Let’s hear it for the underdogs. And especially the ones that dream up stuff that is completely insane.
Automotive history abounds with stories of these one (or more) tick off visionary thinkers whose wild creations make others rethink boundaries. One of the most notable of these Is legendary California Corvette tuner and self-taught engineer Bill Thomas and his formidable Cheetah.
Knowing that Carroll Shelbys new Cobra was going to continue slaying Thomas’ beloved Corvettes on the track in 1963 he contacted Chevrolet’s Ed Cole with his idea for a Corvette-powered sports racing car that could beat the Cobra. And, the idea that Chevrolet could quietly back a production run small enough to circumvent GM’s corporate ban on building or supporting race cars without raising any questions because it would all be viewed as a Bill ‘Thomas Motors product
Cole gave Thomas the green light and the quest to build these Cobra Killers was off and running. A 4130 chrome- moly tube frame with a mere 90-inch wheelbase yet a wide 59” track width would support a featherweight body stuffed with a Corvette “Fuelie” engine, 4 speed, and IRS- plus NASCAR drum brakes, rack and pinion steering, and a full host of straight up race car bits. On paper it sure looked like nothing could touch this new race car soon named the Cheetah.
But it was not meant to be. Due to the Cheetahs minuscule production numbers the SCCA immediately placed it in the cowboy class of big-bore C-Sports/ G Modified where it wouldn’t battle Cobras but rather “real” race cars such as Chaparrals, McLarens, and Lolas. And in 1964 the F.LA raised the minimum production car homologation requirement to 1,000 cars. No way could a small manufacturer like BTM make that many of these weapons-grade sports racers. And, knowing that the Cheetah wouldn’t be able to defeat the Cobra GM pulled their clandestine sponsorship from the program. The final nail in the Cheetahs coffin was the devastating fire at BTM in September of 1965. Just 11 Cheetahs, of both race and street trim, had been completed at this time and there would be no more. Which was a shame because the admittedly rough around the edges Cheetah had already racked up numerous Victories and was showing serious potential by this time- and had run a record 215 MPH at Daytona and 185 MPH at Road America- but fate had other ideas.
One of the Cheetah saga’s most fascinating chapters involves this incredibly original 1963 Race Cheetah . Its the 4th Cheetah built and one half of the legendary Cro-Sal Cheetah team named for Gene Crowe and Ralph Salyer. Bud Clusserath was the owner and driver of this car and Ralph Salyer drove the other one that soon became the only Cheetah “roadster.” The duo set track records all over the country, including 185 MPH at Elkhart Lake, a mark that stood for several years. As such in the Cheetah world the Cro-Sal Cheetahs are very well-known.
#4 1s known as the “Clusserath Cheetah” and its first run at Daytona in 1964 caused its fiberglass body panels to balloon under the pressure created by air trapped inside at speed, eventually blowing out the tops of its gullwing doors. On Salyer’s car, which was similarly affected, Crowe’s solution was to convert it into a roadster, but because Clusserath preferred the look of the coupe, Crowe installed safety latches on the door tops, reinforced the body at crucial points, and modified the belly pan and radiator ducting to increase air flow.
Clusserath would race his Cheetah through 1965, when in September of that year at the SCCA Runoffs at Road America he placed a “For Sale” sign in it as his new McKee MK. VI was ready for delivery. And this is when Sam Goins entered the picture. He and his wife had been regular attendees at the SCCA Runoffs but 1965 holds the distinction of when he saw the Clusserath’s for sale sign in the window of his Cheetah. According to Goins he started jumping up and down and immediately told his wife “I have to buy this car!”
Goins purchased the Cheetah on the spot; already experienced in gymkhana racing with his own fuel-injected Corvette, he successfully raced the Cheetah in sports-car competition at Mid-Ohio, Nelson Ledges, Lindale Farms, Road Atlanta and other eastern tracks. Aside from regular maintenance, the only modifications he made to the Cheetah were a driver-operated choke and the installation of a heavy-duty radiator after rebuilding the engine. He’d race it through 1970 when his son was born and then decided to hang up his driving gloves and park the Cheetah. And for the next 48 years it saw an occasional run or car show but was never driven in anger again. In 2018, after 53 years of being the “Clusserath Cheetah’s” second owner, Goins put it up for sale. I saw it advertised and told my good friend Steven Juliano, who was battling pancreatic cancer at that time, that I was going to go to New York and buy the Cheetah to which he replied “boy, would you mind if I bought it instead?” Steven, like me, had long lusted for a Cheetah as an insane counterpoint to our Cobras. We’d looked at a handful of them over the years, and all had serious authenticity or originality issues that kept us from taking the plunge. But the Clusserath/ Goins Cheetah was 50 perfectly preserved and original it was the only one of the 11 cars that either one of us would want to own. Knowing Steven’s condition and how having a new “toy” around to play with would brighten his mood I stood down and let him buy the car. He, of course, offered first shot to buy it from him or his estate if I so desired. In the end, after Steven’s unfortunate passing his daughter sold this amazingly untouched and original bit of ridiculousness to me and I’m honored to have it in the collection.
As Car and Driver magazine said about this very Cheetah “While the circumstances surrounding the Cheetah, as is the case for other highly desirable low-volume vehicles, may provide a convenient point of entry for unscrupulous people, the extensive documentation and two-owner history of the Clusserath/Goins car provides an unassailable provenance.”
I’m also happy to have been able to spend some time with Sam Goins and keep in touch with him about his incredible life with this car. If nothing else we all have to agree that t takes a really talented and brave man to sign up for racing a Cheetah and Sam is certainly that, and a true gentleman to boot.
And, I gotta say, there is nothing like strapping into a Cheetah, with that 327 next to you, headers wrapping around your legs, and the differential a few inches off of your hip and hitting the loud pedal. It’s an experience like no other and makes a Comp Cobra seem Incredibly tame by comparison!
