Bill Thomas Cheetah - Collaboration With Thomas H. Friedkin

Collaboration With Thomas H. Friedkin

Tom Friedkin was a friend of Bill Thomas of Bill Thomas Race Cars in Anaheim California. Bill Thomas Race Cars built one of the first sprint cup cars for Friedkin enterprises in 1965 for driver ] to race in the 1965 season. It was a 1965 Impala powered by a new secret 396 Chevrolet big block engine that was bored to 427 cubic inches. Tom Friedkin was advent to racing and got involved in 1964. Tom would end up being influential in 1964 & 1965 with the Bill Thomas Cheetah production, there were a few Friedkin Cheetahs built along with red white & blue color schemes.

BTM {Bill Thomas Motors} of Arizona; currently has one of these vehicles undergoing restoration that was built June-July 1964 in red with white and blue hood stripes. Also, BTM/Bill Thomas Cheetah archives museum has confirmed {found} a 2nd Friedkin Cheetah new. It’s white with red and blue stripes on the hood. Bill Thomas would refer to these Cheetahs as the PSA cars. BTM now owns the worlds most valuable Bill Thomas Cheetah, the 1 of 1 #001 427 alloy body Super Cheetah after rescuing it from a barn after being lost for more than 40 years. Currently this historic vehicle it is undergoing restoration & completion stages at BTM. Interestingly enough, through extensive research on the Super Cheetah from Bob Auxier, the owner of BTM; BTM has exclusive ownership of the original 1964 artwork done of the Super Cheetah & it has the same PSA paint scheme on the hood as the 2 other PSA Cheetahs. Also, Bill Thomas had 3 very large concept paintings done of the Super Cheetah as it would have looked completed. The Thomas family owns 2 of these and Tom Friedkin owns the 3rd. Tom Friedkin was involved with Bill Thomas Cheetahs & Super Cheetah at the very peak time of 1964 - 1965 of Bill Thomas Race Cars.