Bill Kolb Jr. - 1960s Poster Boy for Ford's Total Performance

in Legends Lost
Last Updated: 25 December 2021

Bill Kolb Jr., best remembered for "The 1960 poster for Ford's Total Performance and Win on Sunday; Sell on Monday" marketing concepts, passed away quietly at home, on Friday, December 3, 2021.  His close friends often called him "Mr. Monday!"

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie

    Representing Larsen Ford

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - With Mr. Larsen and '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie
    Bill Kolb Jr. - With Mr. Larsen and '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie Rear
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '63 427 Lightweight Galaxie Rear

    Representing Larsen Ford

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '64 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '64 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt

    Representing Larsen Ford

  • Bill Kolb Jr. and John Sachs - In front of Larsen Ford Thunderbolt
    Bill Kolb Jr. and John Sachs - In front of Larsen Ford Thunderbolt
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Working at Larsen Ford
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Working at Larsen Ford
  • Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1958 Corvette with 390 engine bored out to 402 and three-speed manual
    Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1958 Corvette with 390 engine bored out to 402 and three-speed manual
  • Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1958 Corvette with no hood
    Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1958 Corvette with no hood
  • Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1965 Cobra 427 repainted white paint around radiator opening
    Bill Kolb Jr. with his 1965 Cobra 427 repainted white paint around radiator opening
  • Bill Kolb Jr - Legend Lost - 427 Shelby Cobra-Most Sales
    Bill Kolb Jr - Legend Lost - 427 Shelby Cobra-Most Sales
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '67 Ford GT40 1101 Mark III
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '67 Ford GT40 1101 Mark III

    Close up

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '67 Ford GT40 1101 Mark III
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '67 Ford GT40 1101 Mark III
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - April 67-Ford GT40 in NYC traffic
    Bill Kolb Jr. - April 67-Ford GT40 in NYC traffic
    Marty Schorr: "We ended up dodging New York City taxis, delivery trucks, and the occasional police car, and we frightened woman, children, and puppies! It was a glorious day. How Bill and I stayed out of jail that day still mystifies me. Our only real challenge was trying to pay tolls on the Triborough Bridge, since the GT40 didn’t have roll-down windows! It ended up being the cover story of the July 1967 issue of Hi-Performance CARS."
    Bill Kolb Jr.: "I'm driving on First Avenue in what was the only street version of the Ford GT-40 ever built with left-hand drive, as far as I know."
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Gotham Ford GT40 Mark III, CARS, July 1967
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Gotham Ford GT40 Mark III, CARS, July 1967
  • Bill Kolb Jr. - '06 Ford GTs-Tungsten Grey and Heritage Edition
    Bill Kolb Jr. - '06 Ford GTs-Tungsten Grey and Heritage Edition

    Marty Schorr: "...He kept his decades-old Ford Connection alive..."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Gotham Ford Ad for G.T. 500-K
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Gotham Ford Ad for G.T. 500-K

    K stood for Kolb

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with Spoilers Plus effects
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with Spoilers Plus effects

    Bll Kolb Jr.: "I did the whole thing with dealers in mind. I built the Thunderbirds that were used for three years as pace cars for Atlanta Motor Speedway."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Thunderbird Turbo Coupe-Pace Cars for Atlanta Motor Speedway
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Thunderbird Turbo Coupe-Pace Cars for Atlanta Motor Speedway

    with Spoilers Plus products

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Ford Yellow Wagon at 1966 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Ford Yellow Wagon at 1966 U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park

    Bill Kolb Jr.: "The picture on the cab roof, which you saw when the front wheels were up, was a cartoon of a guy hanging onto a ledge with a Larsen Ford T-shirt."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Little Yellow Wagon 66 NHRA Nationals
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Little Yellow Wagon 66 NHRA Nationals

    Bill Kolb Jr.: "...I crashed it about seven or eight times...Carl Larsen, told me, 'I don't want my name on this truck. I don't want anything to do with it. I'm afraid you're going to get killed. I've known you since you were a young boy."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Chevy Vega Wagon being stopped by a Police Officer in Mamaroneck
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Chevy Vega Wagon being stopped by a Police Officer in Mamaroneck

    Bill Kolb Jr.: Marty Schorr took the photo with me in the car after I was 'stopped' by a police officer in Mamaroneck, which actually used a Vega as a marked patrol car."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Chevy Vega Wagon from Hory Chevrolet in Larchmont
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Chevy Vega Wagon from Hory Chevrolet in Larchmont

    Bill Kolb Jr.: "A couple of weeks after [the photo shoot], our Vega wagon was stolen, right out of an annex up the street from the main Hory showroom. It was never seen again. We figured somebody must have shipped it out of the country."

  • Bill Kolb Jr. - Larsen Ford 1975 - 400 new cars a month on less than an acre
    Bill Kolb Jr. - Larsen Ford 1975 - 400 new cars a month on less than an acre
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Hemmings - Ford Total Performance and Shelby Promoter and Racer Bill Kolb Jr. Passes Away

Hemmings - The Man Who Moved Muscle

 

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