Cheetah--Westwood Track-Vancouver-1969 I never drove or even sat in one, but during a drivers' training event was hit by one. In a Summer of Novice Racing one driver had a Cheetah and I had a new Alfa Giulia Super which set the standard for sports sedans. With 10:1 pistons and Koni shocks it went rather well. Rules included no passing in the turns. The Super was fast enough to use all of the road through the "Esses", but the Cheetah tried to accelerate through and slammed the right side of my car and then rear-ended an MGB. Which caused the whole front end of the Cheetah to fly up and then down on its roof. I thought "Three-car crash" as I went into the rough terrain on track-left. Did not roll, but the left-rear wheel was bent. End of that day's racing. Very impressive car!
Wow...spectacular! ...Job well, no...very well done. I am politely jealous as you get to work on the real Cheetah. Hope you stiffened the rear chassis just a tad, maybe used a stronger grade steel to maintain the geometry of the welds and all but WOW...Hang on, that thing can SCREAM! 1965 drove one at Watkins Glen, back in the SCCA days. Two laps. I was terrified and I am unashamed to say it. All the very best.
Oh yes! one hour or more. I had just seen that car on some french/belgian comics of the sixties. It is exactly what we need for a dream. As soon as you've seen it "live" you cannot remove this from your mind. The concept is a dream, the design is a dream, the music is a dream....
I have seen photos of the car from the period, but seeing it on track.....and hearing (what those confounded noise regs allow) is fabulous! You really do wear the car when driving.
Cheers mate. As an American, I am quite appreciative. I believe this is a lost part of automobile history worth preserving. In fact, with a few modifications I believe it would be very viable today, emissions not withstanding. Thank you gentlemen for this video.
He said rusty old shell. Those cars were fibre glass bodies. Great restoration regardless. I first leaned if those cars as a10 year in 1968. I got a Strombecker slot car track and the Cheetah was one of the interchangeable bodies that came with it. Been in love with them ever since.
There's a guy that has very early replica, I believe, that is at Road America all the time. It's bonkers, it slides through every turn and takes off like a rocket. The driver is a dirt track driver, and he has to drive the Cheetah like a dirt car.
Your sync is a bit off the mark. Thanks for saving this one. Whether it be a replica or the real deal, these cars are just awesome to look at and drive. These things are monsters just waiting for a chance and when they get it, look out and hold on. These are like the Lola MKIII Bs, it never gets old just better.
Odd, almost sad, but thankfully somebody, the Brits, finally building a 'real' Cheetah from the '60's. So many amateurs stuffing 454 cu. in. engines into them, turbochargers or even Chrysler supercharged engines...which in the end probably make this road racer go slower in terms of lap times, plus oversized tires (especially the front) that make its legendary dicey handling virtually dangerous. Duntov and Thomas had the car right in 1963 except for some stiffening in the rear of the chassis that was to be done in 1965/66. Seeing it correctly done is first rate. Visit England soon and I will try to not wear out my welcome when I visit CCK Historic. Great job!
I remember many, many years ago, Road & Track got their hands on one of those Cheetahs and test drove it. They said that while it was fast in theory, it was also the most ill-handling and horribly unpredictable car they had ever driven. Basically the conclusion was that it would take an amazing driver to make it actually go fast.
The Cobra had serious limitation when it came to performance, even with a 427 under the hood the car hit an aerodynamic brick wall at around 170MPH. A Cheetah hit 220MPH with a small block engine, the Cobra couldn't compete with that, and the Cobra was some 700 pounds heavier then the Cheetah with the Cheetah also having a better weight split then the Cobra. The principled engine was to be an aluminum 377 cubic inch engine that was being developed to make 550-600HP though with the racing ban development really slowed down on that engine. Some of these cars though did have a 427 big block Chevy V-8 engine placed in them, so yes the big block Chevy V-8 engine can fit in it.
Cobra wannabe. this thing looks sick compared to the Cobra, yes I've heard rumors of it going 215 at Daytona and parts were flying off of it, just a never was.
I would be interested to hear what the history of this car is. Where did it race in 1964-1965? Is it a documented Bill Thomas Race Cars Cheetah? All the Bill Thomas Cheetahs were delivered with Fuel Injection except the Alan Green Chevrolet Cheetah that I have owned since 1989. They all had drum brakes. Does this car have drum brakes? In 1968 the Dixon Cheetah was fitted with disk brakes on the front only. For more information and history you can visit my website www.cheetahcars.com Fred Yeakel