[AllyMcReal]

You found it! That is the ad in Hemmings from back in the day, I think! I remember showing that add to Bill when I saw it. He just kind of turned away and said that there were a lot of things that he had built, or he had owned, I just didn't have anymore. All he had were some pictures laughed and what he remembered. I think that was the car that was purchased by a gentleman in Reading who gave it a very very meticulous restoration. I think that is the Alan Green car. Out of the office now, but I will post another picture this evening when I'm back in the office.

 

[patman]

I scanned that ad from the 6/1995 issue of Auto Week (see the green text at the top, a bit hard to read...)

 

[kcmocarguy]

Since **** Harrell is from around here I have to post a couple of pictures of Chevy IIs that he raced. The first was built from Bad Bascom and perfected the Instant Funny Car conversion that Bil Thomas built and sold, the second was a second gen that replaced the first one after it was destroyed.

 

[brickyardboy]

Love those altered wheelbase cars!:yes:

 

[Bruce]

There were a couple of threads on the site years ago that included copies of period magazine articles on the cars. They were built to be road racers with injected small blocks, rumored to be 377s and Corvette IRS. Apparently they did not handle any better than solid axle cars. This all happened about the same time as the racing ban and the project was dropped. One rumor was that Thomas got to keep the cars to cover his expenses. One went to Texas (CKG), one to Seattle (Green) and one to LA that became the black Twister car. The CKG car still remains, the Green went through several changes and became an extended wheel base funny car (pictures show it in Yellow paint and Seattle area sponsorship and the black car was totalled in a drag race accident. One rumor is the Autoweek car was a clone and not a real Thomas built car. Going from the stretched car back to stock wheelbase would have been a ton of work. I called on the Autoweek car, I believe it was owned by Gordon Aker (sp?) and had a 427 and Corvette IRS at the time. He wanted $25K for the car which was too much for me.

Anyway, do a search on Milners Daughter (Milner ran the Green car) or fastback to view the old threads.

 

[kcmocarguy]

Thanks Bruce. That is some of the most honest information I have read. Ally McReal has some first hand knowledge of these gems too. There was one of the original cars that Bill Thomas had a picture of in street trim (once again Frank knows more about it). It roamed the streets of LA for a time but then disappeared.

Bill Thomas would also sell you just the fiberglass roof for converting your own convertible. Over at Jalopnick there is a dude that posts that knows who actually formed the roofs.

There is a fastback in NJ that the now owner's father raced. It was fuel injected at one time. I really love these cars.

 

[AllyMcReal]

Finally back in the office.

From what I remember from Bill back in the day, Bruce has good information. I don't know that they were punched out 377 cid motors (I thought them to be F.I. 327's), but much of the rest of that is correct from what I heard. Cars were miserable handlers in the front, of course. You'll notice from the picture here that the fiberglass front end piece used in place of the bumper is on these cars, and one also shows up later on a version of Bad Bascom. I think these 3 fastbacks ended up very much as Bruce has mentioned; Bill was just trying to move them out now that they weren't going to be the intended racers, and was going on to the next best thing. What's cool is that they were so ardently campaigned that they achieved some notariety, and are remembered by drag fans from back then.

The fastbacks prepared for racing were trimmed as '63's, but I think they were originally '62 convertible-based cars. I think subsequent owners changed the grilles to try to keep the cars looking up to date.

This is a picture of Thomas' shop at the time.

 

[AllyMcReal]

Has anyone heard about the fate of the car in NJ? Is it being restored, or is it going to go on the block?

I think that car had a fastback roof produced at the same place Bill had his produced, but that was independently owned and built. I seem to remember it had a diamond-shaped rear window, and that it was also F.I. I spoke to the owner years ago, before he passed, and he had just bought a clean convertible that he was going to use as a donor to build one.

Always wanted to know the status...any word?

 

[Hotrodguy]

From my recollection back in the day, I believe Kelly Chadwick ran a fast back Chevy II also. If I am mistaken , please correct me.
These were such COOL cars back then, & even in this day & age..
Thanks for posting this thread & bringing back a lot of GREAT memories....

 

[kcmocarguy]

AllyMcReal,
I have an email address for Kade whose father owned the NJ fastback. I will try emailing him. By the way you are correct that it has the diamond shaped back glass opening and perhaps not the Can Am style fuel filler.

I would really like to know the story on the street legal one that roamed the streets of LA. Was it the 4th built by Bill Thomas and what ever happened to it. Little Billy probably bought it in the late '60s and totaled it .

 

[kcmocarguy]

Kade is the son of the owner of the NJ fastback. He is going to attempt to join the discussion.

 

[63ssvert]

From the Nova Resource Site

The 1963 Fastback Novas
In 1963, Chevrolet created three fastback Novas for road race competition. The Novas were all convertibles pulled from the regular production line. They were then shipped to the Corvette plant for the addition of fiberglass parts. The doors, inner panels, front fenders, hood and both front and rear bumpers were all 'glass. The new roof and fastback was also made of fiberglass and bonded to the metal. The fastback covered what would have been the trunk lid and blocked all access to the trunk area from the outside.

