The Roaring Season

Looking forward to it...

Building a replica or a kitset, this may help ?

Note ; *** John B tells me he has the Magazine with this page in it and it will go with all the documentation and spares etc that John has for the car - which he is trying to sell..

As noted in 2021, I am not going to buy it, much as I would like to, my mechanical ability is a bit lacking and my knees and back etc are just not up to restoration work these days.
Hopefully whoever does will do a story on it as Hotrod 1 is with " U2 " style racer on this forum.

As an aside JohnB recently shifted his recreation North - on a trailer, John said it was " the fastest the car has ever been ".
the photo[s].
Hopefully we will hear / read more on the build.
The car was based on a body acquired in the 1970's and a recreation of a Cheetah Chassis,has been made.

Yes, he did...

Here's a photo of Jerry taken more recently. It was 2012 and, unlike every other photo taken of him, he's smiling:



And I make no secret of the fact that I would also be smiling if I could put my arm around her again...

Sadly, Jerry Entin passed away recently.

928 wrote:it is for sale on TM roger.buy it

Too much work for this " Old Car ' Guy ".... Hopefully some one gets it soon, and finishes what John started ..

it is for sale on TM roger.buy it

Where and When , well it is not there anymore as John B has moved it from there.
It is one of John b photos too - I borrowed it ..

Photographer John Lacko recently shared these photos that he took art the Grattan Raceway, Michigan, in 1966.
I am not sure who is driving the Cro Sal Special Cheetah.
(The driver is Mike Pung as per John Lacko )
Note how the original number 26 has been altered to show a # 85.
Also note the support sticker for Mitt Romney's father who was the Michigan Governor at the time.
That is an early front spoiler set up.

(Ken H)

Fred Yeakel wrote:Great picture Jerry. Is that in the Hollywood hills?
You sure got Bob upset about your claim that your car was chassis # 2. Love these guys that come along 30 years later and try to tell us what happened back in the day. We were there. We raced the cars. We worked on the cars. Guess that is not supposed to count for anything.

The Genuine Bill Thomas Alloy Body Prototype #002 I just bought out of Oklahoma Dec 30 2017 It is setting in my BTM Bill Thomas Motors Shop. Restoration starting Jan 4th 2018. It has its genuine Bill Thomas issued Serial number ID tag. It was owned by same owner since 1969 I knew of this #002 Cheetah for 24 years. Jerry Entin never owned #002 Cheetah. Fact.

duncan fox wrote:The owner of the ex Jerry Entin car Ron Way had lunch with me yesterday, I have known the Way boys since the early 80's he reports that he has almost completed the work that his late brother Albert started when he fitted a new alloy body. I had always thought of Als 2nd Cheetah as a late car but it seems I was mistaken , its an early car with a later lower front wishbone. Jerry positively identified some of the rear suspension parts on the car as his number 2 car.

Jerry Entin never owned the Genuine #002 Alloy Prototype, He owned the #36 Race Cheetah Titus drove. Not #001 or #002 Period.
The Genuine #002 Prototype Alloy Cheetah is now in my shop at BTM Bill Thomas Motors in Phoenix Arizona for full restoration. I just bought #002 from the owner who bought it in 1969, stored in 2 different barns for 48 years. It has its GENUINE Bill Thomas issued #002 Serial Number tag.

Jerry Entin never owned number #002 Period. The Albert/Ron Way Cheetah is not the Cheetah Jerry Entin owned Period. It is (NOT) the number #001 car or the number #002 car. I have pictures of the Albert way Cheetah before he bought it and 100's of pictures of him restoring it. Nor is it the Jerry Titus #36 Cheetah.
The Genuine Bill Thomas Cheetah Serial number #002 I just bought out of Oklahoma, It has its Genuine Bill Thomas issued Serial ID Tag. The owner keep it in 2 barns for 48 years since he bought it in 1969.The owner history is Crystal Clear, I am Certifying it this month Jan 2018 It still has its white paint from the 1964 Oct Riverside race.
I have known about this car for 24 years now. Now that it setting in my shop and I am starting restoration Jan 5th 2018 the Cheetah World will learn the history on this Genuine #002 Built Bill Thomas Cheetah Alloy body Prototype,
#001 and #002 were both evaluated by Chevrolet.
Bill Thomas gave John Crow owner of friendly Chevrolet the Jerry Titus Race Number #36 Cheetah for his investment in the Cheetah program when they broke relations off.
Friendly Chevrolet owner John Crow started out with investing in #001 Alloy prototype, When it was wrecked his investment was transferred into #002, Then after #002 was wrecked his investment was transferred to the Race number 36 Titus Cheetah. Bill and John went separate ways and John took control of the Titus Cheetah. This car was sold to Jerry Entin. Jerry Entin's Cheetah is not owned by Ron Way today. although the Ron Way Cheetah is Genuine Chassis rebodied by Jim Gammage and Jim gave Albert Way the large rear tank with the Cheetah Jim sold him, Jim bought the large rear tank from the Bankruptcy auction at Bill's Shop in 1970.

