So, Who started Pro Touring?

[Rybar]

Mark Stielow's Thrasher '69 Camaro for me.



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

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

[LateNight72]

Originally Posted by chicane

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.

Agreed.

[CamaroPat]

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.

[CamaroPat]

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.

[skatinjay27]

Originally Posted by CamaroPat

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.

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.

[autoxcuda]

Originally Posted by chicane

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.

I agree.

What year did Guldstrand open up his own shop?

What was his function at Dana Chevrolet. Did he do motor upgrades, handling upgrades, and/or just work on their racecars??

[rogue]

Originally Posted by autoxcuda

I agree.

What year did Guldstrand open up his own shop?

What was his function at Dana Chevrolet. Did he do motor upgrades, handling upgrades, and/or just work on their racecars??

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!

As far as Dana Chevrolet:

Dick Guldstrand was very familiar with the 427 big block Chevy motor and the L-88 427 as well.
He previously raced the first L-88 Corvette at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona for Roger Penske.
During the time that these photos were taken, a 1967 factory L-88 Corvette was being prepared
back at DANA Chevrolet to enter the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. He co-drove with Don Yenko and
Bob Bondurant at that legendary race. So setting up a street driven solid lifter 427 or even the
mighty L-88 427, was a piece of cake for Dick Guldstrand.
Dick Guldstrand was known as a chassis tuner. He was able to extract superb handling characteristics
from early Corvettes. Dick applied this same knowledge to the Camaro. Naturally, the suspensions were set up
to handle these massive amounts of power. The Dana Camaros could not only go fast in a straight line,
but they could also corner with the best of what was on the street back in 1967 and 1968.

[autoxcuda]

Originally Posted by rogue

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!

As far as Dana Chevrolet:

We walked into his shop in 1989 looking for sponsors for our University High School auto shop Street Stock car we ran at Saugus. He sponsored us a full suspension and bushings. This was before energy and you had to use all your old shells. Those were a pain to install. I think he had those made especially for him.

The guy running his parts dept was really cool and helpful. I was trying to setup my Challenger for autocross at the time and he gave me some straight talk and advice. I think he wrote for the magazines at one time and later worked PR for Edlebrock. John Costa? or John something?

I drive by the old shop on Jefferson every week. I see the Speedway Pattern building is for lease.

[70rs]

[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?

[Spiffav8]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

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

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