-prohibitive. Nickey then turned to Dick Harrell to perform the big-block conversions, and by the end of 1967, Bill Thomas Race Cars was no longer connected to Nickey Chevrolet.

Dean came to own the Camaro thanks to Bill Thomas himself. He and Bill started working together in the 1990s when Dean’s company, Little Detroit Collectibles, was planning to make die-cast versions of the Nickey/Bill Thomas Camaros.

“While doing that research I sat down with Bill Thomas on a number of occasions, and he kept taking about this yellow car,” Dean recalls. “A couple of years later I was following up with Bill, and he told me he had been called by the owner of that yellow car. I asked him to find out whatever happened to it, and it turned out that owner still had it. So Bill got it for me.”

When Dean took possession of the Camaro in 2004, “it was in pieces,” he says. And not just disassembled—the original owner had started to turn it into a full-blown race car, cutting some of it up in the process. During the restoration, “anything that wasn’t original on the car I put repo stuff on there,” says Dean. “I intentionally did that so people could recognize what had been changed.”

The original Bill Thomas big-block was gone, but thanks to his relationship with Bill, Dean had Bill’s son, Bill III, build a date-code-correct 427 to the original 1967 specs. It even has a Weiand intake manifold “out of Bill Thomas’ stash,” says Dean.

Today only three examples of the Nickey-Thomas conversions are known to exist. And since Dean’s car was converted in October 1967, it is possibly the last big-block conversion completed at Bill Thomas’ Anaheim shop while in partnership with Nickey.

At a Glance

1967 Nickey-Thomas Camaro Owned by: Dean Klein, Minneapolis, MN Restored by: Owner Engine: 427ci L72 V-8 Transmission: Muncie M22 Rock Crusher 4-speed manual Rearend: 12-bolt with 3.07 gears and Positraction Interior: Black vinyl bucket seat Wheels: 14×6 Nickey/Bill Thomas Camaro Wheels (by Rader Wheels) Tires: D70-14 Firestone Wide Oval Super Sport front, F70-14 Pos-A-Traction cheater slicks rear Special parts: Bill Thomas Race Cars headers, Hush Thrush transverse muffler, S-W Green Line 8,000-rpm tachometer and gauges, Bill Thomas Traction Kit

At the dawn of Camaro big-block conversions in 1966, Nickey Chevrolet in Chicago contracted with Bill Thomas Race Cars in California to do the conversion work on West Coast cars. Documentation for this 1967 Nickey-Thomas Camaro includes a Bill Thomas Race Cars work order from 1967 that was written and verified by Ron Ogilvie. Current owner Dean Klein also has a letter of authenticity from Bill Thomas and a complete three-owner history.

The original big-block was gone when Dean Klein bought the car, but Bill Thomas’ son built an engine using a date-correct 427 block. The engine is equipped with a Bill Thomas BT550 cam, a Bill Thomas–modified Weiand intake manifold, and a Holley 3310 carburetor.

Bill Thomas Race Cars headers dump into an OE-style big-block exhaust system with N.O.S. “Hush Thrush” transverse muffler. Bill Thomas originally used Corvair mufflers when the car was built.

A signature Bill Thomas Race Cars decal adorns the valve cover.

The simple interior features basic black bucket seats, no console, and a standard black steering wheel with an SS center horn button. A Stewart-Warner Green Line 8,000-rpm tachometer is mounted on the steering column with a proper hose clamp, while S-W water temperature and oil pressure gauges are under the dash.

Adding to the distinctive look of the Nickey-Thomas Camaro are Rader Wheels’ rare Nickey/Bill Thomas Camaro Wheels. The Camaro was originally equipped by Bill Thomas with Pirelli tires. The rear currently has N.O.S. Pos-A-Traction cheater slicks. Look closely and you can see the original “Bill Thomas Traction Kit” traction bars just behind the wheels.

The SS350 badges remain installed on the car since that is exactly how it emerged from Bill Thomas Race Cars in October 1967.

Bill Thomas and Dean Klein Connection

This Camaro is just one of several Bill Thomas cars that Dean Klein has owned. One of them, likely the only 1969 L78 Nova to get the Thomas touch, was featured in the Apr. 2012 issue of Muscle Car Review (“One and Only”).

Klein and Thomas also collaborated on a very special Camaro back in 2002, when Chevrolet announced it was going to suspend production of its venerable ponycar.

“I said to Bill, ‘You were the first guy to get his hands on a 1967 Camaro to do conversions. We ought to do some of the last ones,’ Dean recalls. “We decided to take the 35th Anniversary Camaro and turn the LT1s into 427 cars.”

Thomas had publically retired from high-performance work with Chevrolet in the 1970s, and yet somehow he was able to get his hands on not one, but two of the 427 race motors built to power C5-R Corvettes at Le Mans. Bill Thomas III did the fabrication work required to fit that motor in the Camaro SS—“everything was custom on that car,” Dean recalls—and once they got the motor dialed in, it recorded 1,240 hp. To the rear wheels. “And remember, this was in 2002, when there was no such thing as 1,000hp street cars.”

Dean took the finished car to the York US30/Muscle Car Madness show, where he happened to cross paths with Bill Jenkins. In conversation, the Grump admitted he and Thomas had been involved with the race motor’s development.

Search for “1000 hp Camaro” on YouTube and you can see the car on the chassis dyno at the 2005 Car Craft Summer Nationals. “The tach lead came off on the first pass,” Dean says. “The clutch was hot for the second pass and did 1,000 horses to the rear wheels. Earlier in the day it went 1,140.” —Drew Hardin

The post Early History of Bill Thomas 427 Big-Block Conversions for Nickey Chevrolet Lives in This 1967 Camaro appeared first on Automobile Magazine.

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