VIN‐ 213974 Black/ BLACK
Excellent Restoration Project Complete. This car has been in storage since 1995. It is a complete and
wholly original Cosworth Vega #513. Car Runs and lot drives. Fuel Tank and Pump are out of the
car. You will need to trailer or transport this car. Intake has been converted to Weber carbs but all
original EFI is included with the sale. Window trim is also included. This is a complete car with matching
towanda numbers and EFI numbers. Body is and undercarriage are in exceptional shape. Paint is not
original and is in poor condition. Interior is complete and is in ok condition with only minor tearing of
the driver seat cover. Enthusiastic buyers will know all about this car and we welcome you to call for
additional information. We will be happy to walk you around the car on video if you wish. Bid with
confidence. We stand by this as a complete, original, restorable cosworth vega.
Mileage about 55K rough shape as of 8/22/16

According to an October of 2011 membership application, this car belongs to Hugh Mullen of
Bloomingdale, NY.

Parted out according to Britt Guerlain.

New CVOA Member Logan Brink of Southerlin, Oregon requested transfer as he is the current owner.

Response from Roy Gardner...
Hi John,
The work done by Jimmy on the car at AAR might've been making the collector-type header between the exhaust ports and the turbo. Originally he'd built a log-type manifold like on a late-seventies Offenhauser, but Rex Hutton who was building the headers for the AAR IMSA car strongly recommended the equal-length collector-type. Jimmy said it added considerable horsepower.
Jimmy told me a big reason why the turbo exhaust came out through the hood was that the car was registered in Nevada, and in Nevada a turbo car on the street was not required to have a muffler. He said he once started the car in a big enclosed parking garage and half a dozen car alarms went off. The time he showed me the orange exhaust arcing over the windshield at full throttle at night on a freeway near AAR, an angry policeman ticketed him.
Jimmy said when he was putting the turbo on that he talked with an engineer at Chevrolet about how the fuel injection would handle boost. The engineer said the anaerobic manifold pressure sensor could handle up to something like 20 PSI over atmospheric and Jimmy would not have to modify the injection at all.
The rear wing on the car is a Fowler flap from Rolla Vollstedt's 1977 Vollstedt Mk VII Indy car, an improved copy of a Romlin Lightning. Jimmy previously worked on Rolla's Indy Car team, Vollstedt Enterprises in Portland, Oregon. Attached are a picture of the Vega from one of Jimmy's relatives when the inherited car was for sale and pictures of possibly the flap Jimmy used after the Indy Car hit the wall at Michigan (I think). In picture D17.jpg, that's Jimmy at the steering wheel of the Vollstedt at Indy in 1979. La Machine (food processor) by Moulinex was the major sponsor of Vollstedt at the 1978 Indy 500.
The Vega's front spoiler is made out of 1/4" thick reinforced rubber conveyer belt material. I had bought two rolls of the stuff cheap at the Tektronix surplus store in Beaverton, Oregon and made a similar spoiler for my 1952 Chevy. It could come nearly all the way to ground level because it would bend out of the way in dips & driveways, and was stiff enough to stay straight at high speeds. Jimmy liked it and I gave him one of the rolls to make his.
Jimmy converted the rear brakes to disks which didn't have a parking brake so he installed a fork lift hydraulic parking brake valve. In case future owners are wondering what that big valve at the middle bottom of the dashboard is for.
If Jimmy installed the Saginaw 4-spd with overdrive tailshaft and Hurst Competition Plus shifter that I sold him, I built that tranny for then removed it from my '56 Chevy wagon when I sold it to a collector who preferred the original 3-speed with overdrive and column shift that I'd kept. That was the finest-shifting transmission/shifter I've ever driven, and I miss it.
I miss Jimmy a lot more.
Regards, Roy

Response from Eagle Racing...
Hello John,

Jimmy was one of a kind, we loved him and miss him. We remember the Vega... do you have a photo you can send us? We do not have any.

AAR did not work on the car but Jimmy lived in a motorhome at the race shop here for some time and he worked on it himself here. Below are a few comments from some of his mates:

Best wishes,
Kathy Weida/AAR

#### Gary Donahoe Team manager
Jimmy had a very rough Cosworth Vega. He had installed a turbo with the exhaust exiting straight up through the hood. He did the work on the car before coming to AAR and it was used as daily transportation. I am confident to say that a Cosworth Vega purist would find the appearance of Jimmy's car to be sacrilegious. It was a sight to behold. Doubt any photos exist, our focus was elsewhere.

Gary Donahoe

####

Gary Martin reminded me of the big hole Jimmy cut in the hood with blow torch for the turbo...

####

Justin Gurney: I remember the Vega. It had a wing on it that said La Machine on it. It had a turbo Cosworth in it I think. When he would leave AAR at night it would belch flames out of the hood where the exhaust let out.

It was awesome!!!! Justin Gurney

Copying Jimmy's best friend Roy Gardner.... he might have something to add. Good luck, thanks for the memory.

