The Real “Silver Bullet” – 2007 Woodward Cruise
As I was walking down Woodward Ave it was impossible to miss the Chrysler show at 13 mile. Chrysler hand picked the cars to help show off the new Challenger. Hemi fans were in HEAVEN, but there was one car that caught my eye. Here’s the banner that stood overhead:
Looks interesting, so I talked to Harold Sullivan, the owner. He told me the car’s history. Way back when, this 1968 Plymouth Belvedere GTX was a 440 car doing R&D duty for Chrysler. Not leaving well enough alone, the car was fitted with a 487 ci Hemi with extremely rare A-990 aluminum heads by the infamous Jimmy Addison. Jimmy was known to be a good driver and a street racer, but most importantly, an innovator. He drove this legitimate 10 second beast on the street using tricks like four Cadillac mufflers to keep things quiet. As the “King” of Woodward Ave. Harold claims the car was never beaten. Here’s the car at the Chrysler display:
So I continued my walk down Woodward where I found, “The Original Bullet” 1967 Plymouth Belvedere GTX. Here’s what I saw:
Right down to the American flags, Manuel Karcho built “The Original Bullet” that had terrorized Woodward with Jimmy Addison behind the wheel. So, I had to ask… Here’s the story Manuel told me:
Many years ago, somewhere around 1975, a friend that didn’t know much about cars sold Manuel the powertrain for another project he had going. That project stalled, so the big Hemi sat in storage. The Woodward Cruise started and the legend of the Silver Bullet grew until Manuel heard about it and about how much money the car was making in promotions. Manuel then approached Harold and told him about the Hemi he had and said that if you want EVERYTHING, just as it was, you need the engine I have. According to Manuel, Harold brushed him off and was pretty rude. A new project, Manuel’s Bullet, was born from that conversation. Manuel’s 67 GTX is built as a replica of the car he stripped for the engine years ago.
Here’s what I heard from Manuel: I have the original Engine from the Bullet built by Jimmy Addison in my car making it the twin of Harold’s car. To be sure, Manuel told me about a compression dropping trick found on the Hemi using an allen screw. Jimmy was tricky! Manuel told me that Harold’s car is the original body.
Here’s what I heard from Harold: “I have the original car.” Harold says he’s got everything just as it was and that Manuel “claims to have one of the original engines.” Further more, the car was NEVER beaten in a street race at Woodward.
I also heard: Rob Jones from Florida did some work on Harold’s Bullet and confirms it’s NOT the original engine. I also heard from passer-by’s that Larry Turner and a Camaro driven by Steve Mare had beaten Jimmy’s Silver Bullet. It seemed like everyone who walked by had something to say about the Silver Bullet!
So what do you think? What makes the car “real”? Somebody’s not telling the whole truth. Anybody got any proof?
Thanks for reading my blog. Please find this blog and others and all the cars and bikes you can handle at MyRideisMe.com starting in September.
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True, not true, fact, fiction, legend, Only Jimmy and maybe I know.
I have heard many stories…
yes I have a comment, it is intersting how the car was available in 75 ???
I owned the silver bullet from approx. 1975- 82ish. Aside from many photos I have when I owned it, my name was entered to the Secratary of State and when I did this, the original name on the title before I transfered it to me was J. Addison. This can be obviously verified by the current owner H.Sullivan. I purchesed the car from Darious Ball of Hazel Park who was running the car at least 1-2 years before I bought it. The car at that time was painted corvette white and if anyone would like to see pictures feel free to contact me.
As to the motor, there would be no proof of original oqwnership due to the fact that serial numbers were never recorded and since the car came with a 440 originally it would only be at best speculative. Regards , M.Stevens
Hmmmm. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. A REAL Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible would be the car with the VIN and Broadcast sheet and TITLE of a REAL Hemi ‘Cuda Convertible. Original numbers matching block or not.
Similarly, the REAL Silver Bullet is the one with the ORIGINAL VIN number and TITLE of the car that Jimmy Addison OWNED….. NOT the engine.
Race cars blow, swap and evolve engines all the time. It’s the CAR. Besides, as I understand, the “Car” had at least 3-4 engines BEFORE it was purchased No Engine/ Trans and restored.
Where are the other blocks? The original 440? If I find one I’ll build the ORIGINAL, no REALLY the Original Silver Bullet!!!!
Nothing much to say about the history and what not of the car but as as i was taking my normal walk of the woodward cruise aside from sitting at duggans irish pub with the owner and one al bergler and the old 396 hemi dragsters, i noticed the bullet as i was walking down the street and i could not take my eyes off of it. i must have returned about 5 or six times just to stare. it is a beautiful car and it makes it all the better to realize the history behind it. congrats to all the previous owners and the currnet, whomever that may be. it is a beautiful machine and hopefully it always stays that way.
i agree with r.zaineb. it is the vehicle and not the engine/transmission that makes it the original. one observation, i checked my copy of the september 1971 car craft which has an article on the silver bullet and the engine doees not look like the one in manuels car. it clearly has a crossarm magnesium intake with twin holley carbs and no air filters. also the real silver bullet never had anything other than a coronet super stock hood when on duty on woodward, not the large scoop as on manuels car. but at the end of the day they are both awesome machines so lets just enjoy them while we can.
Thanks to everyone your comments about the Silver Bullet Cars. Keep’m coming!
I agree withu-305 and others… But from my interview with Manuel, he has never claimed to have THE car, only the engine. I sensed he was bitter that Harold, the owner of the other GTX, didn’t have any interest in buying what he believed was the true, original motor. Having that, Manuel would never have made any claims about the authenticity of Harold’s Silver Bullet.
In the end, they’re both wild rides with a great story to tell. That’s what MyRideisMe.com is all about!
The real SILVER BULLET…
Fascinated by the this glimmering and nasty looking 67 GTX at the Detroit Autorama in 2002 with an audacious claim of invincibility on a sign next to it, I tracked it down to it’s excellent home in Harold Sullivan;s stable of mighty Mopars. I speculated to Harold that any car that had never been beaten must have a hell of a story behind it. He affirmed that to indeed to be the case and supplied me with a list of names and sources to confirm the claim.
After five years of intensive interviews, including several with Jimmy Addison, Ted Spehar, Darris Ball, Tom Hoover and Paul Schram, I can heartily confirm the fact that Harold Sullivan’s version is the real deal.
As for Manuel…
Jimmy Addison’s last comment on the subject was simply this:
“He doesn’t have what he thinks he has.”
End of story.
PFS
I saw this car back in the day when it was brought to Toledo, Oh to race my friend’s (Trigger Smith’s)) big-block Camaro. Addison showed up (with several other trailerd Detroit cars in tow) in an immacualate shortbed Dodge pickup pulling a new black Bock Dragstar trailer…..alll on Cragar S/S wheels. The cops broke up the race before it could happen. I talked to Addison about this at Carlisle in 1997 and he remembered it well. Harold Sullivan has the genuine Bullet. Manuel has one of the (maybe the last ) real engines…..possibly the engine I saw in the car in Toledo. The car in Toledo had the newly added dual Holley 4500’s with the IR (individual runner) intake and the John Bauman boundary layer bleedoff hoodscoop. It also had the front Cragar Super Tricks……all the same week that Sox and Martin got them.
ME AND THE FELLAS HERE AT STREETLIFE APPRECIATE THIS CAR AND ANY ONE LIKE IT.THANKS FOR THE HISTORY ON IT .WE ALL HAVE STREET CARS THAT ARE USED IN THE SAME FASHION.THE STREETS……YOU DONT KNOW WHERE YOUR GOING UNLESS YOU KNOW WHERE YOU BEEN.
I bet Jim Wangers is still having nightmares over losing to this car. lol…
Rob,
Could you tell me what you know about the race between Jimmy Addison in the Silver Bullet and Frankie Ulbrick in the Black Bird. I have heard one story from Rick Dyer, from CARS. Inc. That the Frankie leaped out in the lead and every time Frankie shifted he pulled a liitle more on Jimmy. Frankie felt that Jimmy caught him at the high end a few feet before the finish line. Rick claims Jimmy “lenghtened” the finish line. Where you there?
Thank you in advance
Eric
Dr. Schiffer,
I wasn’t there. I was referring to a mopar magazine article written several years ago. I wish I could have been in attendance.
