So, Who started Pro Touring?
 

So earlier this week I was down at Ironworks and Rodger and I got talking about 69 Camaro's and the whole Pro Touring movement. Something was said about who started it and what car really set the stage. The first car that I saw that just left a huge imprint in my head was a 69 Camaro built by Freeland Tanner that I saw at the Oakland Roadster show back in 1980. I did some digging the net around and was able to find these pics I thought I would share. Now remember this car was built 30 yrs ago. Love it or hate it - this guy was way ahead of the curve IMO.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2583301

I believe the credit is generally given to the "Big red camaro". http://www.bigredcamaro.com/newsite/mainpage.html

Tony Huntimer (hope I spelled it right) from up north @ speed merchants was the first guy I ever saw doing this... Not to say he was THE first, just the first I know of.

Big Red was also, WAY ahead of it's time...


Jason

That Phase 1 Camaro is still a pretty cool car. Lots of work in that body. With a few updates (first would be the colors for me) it would be a nice ride.
For me it would have to be Big Red. That's the first PT car I remember ever seeing that actually performed as good as it looked.

Mule is what turned me on to PT!!!

John

If Big red started pro-touring, then a LOT of people building 'pro-touring' cars have it real wrong... Luxury leather seats, sound systems, ac, Xenon Headlamps..... 150k luxury lexus style muscle cars.

I'm not sure what pro-touring is any more.

But Big red is more of a full bred racecar and would be more of a streetfighter if anything.

I don't know but I'd like to sock him right in the mouth.

1966... Dick Guldstrand... along with Dana Chevrolet and a few other cats in the LA basin. Although... Dick shoulud actually be credited with its roots in the late 50's with the Corvette.

Im pretty sure I started it.:captain:

Me to....That guy owe me money! :lol:

The first car to stand out to me was an Aussie car back in 1992 made me change my thoughts on what a Street Machine should be like.
Its probably the only Aussie car i trully admire :_paranoid lol
Check it out,very impressive and look at what he spent in 1992

http://www.litre8.com/
http://www.litre8.com/main_body.html#Rolling%20Stock:
Website needs some fine tuning though:rolleyes:

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t47/EV427/TRana.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t47/EV427/TRana1.jpg
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t47/EV427/TRana2.jpg

For me, it was without a doubt, Big Red.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:hail: :cheers:

For me El Mule! I know it wasn't the first PT car....but for me it was the one that changed my life!! :lol:

From what I've read, most people will credit Big Red or Mark Steilow's First One Lap car. I remember a A nova that Lil John Buttera built in the mid 80s, 'Novette'.


http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...at/buttera.jpg

LOL......... :lol:

Paul

I'd have to agree.

I thought Al Gore did....

Mark Stielow's Thrasher '69 Camaro for me.

http://www.pro-touring.com/featured_...sher_front.jpg

https://lateral-g.net/bio/stielow/

I also remembering first seeing the term in Chevy High Performance magazine back in the early 90's.

for me it was the Mule..seen it in popular hot rodding and it was all over..

Shoot, someone beat me to the 'Al Gore' answer. I'm not sure Big Red should be considered a pro-touring car, but it definitely had a big influence in terms of appearance and performance. I think it's safe to say Big Red got the idea going and then others came in and added modern interiors, modern engines and fuel systems, misc refinement, etc, to come up with the 'pro-touring' idea we know of today. The Mule is a great example of that. Big Red is actually the reason I own and built the car I have today. It got burned into my grape-sized brain the first time I saw it featured in a magazine as a teenager and caused me to think about building a 69 RS ever since. Now I'm dead broke. Thanks Big Red!

yep.. Corvette front clip- lots cool stuff- a VERY slight update and that car would turn heads today- Chris

Gotta be Steilow's first one lap Camaro currently owned by Jeff (screen name jeff-san),car is local and I still see it occasionally.

I remember when that issue arrived at my house in '85... I was blown away by the NoVette. That one did it for me.. glad you posted it! Still have the issue, or what's left of it, anyway...

Agreed.

I see a lot of credit going to the Mule. I love that car, read every article about the build, multiple times. That's the build quality and functionality we're all going for now, but guys have wanted to go fast, corner well and stop quickly since way before the Mule. The car's a great example, but it didn't start P/T. Trans Am racing, British Touring Car Championship, rallying, all HUGE in the sixties.

Check this out...
 