Kathy

Message sent from CVOA President to Eagle Racing...
Hello,
My name is John J. Cowall, and I am the President of the Cosworth Vega Owners Association, a Small Car Club dedicated to the Preservation of the Chevrolet Cosworth Vega. A car recently popped up, with the former owner being Jimmy Thrall. I have information saying he worked with Dan Gurney at AAR. I was wondering if you have any information about any Jimmy Thrall and if this car was worked on at AAR? It has a turbo set up on it, and was curious of there any info with you about this car and or about Jim?
Thank You,
John J. Cowall

According to a March 16, 2010 Yahoo post, “Starting schooling for an automotive tech degree and using
this as my "project" car for school. My fave Uncle built these. My mom has one I have one and we have
one left over to sell or use as parts or...... I was a year old when my car was made. My car is a 75 #0516
la machine. I need to rewire it because the mice got into the wiring. No worries though as there are
complete wiring harnesses intact waiting to go in. My car has the turbo and a roll cage. I wonder how
fast she'll be! It gives me butterflies in the stomach just to see pictures of her!” It appears from a later
post that this new owner is Aurora.

This car is located in Reno, NV in September, 2004. It is part of the estate of James (aka Jimmy) Price
Thrall. It is turbocharged and has a full roll cage. Jimmy worked for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers
for over 20 years, and was a Cosworth collector/aficionado. According to a tribute
(http://home.earthlink.net/~jimmythralltribute/ ), “Jimmy loved working on race cars, off‐road races,
collecting Cosworth Vegas, hunting (in Oregon in areas familiar to him from growing up in Lookingglass)
and shark fishing off the southern California coast, and did all of them as frequently as he could. Jimmy
was a free spirit, who was not hung up on material things, calling it "just stuff", though he did like his
toys. He was blunt, but everyone he knew was his friend, immediately. He once dialed a wrong phone
number, and spoke with a stranger for two hours on the phone, long distance. To him, they were not a
stranger but a friend.” According to his sister, Jimmy “was single and had his toys (Cosworth among
them). He had been into racing and building cars since he was 14, racing and fabrication with Dan
Gurney and All American Racers for over 2 decades...look up All American Racers, they have a great web
site too. Anyway he loved his Cosworths and collected parts, spares of everything, bought 2 besides the
3 that are running I know just for parts, fenders, an entire good Vega body (I think he planned to put the
body on the turbo Cosworth that is one his website, ...engines, wiring, computers, lights. Whoever buys
it will need a truck for the boxes, plus drivers or hauling for 3, plus the other car body, extra fenders,
engine(s), transmissions etc. There are clear titles for 4 cars, hmm maybe he intended to put the engine
with the title in the spare body....so with all the parts there would be 4 titled Cosworths++

Tim Hawkins
29 November 2024 ·
0518 has been sitting in my barn for a while. My daughter wanted to use it in her for engagement photos so I had to get it out and clean it up. Bought It from the original owner around 1997. Had two bad cylinders so I put new sleeves and pistons in it. Came with Weber carbs and Recaro seats. Need to go thru the brakes and some other minor things, but looking forward to driving again.
Posted On Facebook Cosworth Vega Owners Group

According to Robert Bowen’s January, 1978 Registry, this car then belonged to John Shaw, 2535 E Tenth
St., Apt 13, Tulsa, OK 74104.

Part of Chris Wheaton’s Registry

now owned by a Geoff Kreuger from Monroe, MI. Says car is rusty on the roof and A pillars. Basically a parts car. Black/ White vinyl interior

Part of Chris Wheaton’s Registry

According to an April 2007 report, this car is in the Cleveland, OH area and is powered by a small block
V‐8. The Weber equipped and sleeved engine has been sold to a fellow in northeastern Ohio and he is
rebuilding it and intends to put it into a 32 Ford Roadster. Ed.

According to Robert Bowen’s January, 1978 Registry, this car then belonged to John R. Matthews of
22114 Red River Dr., Katy, TX 77450.

According to a telephone call from “David” of Chardon, OH in April of 2010 (440‐796‐8238), he is looking
to sell this car for a woman who is the second owner. It has only 4000 miles on it, and is in pretty much
flawless condition. The only appearance problems are crazing on the top of the LF fender, and thin paint
above the driver’s door and on the break in the LF fender. The car runs and drives—it is driven every
year. The dash is “bright and shiny”. The only changes from the original are that the battery, oil filter
and tires have been replaced. It has black vinyl interior, AM/FM radio, rear defogger, floor mats, door
edge guards, and swingouts. The windows have also been tinted, and as a result, the dash bezel is
bright and shiny. The woman wants $20k for the car according to the Craigslist ad..

Belongs to John Stultz of Lake City, CO as of August, 2003, and February of 2012.

According to a sign‐in sheet of the Northeast Ohio Twincammers circa 1980, this car belonged to Chris
Chandler of 4755 Logan Arms Drive, Youngstown, OH 44505.

According to Robert Bowen’s January, 1978 Registry, this car then belonged to Christopher C. Chandler,
4755 Logan Arms Dr., Youngstown, OH 44505.

Currently owned Richard Morris, who just said in an email "I’ve owned the Cosworth for 35 years. I bought it from a dealer in Cleveland, OH back then. As far as I know, I am only the second owner. I went back and checked… I first joined CVOA back in 1980!

Part of Chris Wheaton’s Registry

Part of Chris Wheaton’s Registry

Listed for sale as a “parts only” car in Tim’s newsletter in March of 96. Black/black vinyl. David
Slaughter, Porter TX.

Offered in the spring1 1995 Region 12 newsletter by owner David Slaughter of Porter TX as a black/black
vinyl parts only car. 713 354‐7456.