Whatever happened to Gary Kollofski's 55 Chevy?

I tried the HAMB search with no results.
While thumbing thru some pages of favorite hot rods in a seperate folder I saw it today and wondered...

 

Whatever happened to Dan Glover mid-engine gold 57 chevy from Yucaipa California?

 

Good Question, Nationwide... a true streat freak that car was...

But whatever happened to John Rea's 5" chopped hardtop? One of the baddest of the bad...

Sam

 

that car was a TRUE street freek,,,in every escence

i rember seeing a pic of it in a late 80's mag (might have been car craft or popluar hotrodding)

 

Anybody ever know what happened to Gary? I had a math teacher in high school in the 90s by the name of Kollofski who seemed to have a past in cars. That would be a helluva link.

 

He was from Minnesota.

 

I grew up in Wayzata. Anybody from the area keep tabs on him?

 

Gary WAS a teacher. I believe he was a Math Teacher at Wayzata High. I looked him up a few years ago and after emailing back and forth a bit, found that he had gotten out of cars and into high performance Cigarette style boats (last one I saw had 2 blown big blocks...) His last boat was for sale and he was getting out of that hobby as well.

I don't have his email any longer unfortunately...

When one of the recent Hot Rod magazines did a feature of the best all time 100 cars in Hot Rod, his 55 was one of them.

That car was one of the baddest on the planet as far as street cars went at that time, and it still turns my crank looking at pictures of it.

It has been reported that he is currently building a modern rendition of the original 55 (I guess he is getting back into the hobby...)

If you do a google, you will find phone book results if you are really interested in contacting him. Google: Gary Kollofski Minnesota, and you will find him. When we spoke a few times via email, he asked me to call him as he was a slow typer!

 

pics,,or someone discribe it!

 

Quick link to a pic...

http://blogs.carcraft.com/6283707/editorials/killer-55/index.html

 

This link to the cover shot of his yellow turbo Willys was his car as well (built by Fleury). That car was on the cover 30 YEARS ago!!!

http://www.fleuryhotrods.com/hr79.jpg

 

Best shot ever of this car...

Click on the pic and take a look up close! This was BEFORE pro-street was hot and was simply a FULL ON car being driven on the street with a full dzus fastened front clip, etc. Again, this car was on the street over 30 years ago with license plates and DOT tires (cover of Hot Rod Magazine Dec 1977).

As written in Hot Rod a few months ago... "Dzus-fastened sheetmetal is de rigueur today, but in 1977 it was only seen on full-tilt race cars. When Kollofski rumbled his blown, Rat-powered '55 into a show and un-Dzus'd the entire front clip off of it, it blew minds. The huge rear tires, progenitors of the Pro Street trend, were also brand-new for a street car. It graced our Dec. '77 cover. -Rob Kinnan"

Love it.

 

I can not believe this post came up, I was just looking at some pics of my first car which was a 55 chevy, I bought it in 79 and Garys 55 was one of the reasons I got a 55.
for a 15 year old in the 70s that was the coolest car. I seam to remember that car being for sale in the back of Hot Rod mag. maybe in the early 80s and it was 25k and I thought man how expensive that was. would readly like to know if its still out there

 

Yeah, not exactly HAMB friendly, but definitely a car with some soul...

 

His '33 Willys was rad too...twin turbo 302 Chevrolet powered, IIRC.

The '55 probably wouldn't get much special attention nowadays, other than being just another very nice Pro Street tri-5, but at the time it was almost one of a kind.

 

Motorfly wheels and all! Yea, i remember that one!

Anyone got a pic of Rea's '55 from March of '75 HRM?? It's hard to believe it was built in '75...

Sam

 

And don't forget the Clutch Turbo!!! That must have been fun.

A truly great car for it's time. The fly's were great.

 

Thanks... I've never seen that picture before.........................

Now, I've got this clapped out 55 post sitting in my yard and my Willys is almost done. I think it's time to start lookin' for some flys.

 

more pics of the car from the original Hot Rod mag. Yes, this did get my attention when I was a snot nosed 16 year old punk.

http://selectric.org/hrm/1977/197712081.jpg
http://selectric.org/hrm/1977/197712082.jpg
http://selectric.org/hrm/1977/197712083.jpg

 

you got that right.....bad ass ride right there.....

 

Rea's car

http://selectric.org/hrm/1975/19751078.jpg

 

did he have something to do with a blown 66/67 cutlass pro street car in the same shade of fruehof (sp) yellow....from the mid 80's....with a gazillon louvers.....?

 

that car stands out in my memory also. it was a 66. it had a satin-finish billet aluminum replica of the stock grille, admittedly, something that does not seem very HAMB friendly, but that, and the cheese-wiz color really did work for the car.

 

Sounds like a bunch of us greww up reading HRM at the same time!?!?! Remember all the cars mentioned, very cool. The Willys was a favorite as well.

 

Squirrel, Thanks for the magazine shots. I was looking for that magazine unsuccessfully.

Regarding the thoughts that this car would just be another pro-street today, I sort of beg to differ. Notice the chromed MAS straight axle under this one?? I think there are a lot of details including the stance that really separate it from the wanna-be pro-clown cars out there. This is the real thing and I think it would garner it's share of attention today (from me anyway!). I wanna go for a ride!

And yeah, sounds like we grew up together guys! I still have all my old magazines from the last 30 plus years including the bad years with vans, go karts, fender flares and 80's monochromatic paint jobs!

But the good stuff was still the good stuff...

 

Boy... That's true. I still have all the Mags too. I've seen the Willys is out on the west coast but the wheels have been changed.

It had an MAS dropped axle of all things. Check out the scans of the Magazine article. Also to note the stock master cyl. I bet you that sucker was fun to stop when you wound it up!

 

So cool you guys brought this up!

I spaced out Kollofski's '55 (seem to have always remembered the Willys though) and COMPLETELY forgot about Rea's badass 55 (I don't know how?!)!

Redlinetoys made a good point about these cars, I thought it was cool as snot that Gary's car sat the way it did with the tube axle. TOTALLY cool that John Rea's car has one too?! Freakin' awesome.....funny car for the street! Set back 426 and a torq-flite.....chop?!
Holy crap, I don't know HOW I forgot this one!

Cars like this are the reason people from our generation have a hard time being locked into a 10 year span of black lake's roadsters from the '40s to mid '50s.....

 

Wll here's the story! I own the car and have had it since 1977 bought it from Cary Weisner in St.Paul Minn. all apart When i lived in Green Bay Wis.and Sold my shop N.E.W. Custom Vans Then i moved to california with it in 1982. Sold it in 94 to a guy at my shop . He went backrupt and i got it back and got it back. Sold my shop in Visalia Ca.Cruising Unlmited in may 2006 and Now moved to Wingate N.C. and it's in my garage !Waiting to be redone! And that the story ! Jeff Johnson

 

the Willys is alive and well. here it is at Pleasanton California Goodguys last August. looks like it has been raised up in the back... not sure why.

 

Thanks for responding Jeff, I thought the 55 was the one they were refering to, that is why I emailed the thread to you.

BB