This is a Kellison J6 Panther, it’s an American sports car that debuted in the late 1950s as a competitor for mass-produced sports cars like the Chevrolet Corvette.
The Panther could be delivered as a turnkey car or ordered as a kit and built in your own garage. Most buyers chose that latter option, with many building their car on a Corvette chassis with a Corvette drivetrain.
Fast Facts – The Kellison J6 Panther
- The Kellison J6 Panther is an American sports car developed by Jim Kellison in the late 1950s, designed to compete with cars like the Corvette. It could be purchased as a turnkey car or as a kit, with many buyers opting to build it using Corvette chassis and drivetrains.
- Jim Kellison, an experienced hot rodder and USAF veteran, started his automotive career designing fiberglass-bodied cars. He solved the initial handling issues by developing a new chassis in collaboration with Indy car builder Chuck Manning, which became key to the success of the Kellison J series cars in motorsports.
- The 1960s saw the Kellison J6 Panther evolve into a respected sports car, particularly after being fitted with a period-correct 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 engine. Its fiberglass body was lighter than than used on the Corvette, and the total curb weight was noticeably lighter.
- The Kellison J6 Panther shown in this article is for sale, it’s a restored car, now fitted with premium upgrades like adjustable coilovers, a hydraulic clutch, a Tremec 6-speed manual transmission, and a limited-slip differential. The car is available in Camarillo, California, with build records, a spare hood, and a California title listing it as a 1970 GMC.
Jim Kellison – The Unlikely Car Designer
Born James Frank Kellison in Seattle, Jim Kellison would move to California as a young man and become part of the rapidly growing hot rod scene as a teenager. It would be in the world of hot rods that he cut his teeth learning about automotive engineering, bodywork, and engine tuning.
This is Jim Kellison with one of his creations. Many Kellison J series cars went racing and achieved excellent results in the early 1960s.
In his late teens Jim joined the United States Air Force, he long been enamored with aircraft and aircraft design, having been a keen builder of model planes when he was younger. This fascination with aircraft would later have a significant influence on his automobile designs.
After leaving the USAF Jim opened his own body and fender repair shop, at the age of just 22. He would spend the next few years working in the field, both in his own shops and working for other people, building a broad base of experience in the process.
It was around this time in the early 1950s that fiberglass was becoming a popular material for constructing car bodies. It was lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and easy to form into complex shapes with the use of moulds – vastly easier to turn into car bodies than aluminum or steel.
The Kellison Car Company
Jim began work on his first J car design in 1957, he created a steel tube and wire frame, then used plaster of Paris to create a smooth surface to create the fiberglass mould. Within two years Kellison cars began appearing in American automotive magazines including MotorTrend.
The C1 Corvette was being built at the time with a fiberglass body, and so Jim built the Kellison J4 body to fit neatly onto the Corvette chassis in place of the original body. It looked fantastic but there were some complaints about handling.
As a result of these complaints, Jim hired Chuck Manning – a talented Indy car chassis builder – to developed a new chassis specifically for his body designs, and solve the handling issues once and for all.
The initial design had a steel box tube frame with tube axles front and back. This didn’t provide the desired handling, and so a new version was designed – a steel X-frame fitted with easy-to-source Corvette suspension front and rear.
Most Kellison bodies were sold via advertisements like this in the back of car magazines in the late 1950s and 1960s.
This new chassis combined with the good aerodynamics of the Kellison body was a match made in heaven, and there were numerous reports of Kellisons taking dominant class victories in motorsport competition in the early 1960s with his J Series sports cars.
It wouldn’t be long before Jim branched out and used his fiberglass production capacity to build a variety of other vehicles including Meyers Manx dune buggy clones, Formula V cars, and even speed boats and jacuzzis.
The Kellison J6 Panther Shown Here
This Kellison J6 Panther was bought by the current owner, and now seller, as an unfinished project car. It was then finished with a full repaint as part of a multi-year rebuild to bring it up to the standard it’s now in.
It was fitted with a period correct 327 cubic inch Chevrolet V8, an engine also used in the Corvette of the time, as well as a more modern Tremec 6-speed manual transmission. The car rides on Koni front shock absorbers paired with QA1 adjustable coilovers in the rear, it has front disc brakes and rear drums, rack-and-pinion steering, and 15″ radial-style wheels.
Inside the car you’ll find black and gray cloth-trimmed bucket seats, burl wood and stainless-steel trim, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, and programmable NVU instrumentation throughout.
Under the hood you’ll note that the engine is fitted with a Shotgun Bill’s-style air scoop, a Holley carburetor, an MSD ignition system, long-tube Hooker Headers, and a stainless-steel 2.5″ dual exhaust system.
The styling of the Kellison J6 Panther has been lauded for decades as being both ahead of its time, and very aesthetically pleasing. It’s also quick when fitted to the right underpinnings.
It’s also fitted with a StreetRays billet shifter, a hydraulic clutch assembly, and a limited-slip differential. The lightweight fiberglass body now wears a Gloss Dragon Fire Red vinyl wrap over a concrete gray seal coat with a Gloss Fiery Orange center stripe with Gloss Black detailing.
The car is n ow being offered for sale out of Camarillo, California with a spare hood, fabricated side curtains, build and service records, and a California title that lists the car as a 1970 GMC. 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
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