The early-'50s, which were the formative years for the fiberglass industry, saw kit car manufacturers in the forefront of development. One of the pioneering efforts was the Rockefeller Yankee, a unique 'glass job that was sold in kit, turnkey, and turnkey-minus form. Not many were sold, but the technology developed for the project proved invaluable when the first Corvette went into production one year later.
The Rockefeller was the brainchild of two New York entrepreneurs, auto repair shop owner Jim Rockefeller and sports car salesman Warren Shiber. Rockefeller was a distant relative to the famed millionaires. He hoped to convince his wealthy heirs to back the new venture. Shiber had been a salesman at J.S. Inskip, one of the primary importers of European sports cars into the U.S. Shiber saw a slot in the sports car market and in 1952 convinced Rockefeller to form the Rockefeller Sports Car Corporation.
The concept that Shiber and Rockefeller agreed upon was to produce a sports car with room for five adults that could be sold for less than $2,900, ready to roll. To avoid the mechanical gremlins inherent with complex foreign sports jobs of the era, readily available Ford running gear would be used. By keeping the weight around 2,000 pounds, the new model, named the Rockefeller Yankee, would be quick enough to be fun. Plus, there was already a healthy aftermarket speed parts industry brimming with Ford parts for those afflicted with a severe need for speed.
Rockefeller based the new car on a one-off custom sports car he and shop partner Bill Turk had built in 1951. It had used a cut-down Ford frame, a Ford V8-60 engine, and body panels cut down from standard 1949 Ford sedan parts. It wasn't exactly an aesthetic success, but it gave the new team a starting point for development. For the production version, the body material was changed to the new miracle material: fiberglass.
Shiber and Rockefeller designed the body and built a mock-up by layering modeling plaster over a chicken wire form. Production of the molds and body panels was passed on to Lunn Laminates on Long Island due to space limitations at the Rockefeller "factory" (a two-car garage). It was the first time Lunn, a military contractor, had made automobile body panels, but it would not be the last. They were soon called in to help with the new Corvette, and the lessons learned on the Yankee project helped guide them along. For the Yankee, Lunn was concerned about the strength of the panels. The first body was extra thick (and way heavy). It was a learning process for everyone. The body was molded in five main sections plus the floor, with the body color being impregnated into the fiberglass. A small repair kit was included with each car.
The grille opening and overall shape resembled two prestigious contemporary Aston Martins, the DB-2 street model and the DB-3 racing car. A tubular grille was used on the prototype, but Shiber intended to offer other grille shapes according to the customers' tastes. The suicide doors were hung on external MG hinges, with a simple V-shaped windshield fitted to the top of the cowl. The prototype Yankee was painted bright yellow and featured a lightweight tube frame with Ford suspension.
Jim Rockefeller and Shiber had differing opinions about the direction the project was taking before any production models were built. Rockefeller wanted a high-end product with a special tubular chassis like the prototype had. But the extra cost was sure to push the price of the car over $3,500-out of the range of the potential customers that Shiber wanted to reach. Since he had been unable to talk his family members into backing the project, Rockefeller bowed out (on friendly terms) even though his name continued to be used for the company. Shiber added upholsterer Skip Maynard and mechanics Al Cooper and James Applegate to the team.