This is a Kellison J6 Panther that was built in 1975. It’s an American-designed sports car that was developed by former USAF fighter pilot Jim Kellison, and it could be built on a variety of chassis – from a V8 Corvette to a VW Beetle.
The J-series Kellison sports cars were first developed in the 1950s and they quickly became popular. Enthusiasts could build them from a kit in their garage, utilizing a donor chassis and drivetrain. Many Kellisons raced in-period, often beating sports cars from the likes of Jaguar, MG, Triumph, Chevrolet, Ford, and more.
Fast Facts – A Kellison J6 Panther Project Car
- The Kellison J6 Panther, introduced in the 1950s by former USAF pilot Jim Kellison, was a fiberglass-bodied sports car designed to fit various donor chassis. Popular among enthusiasts, it could be built from kits and often competed successfully against notable brands like Jaguar, MG, and Chevrolet in period racing events.
- This particular 1975 Kellison J6 Panther was built on a VW Beetle chassis and currently lacks an engine. It retains its 4-speed transmission and offers potential for restoration, with opportunities to upgrade the suspension, brakes, and engine for uprated performance and modern usability.
- Jim Kellison’s contributions to automotive innovation extended beyond the J-series cars to include the Stallion, a Shelby Cobra-inspired replica. His designs achieved pop culture recognition, including a Stallion featured in the “Bad Boys” film, and his legacy includes countless cars bearing his name worldwide.
- The Kellison J6 Panther is listed for sale on eBay by Classic Auto Mall in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, with a “Buy it Now” price of $8,900 USD. This project car offers a rare opportunity to own and restore a piece of American sports car history.
Kellison Cars – A History Speedrun
The Kellison Car Company was founded by James “Jim” Kellison in the mid-1950s in Folsom, California. Jim was a former USAF fighter pilot who had served in the Korean War and after he was honorably discharged he got back to the true passion of his youth – hot rods.
This is Jim Kellison with one of his creations. Many Kellison J series cars went racing and achieved excellent results in the early 1960s.
The 1950s were a time when the use of fiberglass was soaring, it’s been called the carbon fiber of the era and this is no exaggeration – it was then a state-of-the-art material and its properties of low weight, high strength, and easy molding made it ideal for a slew of applications.
It revolutionized the boat-building industry seemingly overnight and soon it was being used for everything from bathtubs and roofing to swimming pools and automobile bodies. It would be this latter use case that would pique the interest of a young Jim Kellison.
As the 1950s progressed more and more cars began appearing with fiberglass bodies, the most famous being the Corvette but there was also the Glasspar, Woodill Wildfire, Jensen 541, Lotus Elite, and a variety of different models by Bill Devin.
Kellison would join the fray in 1958 with his own fiberglass-bodied special, the Kellison J-4. This car had a sleek design that was well ahead of its time, impressive for a man with no car design training whatsoever. The J-4 was designed to fit over a number of sports car chassis of the time including the Austin-Healey and Corvette. It could also be built up around a tubular steel frame developed in-house at Kellison.
A number of other designs would emerge including the J-1, J-2, J-3, J-5, and the J6 Panther. Each design had its own unique characteristics, and it was possible to buy a Kellison body to fit over many of the common sports car chassis of the time including those from Triumph, MG, Morgan, Alfa Romeo, and more, there were even kits to fit over VW Beetle chassis.
Life After The Kellison Car Company
By the mid-1960s Kellison was the single largest manufacturer of dune buggy bodies in the world and this was around the time that Jim decided to sell the business. He had always been an avid reader, and so he would take the funds and open a large bookshop which he ran for much of the 1970s.
The interior of this car is decidedly retro and very much a product of its time – it was built in the mid-1970s.
At some point in the 1970s the automotive lure drew him back in, and he developed a Shelby Cobra replica called the Stallion. This car was slightly longer and wider than the Cobra, and the chassis was said to be vastly better. Legendary Hollywood agent, and husband to Lynda Carter of Wonder Woman fame owned a Stallion.
Interestingly, decades later in 1995 a film would be released called Bad Boys starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and Téa Leoni. This film would feature a Stallion in the main chase sequence, putting Jim Kellison’s creation in front of a global audience of countless millions.
Jim would start a small store in the 1980s after selling his stake in the Stallion, his store bought and sold gold, silver, diamonds, and collectible coins. It provided a major success, moved to a larger premises, and remained in business right the way through until 2017.
Jim Kellison died in 2004, he was survived by four sons, a daughter, and the thousands of cars that carry his name have been driven on every continent other than Antarctica.
The Kellison J6 Panther Shown Here
The car you see here is a Kellison J6 Panther that was built in 1975. Unlike the majority of Panthers that were built on Corvette chassis and powered by V8s, this one was built on a VW Beetle chassis and currently has no engine at all.
Now, I know the use of a Beetle chassis can be off-putting, but I think there’s a solid case to be made here that this could be turned into a genuinely fantastic Outlaw-type car of sorts. The new owner would need to source a bored and stoked VW flat-four or perhaps a Porsche 356 or 911 engine. The 4-speed Beetle transmission that comes with the car would need to be rebuilt with new ratios or replaced.
There are no two ways about it, this is a project car in every sense of the term, but it could be a fun build for the right person or team.
Once the chassis is sorted, the suspension and brakes are given suitable upgrades, and the car is generally restored it’ll be one of those head-tilter cars that draws crowds at any Cars & Coffee events it rolls into.
It’s currently being sold on eBay out of Morgantown, Pennsylvania by Classic Auto Mall with a Buy it Now price of $8,900 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or make them an offer you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Classic Auto Mall
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