Nice looking replica on Bring a Trailer...



http://bringatrailer.com/2017/06/19/400-hp-1900-pounds-1964-bill-thomas-cheetah-recreation-by-btm/

Thanks Roger, I bought a copy of that issue a few weeks back. Great article.

Guys, There is an article in the April 2017 issue of " Classic and Sports Car ",on the car,fully restored and run at
" Goodwood Festival " , some great photo's.
The Silver car in my model collection !!
Note also the Cro-Sal car the Roadster, and one of Jerry Titus' car the red one. Spark made 4 versions and I missed out on a green one, three is enough as won't fit in a wine box.

Alan Hyndman wrote:The upcoming (April 2017) issue of Classic and Sports Car magazine is featuring a test of a Cheetah. The following is from https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine/classic-sports-car-april-2017/

3. The beast of Anaheim
The Cheetah was one of the best looking and ferociously quick GTs of its generation, but its drivers had to battle with heat exhaustion and wild handling. Mick Walsh tells the compelling story of its early beginnings and race career before being shoe-horned into the famous Clarence Dixon Cadillac-liveried car for a heart-stopping drive at Goodwood.

Maybe the article will stir interest to the point that we are inundated with them in a year or two.

Just received a copy of the magazine, great article which gives a short but succinct history of the Bill Thomas Cheetahs, with input from TRS contributor Jerry Entin. Jerry also features in a photo on page 6 (separate to the main article on page 144) and shows " Jerry Entin blasts off the grid in his Cheetah at the start of the 1965 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside in California."
Many thanks to Jerry for sharing his experiences with these wild rockets, more to come I hope!

Thanks Alan I'll look forward to reading that.

The upcoming (April 2017) issue of Classic and Sports Car magazine is featuring a test of a Cheetah. The following is from https://magsdirect.co.uk/magazine/classic-sports-car-april-2017/

3. The beast of Anaheim
The Cheetah was one of the best looking and ferociously quick GTs of its generation, but its drivers had to battle with heat exhaustion and wild handling. Mick Walsh tells the compelling story of its early beginnings and race career before being shoe-horned into the famous Clarence Dixon Cadillac-liveried car for a heart-stopping drive at Goodwood.

Maybe the article will stir interest to the point that we are inundated with them in a year or two.

Thanks for the video Duncan. Jerry and Fred are two real authorities on this subject.

Going back to the Goodwood MM video, I'm actually surprised a few more Cheetah's haven't appeared in European historic GT racing, particularly the continuation cars and replicas. The FIA rules do allow replicas, as long as they're completely accurate, and in recent years a number of Cobra Daytona Coupes have started appearing, which of course have usually been the fastest whenever they race. The Cheetah would have to be one of the few cars that could take the fight to the Daytona coupes.

Jerry Entin wrote:Here is an interview I did while I was in California recently. It was shot by Jeni Swanson and it is her father Fred Yeakel and myself talking about the Cheetahs.

[video=youtube;o0BB4yv4-p8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0BB4yv4-p8[/video]

The owner of the ex Jerry Entin car Ron Way had lunch with me yesterday, I have known the Way boys since the early 80's he reports that he has almost completed the work that his late brother Albert started when he fitted a new alloy body. I had always thought of Als 2nd Cheetah as a late car but it seems I was mistaken , its an early car with a later lower front wishbone. Jerry positively identified some of the rear suspension parts on the car as his number 2 car.

Wow, thats a really cool video Alan. Great find! Its interesting the owner says the car was stopped from racing because of a change in the homologation rules when it was new. I believe this is incorrect. The intention was always that the Cheetah would compete in the FIA GT division against Cobras and Corvettes etc. But there weren't enough cars built for it to qualify. So it was forced to run in Group 7 against the emerging breed of Can-Am cars. Jerry Entin will know for sure.

I assume in historic racing the Cheetah will be allowed to race in the GT division? I hope so, it'll be extremely competitive, and one of the few cars able to give the Cobra Daytona Coupes a run for their money.