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| Thomas' Monza at Laguna-Seca track day Nov 25, 2011 |
It is more likely the car was built for SCCA Trans-Am racing, given that it has a Trans-Am bulkhead. A protective firewall with a window port behind the front seats separates driver from fuel cell. It didn't come with a log book or sales records, but is believed to been built by a well known road racer from Oregon in 1980.
The history of this chassis and its past ownership is a little fuzzy. Andy purchased the car from Richard Stice through Gary Eichman. Stice was owner of Ricks Hot Rods in Oregon, but only drove it on the street to local car shows. Puttering around town in a '70s muscle car with wide slicks and no power steering was probably a bit challenging.
Purportedly, the car was built by a well known racer in northern Oregon who built his own cars. The last name is thought to be St. John, but has not yet been confirmed. According to Thomas, "He made the chassis, roll cage etc. For some reason he never raced it." The car was placed in storage for a few decades before Stice got it.
Thomas continues to make restorative improvements to his Monza like a new Borg Warner Super T-10 4-speed transmission. More recently a stack type fuel injection system was added.
So far, Andy's Monza has seen on open track days with the possibly for other future events. He'd love to see a racing legend drive his beastly Monza, perhaps Greg Pickett, Willy T. Ribbs or maybe Tony Adamowicz.
