WJ PS car on Barrett-Jackson (1 Viewer)

[Terry]

Did anyone catch the segment on the Barrett-Jackson auction last night about the race cars that have been consigned? One of them was a WJ car--the wrap looked recent--I'm kinda curious to find out if it's a show car or maybe one with a little history--hope it makes it on the air when it sells.

 

[Nunz]

Which car is it? I think last year Joe Amato bought WJ's Olds Firenza that had been restored for 90K. I also think he had it for sale after that.

 

[Terry]

This one appeared to be a "last-season" GM performance parts wrap with the yellow and blue--appeared to be a recent car.

 

[Terry]

Ok, found out the WJ car is scheduled to sell Sunday at 10 am, lot # 1603. Here's a link to the Barrett-Jackson site with the info on the car--not much info there, but here it is Barrett-Jackson - The World's Greatest Collector Car Events™

 

[d'kid]

Nebraski,
Does say Drag Vehicle Show Car...

d'kid

 

[CrewGuy]

Which car is it? I think last year Joe Amato bought WJ's Olds Firenza that had been restored for 90K. I also think he had it for sale after that.

Joe Amato Cars~Collectible Cars, Muscle Cars, Race Cars

 

[Terry]

Nebraski,
Does say Drag Vehicle Show Car...

d'kid

Heck, Karl, did you expect me to READ the stuff??? Man, I was just excited to be able to post a link!

 

[JL]

So if this is a show car, could it be a good Top Sportsman car? Is it lacking all the good pieces?

 

[Terry]

So if this is a show car, could it be a good Top Sportsman car? Is it lacking all the good pieces?

Kinda what I was wondering too, Justin--how close to functional is a show car??? I've seen some Nascar "show car" displays at grocery stores, etc. and farm expos, and man, those are nowhere near real cars. But if this car is/was a true race car that got used for shows and was there for backup also, it might be a good piece for TS.

 

[Pat]

T/S yes, P/S no.

Pat

 

[freddy]

The car to be auctioned started out as the GTO Pro Stock development car. It was built by Don Ness in 2005; used as the "master" for body templates for subsequent GTO carbon fiber bodies built by Five Star; was the "submission" car to the NHRA Technical Services Department, which approved the design for Pro Stock racing. Danny Gracia approved the body on May 23, 2005, and the first actual race car was run at Denver in July (Greg Anderson).

The car at B-J is the original wind tunnel test car, turned into a show car by Ness, and later made the show circuit on the Pontiac Performance Tour. At the end of the 2008 show season, it was made available for auction at B-J. I believe that the engine in that car was a GM Performance Parts 502 Ram Jet (fuel-injected), but I don't know what is in it now.

BTW, it was normal procedure at GM Racing to re-use these development bodies for later use as show cars. And, they come in handy when someone at the track complains that the NHRA templates must be wrong. We would just drive the "show car" to the tech trailer and fit the templates. Seems like they fit 100% of the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Bullet]

The car to be auctioned started out as the GTO Pro Stock development car. It was built by Don Ness in 2005; used as the "master" for body templates for subsequent GTO carbon fiber bodies built by Five Star; was the "submission" car to the NHRA Technical Services Department, which approved the design for Pro Stock racing. Danny Gracia approved the body on May 23, 2005, and the first actual race car was run at Denver in July (Greg Anderson).

The car at B-J is the original wind tunnel test car, turned into a show car by Ness, and later made the show circuit on the Pontiac Performance Tour. At the end of the 2008 show season, it was made available for auction at B-J. I believe that the engine in that car was a GM Performance Parts 502 Ram Jet (fuel-injected), but I don't know what is in it now.

BTW, it was normal procedure at GM Racing to re-use these development bodies for later use as show cars. And, they come in handy when someone at the track complains that the NHRA templates must be wrong. We would just drive the "show car" to the tech trailer and fit the templates. Seems like they fit 100% of the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

There you go folks... straight from someone who would know!

 

[JL]

Thanks Fred... What do you think the car will fetch?

 

[freddy]

I have no idea what the car will bring at B-J. I would suspect that most bidders don't know the car's history, and that may not help the realized sale price. Seems that B-J has 14 (?) race cars for auction this year - several for charity. That's quite a few.

Fred

 

[Bad Rat]

The car to be auctioned started out as the GTO Pro Stock development car. It was built by Don Ness in 2005; used as the "master" for body templates for subsequent GTO carbon fiber bodies built by Five Star; was the "submission" car to the NHRA Technical Services Department, which approved the design for Pro Stock racing. Danny Gracia approved the body on May 23, 2005, and the first actual race car was run at Denver in July (Greg Anderson).

The car at B-J is the original wind tunnel test car, turned into a show car by Ness, and later made the show circuit on the Pontiac Performance Tour. At the end of the 2008 show season, it was made available for auction at B-J. I believe that the engine in that car was a GM Performance Parts 502 Ram Jet (fuel-injected), but I don't know what is in it now.

BTW, it was normal procedure at GM Racing to re-use these development bodies for later use as show cars. And, they come in handy when someone at the track complains that the NHRA templates must be wrong. We would just drive the "show car" to the tech trailer and fit the templates. Seems like they fit 100% of the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Just speaking with Don Ness on this car, what Fred is saying is 100% true (not that I doubted it). It did have a 502 Ram Jet. Most everything is there but the Car will need some items to make it into Comp or TS or NHRA legal. It has a Ness Four-Link System in it and could be a good car once all the goodies are added.

It was the first time I saw the development process first hand...well once it was well under way and my Sheet Metal Supplier Services were needed as a Vendor. Up until that point it was under wraps in the GMM Skunkworks...the Black Room (Don's building out back of the main shop). When I asked Don to show the new body to me, he took me out there, showed me a Roll of Fiber Glass Matt and couple of Barrels of Resin and Catalyst attached to a Chop Gun. He said "There it is". The new body was 5 feet away behind a black wall made from heavy plastic and I was not allowed to see it. I respect that. Confidentiality builds character.

It's fun to see these things come together.

Thanks for the input Fred and all you did over the years.

 

[CrewGuy]

Car sold for $71,500.00

 

[Walter]

#1603 looks to be described as a GTO. The WJ car I saw yesterday at B-J was a Firenza. Two cars being sold?

 

[Terry]

The car to be auctioned started out as the GTO Pro Stock development car. It was built by Don Ness in 2005; used as the "master" for body templates for subsequent GTO carbon fiber bodies built by Five Star; was the "submission" car to the NHRA Technical Services Department, which approved the design for Pro Stock racing. Danny Gracia approved the body on May 23, 2005, and the first actual race car was run at Denver in July (Greg Anderson).

The car at B-J is the original wind tunnel test car, turned into a show car by Ness, and later made the show circuit on the Pontiac Performance Tour. At the end of the 2008 show season, it was made available for auction at B-J. I believe that the engine in that car was a GM Performance Parts 502 Ram Jet (fuel-injected), but I don't know what is in it now.

BTW, it was normal procedure at GM Racing to re-use these development bodies for later use as show cars. And, they come in handy when someone at the track complains that the NHRA templates must be wrong. We would just drive the "show car" to the tech trailer and fit the templates. Seems like they fit 100% of the time.

Hope this helps.

Fred

Thanks Mr. Simmons, for taking the time to drop by and filling us in on the WJ car--an interesting history! Glad to see that it fetched at least a reasonable price...again thanks for the info "straight from the horse's mouth" (please forgive the Nebraska cornfield metaphor!)