After a 1963 Corvette independent rear suspension was also added, the cars were shipped to Bill Thomas in California. Chevrolet also shipped the "Mystery Motors", that later ended up with Smokey Yunick, to Bill to be installed in the Novas. Bills job was to install the engines and setup the suspension for road racing. Before the Novas could be completed, GM put a ban on all factory racing.

GM ordered the cars crushed but Bill worked out a deal to keep the cars as payment for his work. The engines were sent back to Chevrolet and then to Smokey Yunick in Florida. He then sold one Nova to Fritz Callier, a Chevrolet dealer in Dallas,to be drag raced. Another one was sold to a Los Angeles Chevrolet dealer who drag raced it for less than two months before crashing it and totally destroying it. The third was sold to Alan Green Chevrolet in Seattle.

Alan Green also drag raced the Nova with driver **** Milner and crew chief Tom Foster. Green, Milner and Foster raced the Nova at drag strips throughout the northwest United States and western Canada from 1963 until 1967. During one race the fastback roof blew off at 155 mph. The team then ventilated the rear section to keep the car from wanting to fly above 150 mph.

These fastback Novas sport a roofline similar to, but predating, that of the Plymouth Barracuda, AMC Marlin, 1966 Dodge Charger and about half of the late-1960's-era Fords. Fastbacks were popular with buyers in the later 60's, but aerodynamic efficiency on the race track was the main concern of Chevrolet engineers. Ironically, even though they were built to be road raced, all three of the fastback Novas spent almost their entire racing lives on the drag strip.

 

[AllyMcReal]

Hmmmm....

I have shown on this thread a picture of one of the fastbacks that Bill Thomas had. This is the first I have ever heard about those 3 cars being shipped to the Corvette plant for the addition of the fiberglass parts. The conflicting information I have to that story is:

-the picture I included earlier in the thread, with a '62 convertible with fiberglass roof attached, 13" wheels and poverty caps, missing a fender, with Cone Chevrolet license plate frames and '62 California plates.

-one of the pictures I have of the car is with the hood up...it has a smallblock. I think that picture is in this thread, too. No mystery motor, at least yet.

-I remember hearing from Bill that the race-prepped Sebring fastbacks were F.I.-equipped 327s. Not certain on this, but I remember Bill telling me that. Could be mistaken, but I think the mystery motors came later in any of the fastbacks, and maybe not in all of them.

-another conflict is I have a picture Bill gave me of all 3 of the Sebring converted fastbacks in his Anaheim shop prior to racing, but being readied for racing. Roofs and fiberglass parts were made by a local company in Anaheim, but then shipped to the Corvette plant, THEN back to B.T. doesn't seem to make sense.

-I also have some pictures of Harrell's 427 powered straight axle that Bill gave me...before and after he wrecked it, same day. That car was probably Bad Bascombe, and it had fiberglass doors and front valance that were made by the same company Bill used to make fiberglass ChevyII parts.

Personally, I had heard they were built by B.T., and I still think that. I wonder where the information that they went to the Corvette plant came from. In fact, one of the pictures is of mechanics at B.T.'s shop working on the IRS in one of the fastbacks. I think the conversions were done in Anaheim.

One guy who might know is Warren Williams, who worked for Bill.

 

[kcmocarguy]

Ally McReal,
I think Nova Resource may have some misinformation. Of course you would know better than I would. I think the 2 outliers here are the one fastback that is shown in full street trim at Bill Thomas' shop and the New Jersey fastback that Kade Madsen's father raced that may have also had a FI 327 in it.
Mark

 

[67nova73]

i know its an old thread, but managed to find a foto of one ....

 

[JPB]

Another picture

The Dixie Twister Chevy II

 

[kcmocarguy]

i know its an old thread, but managed to find a foto of one ....

This is the street car that I have been curious about forever. Thanks for posting that, I knew I saw it somewhere.

 

[AllyMcReal]

i know its an old thread, but managed to find a foto of one ....

Boy that picture has traveled the web a little. Thomas gave me the original as just another Nova picture he had and he remembered I was a Nova guy. A lot of people have been curious about that shot as it shows a street run fastback, or so it seems. The Dixie Twister recreation in the picture is very cool, and I'm glad to see somebody making an era-correct attempt. I'm still ready to see someone make this street version, fiberglass doors, fenders, hood and fastback top, with Corvette IRS and F.I. 360 horses and about 2600-2700 lbs as you see it there would be a pretty formidable combo, at least for its day. The shot is also cool for the fact that I'd have the GTO, the '63 Impala or the 356 Porsche as well.

Since my last post in this thread, Warren Williams has passed. He worked on race Corvairs for BT, both Chevy IIs that Bill built for Dickie Harrell, and later, worked for Bill putting 427s in Camaros and the like as Nickey Chevrolet's west coast supplier. Never met a nicer guy and he was an amazing wrench--a very quick one. When he worked, a tool had only two places: in his hand being used, or it was already cleaned and replaced in its tray.

 

[Pop's 62]

Thanks for sharing. Love the old pics!