I don't know when it was built, but looks to me like early '70s. That pre-dates most of the stuff mentioned here by quite a while. This isn't a new concept, we're just taking it to new levels.

when the mule is mentioned by people they arent say it started pro-touring they say it started the obsession for them... i agree with you though o think all lot of what "we" like goes back to the trans am era cars!
my faviorate I might add.

My Mom and Dad used to hang out with Freeland and his brother In Napa when they were in their 20's. My Mom said he was one of the most talented guys, both of them really, and way ahead of their time. We were just talking about them the other day, wondering what they're doing. Nice to see the photos of one of his Camaro's he built (from what I heard there were a few), I've only heard of them but no one's ever found the photos to show me. Small world.

Big Red is a race car. There have been race cars for many years. For someone to say Big Red is the father, needs to look back to the Sunoco Camaros.

I really think the Mule if the grandfather of "Pro Touring" as we know it. The Mule carried the torch for many years, and a lot of it was due to the noterity from the magazine coverage, and not to mention it is a badd ass car. The Mule was the most reconizable Pro Touring car on the planet.

Today, I have to say Bad Penny carries the torch as the most reconizable Pro Touring car on the planet. And rightfully so.

Tri-Tip ... and I've got no idea how that car got it's name, either.

Cheers,
Mary Pozzi

the black mopar
 

i think it was actually built in the mid to late 1990s. featured in hot rod, by some metal fabricators.

i dont know who started pt, but i do remember how many were against it. that is very vivid. i remember pulling into local cruise nights shotgun in my friend's 70 camino with 16x8 vintage wheel works and you could feel the anger. "how dare they "rice rocket" that chevy!"

Frank, you're right, the Sunoco Camaros would be right there as race cars with Big Red. That just happened to be one of the first I can recall having "the look and stance" so it came to mind. The Sunoco Camaros and all of the cars of that era that they raced against were very cool indeed, but were purpose built race cars.
If "pro-touring" includes any make and manufacturer then it's anyones guess who was first. I remember seeing Datsun 510's that were street cars but looked and performed like race cars back in the early 80's/ late 70's.
One of my best friends had a '65 Mustang fastback that was every bit the pro touring car. 289,C4, 9 inch, flared fenders, Shelby race style GT350 front end, rear brake cooling scoops (functional), this car had a full interior with a roll bar, sub frame connectors and 4 wheel discs, it sat VERY close to the ground and handled great and hauled ass. Just ask the local PD about him and his cars. That was too fun!
This was back in '84. It's just that no one called it pro touring then.
My point is that pro touring has been around since someone decided to build a road car to simulate a race car. A very long time either way.

I don't know who started it, but the Stielow built cars of the early 90s made it "mainstream".

I don't think you can nail it down to a specific car... People have been attempting to make their cars go faster and corner better since the 2nd car was built.

The styling and technology have changed, but the intentions have been the same forever.

The black Charger was featured in the very same issue of Hot Rod that had Stielow's Red Witch in it. It ran 191 MPH with a 505 hp 440 big block. Nothing exotic, just simple and cool. And fast. Love that car :hail:

I'd say it was Stielow's Red Witch that started the pro touring craze. I still remember the first time I saw the car on the pages of Hot Rod. How perfectly the ZR-1 wheels fit the classic body and how menacing it looked. First main stream car with classic muscle car looks combined with modern wheels and tires, had a stereo and A/C and amazing performance. I still have that issue of Hot Rod and I think I need to get a reprint some time in the future because I must've read that issue thousands of times and it's starting to come apart :lol:

Stielow, in my opinion, was the creator. Red Witch was and still is one of my favorites. That car just has the look. I know the Mule was a much better car but the Red Witch just got everything right for me. I probably had more time invested in staring at it in that issue of Hot Rod than Stielow had in building it. You've got to remember, he was building these cars when there was no where near the after-market support we have today. His cars were fabricated, not bolt together cars like most of the ones built today.

I don't know where it fits in the pro-touring timeline but Detroit Speed's Twister Camaro definitely influenced where I wanted to take my Camaro. It may be that it helped begin the pro-touring aftermarket. (again, I don't know if thy were the first to mass produce pro-touring parts but they were the first I stumbled upon).

It's much older than you think - The Amish started it to get more cornering and braking performance from their wagons so they could impress the ladies.

They are also to blame for the Donk fad when they put 26" wagon wheels on their buggies.

The Hudson Hornet:D