I once emailed Jim Wangers regarding a race he had had against the Silver Bullet. He seemed elusive in that he neither confirmed nor denied the outcome of the race. I can only leave it to you to draw any potential conclusions from that communication. ;)
Fact Mike Mcgurie beat the bullet with a 69 Camaro. Dick Arons, Jim Wangers.and many others know this. 7 some years ago I asked Jimmy Addison in front of Harold Sulivan AND Galen Govier. Jimmy said Mike beat the bullet a few times. Larry Turner and Steve Mair never had a car together. Larry Turner had a Hemi Roadrunner named Vanishing Point that ran Low 11s threw mufflers. Steve Mair had a 72 Camaro that ran 10.60s Threw only 2 mufflers and it had only 1 4bbl carb.
I dont understand why this “never been beat” contiues to this day.
Every car gets beat or you aint racing
As mopar lover and a scale model builder.Ive been looking for complete photos of this legend for some 12 years.this car will always remian a legend,aslong as we the street racer talk and compare it to all street racers past and present.I found this car just surfing the web for photos for my model projects.This car has also been at the chrysler musem,and to answer the question over who has the real car vin numbers from chrysler.even if car was never titled by chrysler they still have it on production records.
Thanks for your comment Daniel. I think the question of “real” car is more of a spiritual question now. Is it the engine or the body that makes a car real? Or is it both? Harold has the real body, even Manuel admits that. The question is who’s got the original engine or do they both have an engine that Jimmy Addison used? It’s a cool story and one of the first I wrote, so I’ll always like it. If you want me to send a higher resolution picture, let me know.
Pikesan
I wonder if the car I saw at Barret Jackson in Palm Beach Fl was the real one
it was displayed with new Chrysler cars inside about 3 0r 4 years ago
I am an old street racer from Connecticut / Berlin turnpike Newington McDonalds
In 1968 I was running a medium blue 1964 Plymouth Belvedere it had a 68 dodge charger engine 440 / 375 horse / hemi 4 speed box / 4:56 8/34 rear
racer brown cam / headwork / the big hooker adjustable headers / edelbrock intake and a 850 holley double pumper. It ran low 12’s with a hurst super shifter and linleock . It was a real sleeper. Would love to have that car back today. Those were the days I really enjoyed the story about the Silver Bullet.
People back in Ct had heard about its legend as the ruler of Woodward AVe.
Hey Tom, Thanks for the insight. It’s wild that a car owned by a regular guy could be become known enough to cross state lines. that’s legend! Got any pictures of your old Plymouth? Put those with a tale from the good old days and we’ve got another great story!
Got a question, hope someone has an answer.
Was Bob Seger’s Band named after this car?
I remember those days racing on Woodward & Gratiot Ave in the 60′ and 70’s. I got my first car in 67 (55Chevy) and would drive down and park and watch them race. I sometimes would see the Police parked watching if it was a important race. I saw a 56 Volvo PV444 with a 327 and huge slicks blowing everyone away one night. There were a lot of awesome cars back then.
For all the people commenting on this post: Thank you! It’s great to have a story posted with so much meaning to all of you. There’s nothing like bringing back a great memory, right!? Thank you very much. -pikesan
The story we had heard was that Manual had approached Sullivan about the engine and had wanted some outrageous price for it and that was why Sullivan was the way he was with him as far as being rude. Don’t know just a story we had heard….
I ran Woodward from 1967-1974 when I left for greener shores in Newport Beach, CA. My first car was a 1965 Malibu SS 327/365, M-21 4-speed. I bought a factory fresh 68 SS 396/375 M-22 3:70.posi. This Chevelle stayed dead even with Addison and was insanely fast for a car I had just picked up in Pottstown, PA. I bought all my gas at the Sunoco on 14 mile & Woodward and met Jimmy several times, he was a die hard Mopar guy and I was a Chevy cat. He worked on my Chevelle only because I had the fastest car on Woodward in 1968. I later took that car to Motion/Baldwin performance guys in New York and they made it a 10.5 second street machine. I know Larry Turner and Steve Lisk very well at that time.
Rod Shipley, Seger’s band name came from their manager. The band couldn’t decide on a name and the manager had a check for them so he put Silver Bullet on the check. I always thought it was his way of telling the band they were a pain in the AZZ! :)