Whatever happened to Gary Kollofski's 55 Chevy?

Sam & Boones:

I started a thread on looking for this car back in Jan of 2007. Jeff would really like to find this car again. Maybe someone in Sac know this cement contractor.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155302

Lets find it for Jeff.

BB

 

...very interesting thread,...here's a shot of that mid-engined 57 that was mentioned earlier in this thread,...anyone know what happened to it or the owner/builder?

 

Thanks Bob for the offer for the plate ! But , you need to keep it so I'm allways in your thoughts when you see it ! LOL I apologize to Gary for using this link for my interest of getting my old merc back! And I sincerely thank everyone for sending pics and info on my merc! Jeff

 

I met the owner of the Willys earlier today in Newark Ca,guy lives in Fremont and has owned the car since 1981.Back when the Kollofski 55 came out it was cutting edge,nobody can compare that 55 to whats being built today.That 55 was tops.I first saw the yellow Willys 30 years ago like everybody else in Hotrod Magazine,fast forward to 2007.Im driving down a street in Newark and see a yellow Willys about 200 yards in front of me,COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING,kind of like what somebody would think if they saw a U.F.O.I knew exactly what it was when I saw it,the Kollofski Willys.Damn.Got closer,checked it out and went about my business.Ive seen it one other time on the street but didnt get a chance to talk to the owner until today.Car still looks pretty good for a 30 year old build.I was off by 3 years,thought the car was Hotrod Of The Year 82,it was 79.The guy couldnt believe I knew about the car.I was looking for some old info on the car when this topic popped up.I might see the car next week,Ill get some pictures.

 

great, let's see how it looks!

 

That 36 Willys looks pretty much like it did 30 years ago.The odd thing with this car,Motor Fly wheels are one of my favorites but didnt notice what wheels were on the car,I was just blown away by the fact that 2 feet in front of me was an icon car.Ive sent the owner an email about this thread,maybe he will step inside Mr.Kollofski,such a privilege to be part of this thread.Ive always remembered these 2 cars.These cars go right up there with some of the milestone cars hardcore car people remember forever.

 

Speaking of MAS, does anyone know if Gary Kohn is still around?

 

Gary's '55 is probably one of the top 25 influential cars of all time. The Hot Rod article showed it with both Cragar SS wheels and the Motor Wheel Flys but I like the Cragars better.

Another car that appears right after Gary's and equally set me back was Scott Sullivan's '67 Nova. Those two cars really set the stage for the Pro Street movement..they were not fake like the other cars to come later with their overkill funny car style rollcages, ridiclous aluminum styled interiors and other fluff.

Hopefully we will see Gary's '55 soon.

 

It would be great to see some new pictures of the car. Did the new owner get rid of the Motor Wheels. It does look much higher in the back. Both of Gary's cars are two of my all time favorites.

 

I'm also partial to Scotts '55 cheese wiz orange sedan. To me that car set alot of standards to the pro street movment that have yet to be equalled.

 

Here ya go,other than the wheels car hasnt visually changed much in 30 years. [/IMG][/IMG][/IMG][/IMG]

 

....what i found about these 2 cars in an old "best of hotrod" from 1988..when i was 17...

 

man, i miss gray's writing...

 

He was my favorite.The owner of the Willys me gave a a copy of the article writtin on the Willys and it was written by Gray.Makes this whole deal so much better.

 

how many here know what a motor wheel fly is . i have looked for years for a set that would fit my mopar and back spacing . the wheels made the 55 and were rare when he installed them ,what a car .c

 

they show up once in a while, but they're pretty fragile. it's a good thing kollofski's car only weighed 2700 pounds! note that he ran cragars on the street...

 

I was in 10th grade in 1977 when that Hot Rod article came out and I was just floored when I saw that '55. Talk about a quantum leap. I remember thinking how cool the term "440-inch Rat" sounded. Seeing that article again brought back a similar rush to the one I got seeing it for the first time back in '77.

 

THX1308 Thank for posting the Willys pictures.

 

WOW!!!!

That thing looks like a ground rumbler.

Probably one of the best looking 55's I've seen.

Absolute beast!!!!

Would be good to find out where it is now.

Barn????

HC.

 

Read the whole post, Tazhog here on the HAMB has owned it for the last 20 years.

BB

 

I remember seeing Gary's cars in Hot Rod when I was still in grade school. The yellow Willys was always just a memorable car and instantly made me a fan of Motor Wheel Flys. It took me years to find a set of 4 3/4 bolt circle fronts and I was finally able to score a set about 4 years ago. I collect old drag racing wheels and these are incredibly light. They are definitely NOT a street wheel. All it takes is to hit a pothole in the road and you have destroyed a neat set of wheels! They may have a home on a very light car someday with a 29-inch tall tire maybe to avoid shocking them too much.

 

lucky find im still looking for a set and yes they are light .from what i understand they were used in pro stock for only a couple years and if a car would get goofy they would lay over . that could be why they went away .thanks for sharing

 

I thought that filler material stopped that? What is that material anyway?

 

It's cool you bring up that 'filler' material. From what I've learned about them, that red resin is the same material that is used inside of golf balls. When those front Fly's first appeared, they were just two halves welded together with no filler. The later, 2ND design ones, have the red resin between the two halves and are much better. Thankfully, mine have the resin. You can see it if you at the pictures closely. By the way, most if not all rear Motor Wheel Flys I've come across are aluminum, not magnesium, and don't have the resin. Another cool fact is that Motor Wheel was an OEM wheel supplier to Detroit and I think they were even responsible for manufacturing the Magnum-style wheels that I think every manufacturer had a version of back then. The company made very high quality wheels. Someday, I'm gonna score a set of 15-inch Motor Wheel Spyders and buy some kind of car just to put them on!

 

By the way, Bogart Racing Wheels sells a couple different style wheels that are VERY similar to Motor Wheel Flys. They are aluminum, slightly thicker construction and could probably be used on a street car just fine. Squirt 'em with a can of "Cast Blast" cast iron spray paint and you've just about nailed the look of original Fly's.

 

No problem,the owner,Bob is trying to find this post so he can stop by,he and his wife are a really nice couple.W e had a short discussion on the Motor Flys and unfortunately a minor accident damaged two of the wheels but he still has the set and from the description the damage can be repaired.Im going to email him the link to this page if I can figure it out.

 

You know, if you look at an early '70's Hot Rod, Car Craft or other drag racing magazine, you can see that Fly's were quite popular. They were just fragile and not many survived. I've always especially like them on the infamous Gapp & Rousch 4-door Maverick that dominated NHRA Pro Stock for awhile. When Scott Sullivan drove his Cheese Whiz Pro Street '55 cross country back in the Eighties, he busted a couple of 'em. I think I just remembered that I have a couple of brand new, NOS center caps buried in my closet. I'm gonna look for them and I'll post a photo tomorrow.

 

Willybobs36hotrod, Liked this article very. Also what ever happened to Garys Kollofski's killer 1936 willys Coupe. Would like to see what information comes up.
Bob.

 

WOW, I just talked to Gary Kollofski's a couple a days ago. We had a killer conversatoin about his 55 chev and the 1936 Willys Coupe. He told me a lot about the 1936 Willys Coupe. Of the most engineering and thought about the construction of a pro-street car at that time. I was really suprised what else he said. If he had the choice again between the two cars, he would never have parted with the 1936 Willys. This Willys Coupe ALL STEEL is still and modern by todays standards. Shows us how Gary's thoughts were at that time. Wonders what else is comming in the near future?????
Bobs 36 hotrod Said This.