The “Boppin’ Bear” is actually a tribute to another 1964 Pontiac racecar that the original constructor knew from his youth at the Vargo (Pennsylvania) Dragway. It was there that he spotted the original Bear. When the opportunity to purchase the original car came about a few years later, the car was thoroughly “thrashed,” so he passed on it and forgot about the car for 10-plus years while he got on with his life and family. When drag racing re-entered his life, he decided to construct a replica and sought out the original Bear owner (Al Balis) and driver (Larry Payne) to assist him with the details in bringing a similar car to life.

The Boppin’ Bear is built from a 1964 Pontiac GTO Sport Coupe. With Pontiac, the non-post cars were designated as Hardtop(s). Equipped with a Pontiac 455-cid V-8 engine that is bored .030 over with H.O. heads and an original 1963 Pontiac aluminum “Super-Duty” 2x4 intake manifold that was sourced from racing legend Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. The car also carries a very rare Brand X hood scoop. The car also exhibits Mickey Thompson magnesium front wheels, aluminum front drum brakes, Dana rear end, Doug Nash four-speed manual transmission, in-dash tachometer, vintage Stewart-Warner accessory gauges, four-spoke steering wheel and more. The car has been successfully campaigned on the vintage drag racing circuit and has been consistently timed in the low 10 second range. There was an article in the December 1994 issue of High Performance Pontiac that covers this particular car and its origins and accomplishments. The Boppin’ Bear was formerly part of the Bill Bartels collection.