Bill Thomas Remembered

[Dick MacKenzie]

Bill Thomas remembered as hi-po pioneer
October 21, 2009
by John Gunnell
Chevrolet high-performance legend Bill Thomas, Sr., died on Saturday Oct. 10 in California.

Thomas helped Chevrolet achieve racing superiority and lock in its high-performance reputation.

When the Chevy II arrived, he devised a kit that allowed enthusiasts to readily drop a 327-cid Corvette V-8 into the new Chevy compact. The kit included complete chassis and drive train upgrades to go along with the bigger engine.

Thomas created racing versions of the Corvair, too. In 1962, he built a fuel-injected 327-powered Chevy II for the SCCA Production class at Riverside Raceway. Known as “Bad Bascom’s Ghost,” the car was banned by SCCA and wound up with racer Dickie Harrell, who shoe horned a 427 Z11 V-8 under the hood and called it “Retribution II.” The car was very successful in match racing.

The Cheetah was a street performance and racing car built by Thomas in the early- to mid-’60s to run wheel-to-wheel with Carroll Shelby’s Cobras. The prototype Cheetah was largely the work of a Thomas’ employee named Don Edmunds, but Thomas personally coordinated support for the project. Using his racing connections, Thomas arranged to have Chevrolet provide the car’s major component parts.

When the 1967 Camaro arrived to compete for sales in the “youth market,” the car was capable of accommodating big-block V-8 power. Bill Thomas became one of a handful of dealers nationwide who marketed “super Camaros.”

This is two weeks old, I just saw it. Rest in Peace Bill.

 

[oil4kids]

The Bill Thomas Nova was Just Known as Bad Bascom, not Ghost, which later was modified with a Z11 and the corvette rear was removed and replaced with a Pontaic straight axle by Dick Harrell knows as Retribution II while Harrell was waiting for the new 66 Nova Body.

Bad Bascombs Ghost was a late 1968 or 69 Nova funny car not a Bill Thomas car but Bill Bradford

Bill was better known for his Cheetah race car.

 

[W Head]

sorry to hear

CKC Racing out of San Antonio, Texas had one of Bill's fast back Chevy IIs (RED in the early 60s) and raced it for several years. Sorry to hear of another great Chevy guy passing.

W Head

59 El Canino 348-3,2s
59 Impala 409-2,4s

 

[Dick MacKenzie]

The Bill Thomas Nova was Just Known as Bad Bascom, not Ghost, which later was modified with a Z11 and the corvette rear was removed and replaced with a Pontaic straight axle by Dick Harrell knows as Retribution II while Harrell was waiting for the new 66 Nova Body.

Bad Bascombs Ghost was a late 1968 or 69 Nova funny car not a Bill Thomas car but Bill Bradford

Bill was better known for his Cheetah race car.

I think you missed the point Mark.

 

[MarkVI]

Any idea of how many 63 Chevy II were
built for the street.
Thanks