THE STORY OF THE BEARCAT AND THE E-CLASS
In the early spring of 1978 I came across a Blakely Auto Works advertisement in Popular Mechanics magazine. I was surprised to see that they were located at 203 Pacific Street in Davis Junction, Illinois, a town of about 400, located 25 miles from our home in Oregon. I was curious about why a company building cars was located in Davis Junction, but more curious about the Bearcat pictured in the advertisement. The ad said that the Bearcat was a car anyone with a few basic skills could build. Within a few days I had convinced my wife that we should drive over to Davis Junction to see the car. When we arrived the shop door was open and a white Bearcat, complete with a fiberglass top, was looking out at us, snarling at us, challenging us to pull into the driveway. We approached the car and were welcomed by Art Herschberger and Denny Myelle. After a quick review of the features of the car, Art was eager to have us take it for a drive. During the drive, I soon knew that I was hooked. In a matter of days I had placed an order for our very own new, white, Blakely Bearcat.
(Trivia: Only three white Bearcats are believed to have been produced.)
We were fortunate to locate a Ford Pinto 'donor' car with low mileage and minimal damage. A few weeks later we took delivery of the collection of Bearcat pieces necessary to complete the car. The build process was well thought out and the manual was great. In a matter of weeks I had completed the car, titled it and we were street-legal! The Bearcat was a special car that I drove daily for over 5 years covering 13,500 miles in all kinds of weather, without incident.
(Trivia: Only three white Bearcats are believed to have been produced.)
We were fortunate to locate a Ford Pinto 'donor' car with low mileage and minimal damage. A few weeks later we took delivery of the collection of Bearcat pieces necessary to complete the car. The build process was well thought out and the manual was great. In a matter of weeks I had completed the car, titled it and we were street-legal! The Bearcat was a special car that I drove daily for over 5 years covering 13,500 miles in all kinds of weather, without incident.
About the time I first saw a Blakely Bearcat, Dick was leaving Blakely Auto Works to help Seth Atwood, President of Atwood Consolidated Industries in Rockford, develop a three wheel commuter car. Dick's agreement also allowed him to work on a new car of his own design, called the Baron, in the Atwood facilities. By the Spring of 1981 most of the work Dick and his Blakely Design team had been doing on the 'Ceres', was completed. Dick and his team then moved the Baron project to a new shop in Machesney Park, just North of Rockford.
The Baron 'mule'.
By the Summer of that year the final shape of the Baron had evolved. Tom Stone joined me for our regular weekly trips from Oregon to Machesney Park as work began on the Baron chassis. We all participated in driving the test 'mule', a no-frills vehicle, through difficult terrain at high speeds to see if anything would break. Dicks' engineering expertise and prior experience building the Bearcat frame, which was able to withstand the rigor of the race track, proved helpful as his plan for a more robust, 4"x4" square steel perimeter frame for the Baron began to take shape. The goal was to build the Baron with perfect.50/50 balance by mounting the small-block Chevy engine and transmission 22" back from its normal relationship to the front suspension. The fiberglass interior 'bucket' was also in development as we prepared to assemble the first Baron. By the Fall of 1981 the #1 Baron was licensed and ready for street testing. In the meantime the #2 Baron body was completed and a chassis for that car was under construction.
We took delivery of the #3 Baron body in January of '82 hauling it to Oregon in the midst of a serious snowstorm. Tom and I began work on the frame immediately. I was able to find a small-block Chevy 305 complete with transmission, drive train and front frame and suspension from a '77 Monte Carlo. Rear suspension components from a '78 Malibu were also found. Other parts came from a variety of sources including a Chevy Monza, Ford Pinto, Chrysler K-car and others. The greatest contributions we made to the chassis during this period was the construction of an all steel cowl/dash/windshield frame structure welded directly to the perimeter frame.
In the Fall of 1982, with my job change, we relocated to Rockford moving our project to a new shop on Spring Creek Road where the new "E-Class" would ultimately be completed. In the Fall of 1984 Dick Blakely stopped by our new shop and offered to help complete the car. By the Summer of 1984 Dick and I had redesigned the Baron body making extensive changes to the front fenders, hood, doors and windshield. We developed front and rear bumpers for increased safety. They also allowed us to incorporate most of the exterior lighting into the overall design of the car. We engineered a folding convertible top and added air conditioning, electric windows with safety glass, a flush fuel filler door and flush door handles. Wilfred Bell, who had produced the upholstery for all of the early Bantams and Bearcats, moved his sewing machine to our shop where he completed all of the leather and fabric work on our car. In June of 1985 I gave Dick permission to move the E-Class, and all of its unique fiberglass components, to a barn at Denny Myelle's residence near Rockford where he built a complete set of molds necessary to produce other Blakely E-Class cars.
The Blakely E-Class is the last car designed by my friend Dick Blakely. It was titled and became street legal in October of 1987.
Larry Emmons
On the 9th of June, 1985 Larry Emmons and Richard Blakely entered into an agreement recognizing the Blakely E-Class prototype as the sole and undisputed property of Larry Emmons, and that Richard Blakely would be allowed to produce molds of the Blakely E-Class body parts for personal use or sale, and that a royalty would be paid by Blakely to Emmons for bodies produced from the molds. The molds were used once to produce a car for Dick's personal use. No other bodies are known to have been produced. The location of Dick's Blakely E-Class is currently unknown.
In the Fall of 1982, with my job change, we relocated to Rockford moving our project to a new shop on Spring Creek Road where the new "E-Class" would ultimately be completed. In the Fall of 1984 Dick Blakely stopped by our new shop and offered to help complete the car. By the Summer of 1984 Dick and I had redesigned the Baron body making extensive changes to the front fenders, hood, doors and windshield. We developed front and rear bumpers for increased safety. They also allowed us to incorporate most of the exterior lighting into the overall design of the car. We engineered a folding convertible top and added air conditioning, electric windows with safety glass, a flush fuel filler door and flush door handles. Wilfred Bell, who had produced the upholstery for all of the early Bantams and Bearcats, moved his sewing machine to our shop where he completed all of the leather and fabric work on our car. In June of 1985 I gave Dick permission to move the E-Class, and all of its unique fiberglass components, to a barn at Denny Myelle's residence near Rockford where he built a complete set of molds necessary to produce other Blakely E-Class cars.
The Blakely E-Class is the last car designed by my friend Dick Blakely. It was titled and became street legal in October of 1987.
Larry Emmons
On the 9th of June, 1985 Larry Emmons and Richard Blakely entered into an agreement recognizing the Blakely E-Class prototype as the sole and undisputed property of Larry Emmons, and that Richard Blakely would be allowed to produce molds of the Blakely E-Class body parts for personal use or sale, and that a royalty would be paid by Blakely to Emmons for bodies produced from the molds. The molds were used once to produce a car for Dick's personal use. No other bodies are known to have been produced. The location of Dick's Blakely E-Class is currently unknown.
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