[QUOTE=rogue;252392]His shop was first opened in 1968 named Guldstrand engineering in the infamous "Thunder Alley." Thunder Alley was originally an alley off Jefferson Blvd. in Culver City. Don't quote me on it but I think they moved to Burbank in the 90s.

I first discovered their shop getting some racing gloves and shopping for seats for the camaro. The safety and motorsports shop Werks 2 is next door to Guldstrand. I knew he was a legend and I was shocked to look over and see him in the shop, in a lab coat, still wrenching on cars. Awesome, it was right then I decided to have them rework my subframe and keep my car semi-traditional. Having someone like him put his stamp of approval on a car is worth more than any performance mod. I think its great he still loves being in the shop every day and dealing with the customers. He's a real firecracker. Wish I could get him out to a track day for some driving lessons and I'd even let him flog my car. It'd be awesome.

Considering he was the one that pioneered the suspension changes of the first gen camaros for the Penske Trans Am cars, I'd say hes the grandfather of everything we're doing today. Making muscle cars perform like they should!



Have you considered inviting him out for the day? I imagine being such a "star" in the industry he has a lot of hreat info and stories. But sometimes people get almost "afraid" to aproach guys like him. Maybe "star struck"?
Not saying you are at all, but i wonder how long it has been since someone simply asked him to go with for the day. If you get him in your car on the track I bet you get some priceless info. Not to mention a once in a lifetime chance that most of us will never have. I say invite him out to a track day. What do you have to loose?:cheers:

that was the car that originally made me want to put a cool suspension under my '69 Camaro but back then I didn't have much money or enough knowledge, and the parts weren't readily available like they are today.

I still managed a updated WS6 steering box, a 'huge' one inch front swaybar:lol: , Koni adjustables, solid tie-rod sleeves and custom wound springs from Gulstrand. problem was that, after paint, I was never able to afford decent rims and tires so the car never did perform to it's potential

I had to bump this thread to give honorable mention to Don Chemello's Nova dubbed "The Flying Brick". :hail:

One first needs to decide what pro-touring is? :beathorse

wasnt that car for sale not to long ago^?

i would say ty woodall's radrides built camaro is the first one i would say .

Don sold it to an engineer at Edelbrock a number of years ago. I am trying to get them to break it out for this year's SoCal Novas BBQ. :yes:

Craig, do you remember Chris Bondy's 67 Convertible from back in the Renton Honest Performance days? Fat tires, looooow (for the time) stance, road-face style cage...this was 20+ years ago. It was the first car like that I remember. I had big'n little Centerlines at the time....
Tim

I DO NOT count the race car Big Red as a Pro Touring car. There were cars before the Mule. But no doubt Mark Stielow and the Mules 100 pages in PHR month after month created the biggest Pro Touring buzz. I might be mistaken, but I think that is the first mainstream high circulation magazine to cover a project NOT owned by the magazine from start to finish like that. I know I subscribed and read each article with excitement.

I had people calling me asking if I had seen this project (the Mule) and asking me to build them one. I was in my first retirement at that time. I had built some G machine stuff but all with bolt ons and nothing to that level. He is still my hero!

Rouge!!!!
 

I'm with you on your first post!