Kellison J-5 5-Speed

This is a 1974 Kellison J-5, it was built on a Corvette chassis, and it’s powered by a big block 452 cubic inch (7.4 liter) Chrysler V8 that sends power to the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox.

These Kellisons were American-made sports cars that could be ordered in either turnkey form, or as a kit that people could build in their garage at home. Many chose that latter option, and as a result no two Kellisons are quite the same.

Fast Facts: The Kellison J-5

• The Kellison J-5 was a fiberglass-bodied sports car designed by Jim Kellison to be sold as a kit or turnkey vehicle. Introduced in 1960, it offered futuristic styling and a longer wheelbase to accommodate larger V8 engines. Buyers favored the kit option, creating a wide variety of uniquely built examples over the years.
• Jim Kellison, a Korean War veteran and former pilot, launched his company in California in the late 1950s. He used fiberglass to create sleek, lightweight bodies inspired by jet-age aesthetics. His vision was to offer affordable American sports cars that could compete with expensive European models both on the road and track.
• The J-5’s aerodynamic profile and low weight made it a contender in amateur racing, with some cars outperforming Ferraris and Jaguars under SCCA rules. Most were powered by Chevy V8s, though build quality varied depending on the owner. Regulatory changes and rising costs eventually led Kellison to exit car production in the early 1970s.
• The featured 1974 J-5 is an unusually powerful example built on a Corvette chassis. It houses a 452 cu in Chrysler V8 with high-performance internals, a Tremec 5-speed, and Corvette suspension. Finished in red with a black interior, it has been owned by the same builder for 51 years and is now up for sale.

Jim Kellison + The Kellison Car Company

Jim Kellison’s entry into the world of fiberglass sports cars was born from his seemingly endless ambition, and his innate engineer’s eye for aerodynamics. A former US Air Force pilot and Korean War veteran, Kellison settled in California after his military service in the mid-1950s and set to work.

By 1957, he was already designing his own cars and building their bodies from fiberglass, a relatively new material in the automotive world at the time. Though fiberglass is often now looked down upon, it was the carbon fiber of the era, and it allowed people to build strong, lightweight cars with bodies that were impervious to rust.

With minimal capital and a rented garage space in Folsom, Kellison launched the Kellison Car Company – his vision was to sell kit-based American sports cars that could rival European exotics on the road and track, all while costing a mere fraction of the price. It may sound like pie in the sky dreaming, but amazingly Kellison actually managed to pull it off.

Kellison’s earliest designs fell under the J-series, a family of sleek fiberglass bodies engineered to mount onto existing production car chassis. The company quickly gained attention for its futuristic styling, especially the long-nosed, low-slung profiles with fastback rooflines and raked windshields that resembled the jet-age styling of aircraft more than conventional cars.

The J-4 was the company’s first real success, designed for a short wheelbase and adaptable to various donor vehicles of the period. Though primitive in early form, the car established Kellison’s foundation of aerodynamic performance and lightweight construction.

The Kellison J-5

The real landmark came with the introduction of the Kellison J-5. Designed in 1960, it took the lessons learned from the J-4 and scaled them up, both literally and technically. With a longer wheelbase and an updated body shape, the J-5 could accommodate larger V8 engines – particularly Chevrolet’s big blocks – and it offered more interior space, making it more appealing to buyers who wanted both speed and GT car-like comfort.

The J-5 retained the hallmark Kellison styling cues, in later years these designs would be looked back upon as well ahead of their time, and they still looked current heading into the 1970s.

The J-5’s fiberglass body could be bought as a standalone shell, or buyers could opt for a more complete kit with floorpans, inner structures, and even Kellison’s own chassis if they wanted. Turnkey cars were also available – but very few ordered them – preferring to build the car themselves.

Many of these kit-built cars ended up being powered by small-block or big-block Chevy V8s, and depending on the skill of the builder, performance could range from mild to wild. Some J-5s saw use on road courses under SCCA rules, where their low weight and slippery profile gave them a solid chance in the right hands, and they often bested Jaguars, Aston Martins, Ferraris, and more.

Though Kellison himself promoted the idea that these cars could reach speeds north of 160 mph, real-world performance depended heavily on drivetrain choice and build quality – as you would expect.

Throughout the 1960s, the Kellison company expanded its catalog. In addition to the J-5, it offered variants like the J-6 Panther and the Astra X-300 GT – both of which we’ve written about previously. These later models incorporated slight dimensional changes and styling refinements, but the spirit remained the same.

The business model was heavily reliant on the American DIY ethos. Builders could take pride in building their own high-performance coupe using a mail-order kit and labor on their weekends and after work – often with a few friends over and some cold cans of the local hooch in hand.

However, the business climate for small kit car manufacturers began to change by the end of the 1960s. Regulatory pressure increased, competition intensified, and the economics of low-volume production caught up with Kellison and with many of the company’s contemporaries.

Jim eventually stepped away from car production in the early 1970s. For a time in the late 1960s, the company also sold dune buggies, fiberglass boats, and even molded bathroom fixtures to diversify, but the golden years were already behind them.

Today, the Kellison J-5 stands as one of the most iconic models from the company’s lineup. Its beautiful lines, muscular proportions, and excellent performance potential have seen it find a whole new generation of fans – and value increases are starting to reflect it.

The Kellison J-5 Shown Here

This is almost certainly the most powerful Kellison we’ve ever featured on Silodrome, and it certainly has the most displacement thanks to its big block 452 cubic inch (7.4 liter) Chrysler V8 that’s fitted with a 440-specification crankshaft.

Inside the engine you’ll also find KB pistons, a COMP Cams High Energy hydraulic camshaft, stainless-steel valves with hardened valve seats, and up top sits an Edelbrock 650 CFM carburetor. It has a Chrysler intake manifold, Moon “no name” finned valve covers, steel headers, and a 2 1/2″ stainless-steel exhaust system.

Power is sent back through a Tremec TKO 600 5-speed manual transmission, it has a RAM clutch, a Lakewood bellhousing, and there’s a Corvette-sourced limited-slip differential in the rear.

The chassis was built using components from a C2 Corvette, it has a custom-built rear section, and the suspension incorporates the C2’s independent front end, front and rear anti-roll bars, and aftermarket transverse-mounted leaf springs.

That beautiful Kellison J-5 body is finished in bright red, it has a black interior with a center console from a Pontiac GTO, a McLeod shifter, fixed bucket seats, and a centrally mounted bank of accessory switches.

The car is now being sold out of Middleton, Wisconsin by the person who built it back in the 1970s and who has owned it ever since – for 51 years. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer