Legendary Classic Cars: The Billy Gibbons’ 1933 Ford “Eliminator” (2024)

What is the Eliminator? If you have to ask that, you’re probably not a fan of Rock n’ Roll. The thing about the Eliminator, though, is that you don't have to be a groupie to be at least familiar with one of the most famous hotrods ever created; its name, Eliminator.

In fact, this special 1933 Ford Coupe is so famous and legendary that just about every millennial, and a sizeable chunk of Gen-Z Americans, at least know about it. Both generational cohorts have one of two things in common; either love of rock music or hot-rodding or both. After all, this whole story is centered on the famous guitarist and frontman of the ZZ Top rock band with a shameless love for cars.

Nothing surprising at all here, as many rock stars are very much in tune (pun intended) with the automobile world. The man in question, Billy Fredrick Gibbons, has no rival (in the music industry, we mean) in collecting cars, including the 1948 Cadillac 'CadZZilla' Series 62, 1932 Highboy Ford, and the most famous of them the 1933 Ford 'Eliminator' Coupe, the object of our fascination here.

Related: The Car Masters Crew Build A Delahaye-Styled 1933 Ford Replica

A Brief Overview Of The Billy Gibbons Eliminator

As stated earlier, many rock stars are hotrodders too, but Billy Gibbons is easily the best-known headbanger hotrodder. Rock is like blues on steroids, while hotrods are literally antiques injected with horsepower.

At least, that was the exclusive definition of hotrods until the '60s muscle cars expanded the concept. Thus, any car customized for performance and speed could be correctly termed a hotrod. Anyway, things were much clearer in the '80s when Gibbons had Don Thelan of Buffalo Motor Cars build him a chopped 1933 Ford Coupe that would soon become the famous Eliminator. If you thought this car is all the raves only because of its famous owner, you're wrong.

Underneath was a straightforward Pete and Jake's chassis with a dropped tube axle and four-bar suspen­sion up front and a Ford nine-inch out back. Yes, you read that right. Billy Gibbon’s most famous hotrod was built on Pete and Jake’s classic coupe’s custom chassis using a true steel 1933 Ford instead of a fiberglass replica. In fact, Billy enlisted the help of Pete from Pete and Jake to create the Eliminator.

Along with the fame that comes from appearing in music videos and album covers, the Eliminator had many other noteworthy features. They include the classic 1939 Ford teardrop taillights offset by 1934 Ford headlights, a 3-inch chopping on the top, a Steve Davis-built custom 3-piece hood, and most notably, the Kenny Youngblood-designed iconic red paint scheme with custom "ZZ" graphics.

You remember what we said about ZZ, right? It’s part of the name of Billy Gibbon’s band, ZZ Tops. Here’s a fun fact. The original idea was to call themselves “ZZ King” in honor of B.B King, but eventually thought it sounded too similar to the name of the iconic American songwriter and guitarist that made his first record in 1949. So, they went with ZZ Tops instead because, after all, Tops and King are essentially saying the same thing.

When you pop the Eliminator’s hood, you’re greeted by a So-Cal Speed Shop-built SBC 350ci V8 with a single four-barrel carburetor. The engine was tied to a Turbo 350 transmission for improved reliability. Yes, the classic Eliminator wasn’t just for public display. It was a road-going car built for speed and power. Admittedly though, Billy Gibbon's Eliminator did a lot of "show" business. The car helped set the MO of modern music videos. Why, while music bands struggled to come up with concepts, ZZ Tops made good by featuring the big three; women, cars, and rock n roll.

The strategy paid off big time, and the method has endured in the music business till today. As for the Eliminator, it was ZZ Tops poster child appearing in songs like Gimme All Your Lovin, Legs, and Sharp Dressed Man. That’s all good for music fans but what gearheads care more about is if the Eliminator got driven – a lot.

It was!

See Also

The ZZ Top Eliminator — The Story Behind the Band’s Iconic Hot Rod Car

It’s well known that Gibbons in his Eliminator and The California Kid’s Chapouris and Jake from Pete & Jake’s cruised Sunset Boulevard together for Eliminator’s “maiden voyage.” Sometime later, with video vixens Kymberly Herrin and Allison Ohnstede tagging along, Billy drove the car on a 10-day cross-country trip from L.A. to New York.

For us, though, the best thing about the Billy Gibbons' 1933 Ford Eliminator is how it gave birth to a new era of radical hotrods that may have been anathema to the mainstream custom car world but yet admired and respected by enthusiasts from both spectrums. In fact, some might argue that Gibbon’s unique 1933 Ford saved the hotrod culture from death and helped pave the way for the piping-hot hotrod industry we know and enjoy today.

Where Is Billy Gibbons’ 1933 Ford Eliminator, And How Much Is It Worth?

You can go ogle the original Billy Gibbons’ Eliminator where it resides at the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The interesting thing is that when you get there as a gearhead, you may “rub shoulders” with other visitors who may not share your level of love of cars but share your passion for music. The car still belongs to Billy Gibbons, although he commissioned a clone of the original Eliminator to help meet the demand for appearance requests.

Besides that, the classic car market is flooded with clones of the Eliminator, so it shouldn’t matter too much if you never saw the original thing, but you and I know that’s just not the case. We’ve got to see the original Eliminator at Cleveland.

The Eliminator is a legendary classic car, and there's only one of it in the world despite the many clones. While it lives at the RockHall, its economic value depends on how much a discerning buyer is willing to pay for it. Meanwhile, a 1933 Ford Coupe can be had at reputable classic car dealers at an average price of $60,000, although some have sold for as much as $265,000.