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Sun Star 1:18 1965 Pontiac GTO: Rick Holladay's 'Jolly Green Giant"

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$79.95
SKU:
1-6L6-1810
UPC:
1946600973087
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Sun Star 1:18 1965 Pontiac GTO: Rick Holladay's 'Jolly Green Giant"

Sun Star 1:18 1965 Pontiac GTO: Rick Holladay's 'Jolly Green Giant"
$79.95

This rare model is part of a collection from an estate sale 

It is No. 297 of 3000 pieces distributed worldwide

There is some shelf wear on the box

That insatiable drag racing bug chomped down on Rick Holladay in 1964. At the time Rick was a student at the University of Arizona. On a whim, he took his daily driver, a ‘64 GTO, to the local track at Tucson. Holladay was at once thrilled by the speed rush, power-shifting the four-speed transmission and making several runs that afternoon. When Class Eliminations were called Rick managed to win his B/Stock class trophy. The speed rush plus the chance of competing against other drivers proved to be a huge stimulant. That very first class win was so influential that it set in motion a drag racing obsession that would last more than half a century! With Rick Holladay the hook was set so deep that he’s been severely addicted ever since.

After college in Arizona and back home in Virginia, Rick ordered a new 389 ’65 GTO. The ’65 had even more of the famous go-fast stuff that Pontiac Division had become famous for. At the local Pontiac dealer Rick checked all the right boxes when he ordered his new GTO. Creature comfort items were ignored and high performance options were the focus.After the ordering process was complete, Rick had the car delivered not to his home in Virginia, but to Morrison, Illinois.

Loads of torque, a working chassis and good track conditions means front wheels up! Rick Holladay’s “Jolly Green Giant” GTO is known for its crowd pleasing wheelstands.

Anyone who’s a drag racing fan and a Pontiac devotee knows that Morrison is home to the first, forever Pontiac hero, Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. Beswick’s drag racing fame began in the late 1950’s, where he campaigned a massive ’58 Catalina in C/Gas class. Beswick’s day job was in agriculture, but his weekends were filled with serious quarter mile competition. The corpulent yet rapid Catalina was followed by Super Stock, A/Factory Experimental and then nitro Funny Cars, all remaining faithful to Pontiac power. Beswick’s skills as a driver and tuner earned him legendary status. Although now in his 70’s, Beswick still runs a highly modified, nitrous-oxide fueled Pontiac Tempest, the “Tameless Tiger” on the nostalgia match race circuit. “Farmer” Beswick shows he hasn’t lost his touch going deep in the seven’s at 200+ mph.

Once Beswick took delivery of Holladay’s new GTO he opened up his tool chest and bag of tricks, performing his Poncho magic to set up Holladay’s new GTO for all-out competition. Once he was finished, Beswick loaded it onto his race transporter and delivered it personally to Rick. The delivery took place at the fabled York U.S. 30 Dragway, outside York, Pennsylvania, where Beswick was appearing in a match race.

An obviously delighted Rick rolled the new car off the trailer and following a few break-in time trials, promptly won B/Stock class. No big deal, except in those days B/Stock was where all the hot GTO’s and SS-396 Chevelles fit. That meant there were always loads of fast, expertly prepared B/Stockers to run against, and it was a daunting task to win the B/S class trophy. Rick’s new “Farmered” ’65 GTO later set track records across the Southeast, took home plenty of B/Stock class trophies and several Stock Eliminator victories.

April 5, 2017


Story by Jim Hill

That insatiable drag racing bug chomped down on Rick Holladay in 1964. At the time Rick was a student at the University of Arizona. On a whim, he took his daily driver, a ‘64 GTO, to the local track at Tucson. Holladay was at once thrilled by the speed rush, power-shifting the four-speed transmission and making several runs that afternoon. When Class Eliminations were called Rick managed to win his B/Stock class trophy. The speed rush plus the chance of competing against other drivers proved to be a huge stimulant. That very first class win was so influential that it set in motion a drag racing obsession that would last more than half a century! With Rick Holladay the hook was set so deep that he’s been severely addicted ever since.

After college in Arizona and back home in Virginia, Rick ordered a new 389 ’65 GTO. The ’65 had even more of the famous go-fast stuff that Pontiac Division had become famous for. At the local Pontiac dealer Rick checked all the right boxes when he ordered his new GTO. Creature comfort items were ignored and high performance options were the focus.After the ordering process was complete, Rick had the car delivered not to his home in Virginia, but to Morrison, Illinois.

 

Loads of torque, a working chassis and good track conditions means front wheels up! Rick Holladay’s “Jolly Green Giant” GTO is known for its crowd pleasing wheelstands.

Anyone who’s a drag racing fan and a Pontiac devotee knows that Morrison is home to the first, forever Pontiac hero, Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. Beswick’s drag racing fame began in the late 1950’s, where he campaigned a massive ’58 Catalina in C/Gas class. Beswick’s day job was in agriculture, but his weekends were filled with serious quarter mile competition. The corpulent yet rapid Catalina was followed by Super Stock, A/Factory Experimental and then nitro Funny Cars, all remaining faithful to Pontiac power. Beswick’s skills as a driver and tuner earned him legendary status. Although now in his 70’s, Beswick still runs a highly modified, nitrous-oxide fueled Pontiac Tempest, the “Tameless Tiger” on the nostalgia match race circuit. “Farmer” Beswick shows he hasn’t lost his touch going deep in the seven’s at 200+ mph.

Once Beswick took delivery of Holladay’s new GTO he opened up his tool chest and bag of tricks, performing his Poncho magic to set up Holladay’s new GTO for all-out competition. Once he was finished, Beswick loaded it onto his race transporter and delivered it personally to Rick. The delivery took place at the fabled York U.S. 30 Dragway, outside York, Pennsylvania, where Beswick was appearing in a match race.

An obviously delighted Rick rolled the new car off the trailer and following a few break-in time trials, promptly won B/Stock class. No big deal, except in those days B/Stock was where all the hot GTO’s and SS-396 Chevelles fit. That meant there were always loads of fast, expertly prepared B/Stockers to run against, and it was a daunting task to win the B/S class trophy. Rick’s new “Farmered” ’65 GTO later set track records across the Southeast, took home plenty of B/Stock class trophies and several Stock Eliminator victories.

 

Besides being the subject of a 60’s “hot rod song”, (“Little GTO”) Pontiac’s 389 cubic inch V-8 engines could be ordered in a high performance package with “…three deuces”, three two-barrel carburetors and a more radically timed camshaft.

Holladay’s next ride was just a little bit faster… in fact, it was a bunch faster, and quicker. Although Rick’s loyalty to Pontiac was strong, he knew that a much faster ride could only be had by switching brand preferences. Rick exercised this option by buying one of Chrysler’s original killer muscle cars, a ’64 Plymouth Belvedere 426 Hemi. That meant a factory engineered and built race car equipped with two four-barrel Holley carburetors, the storied A-990 option with the cross-ram intake manifold. The car also carried an aluminum front end and other lightweight components. Inside the glovebox was the factory delivery paperwork, which made the point of formally noting that the car was intended strictly for off-road, acceleration racing competition. The anticipated hard use and abuses of racing also eliminated Chrysler’s famous “Five Years or Fifty Thousand Miles” Factory Warranty! That was a disclaimer ignored by purchasers, as they knew full well that the limited mileage would be spent under wide-open-throttle conditions.

 

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