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Car as found. Prior owner had it for 15 years and started restoring 15 years ago, but never got far!

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/...net/67 003.jpg

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trim tag.

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/...net/67 002.jpg

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Underside of hood. Previously had mesh screen on hood vents. You can see X marks where screen was attached. Identical fiberglas hood to another car I own.

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/...net/67 001.jpg

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Oh, one more clue. I found it in LA. Still has the original black plates on it. These were the emblems removed from the original fenders. There is a lot more to this story as well!

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/.../67 Emblem.jpg

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Car was originally blue. When you scrape down to original paint on the body, you find the blue; also when you scrape down to original paint on the hood it is blue as well.

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X-Southgate race car with nos front fenders pulling a boat.
Looks like the real deal. Nice find.

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Yeah, but they wouldn't throw the boat in with the deal. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Guess you can't get everything!

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ANOTHER DANA CAMARO!!!

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GREAT find Kevin. Just goes to show, never give up the search, they are still out there! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
Rick N.

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interesting car! the trim tag is really loaded with options.
Does it have the original steering box? If so do you notice anything different about it?
Try to get NICB on it
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

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Decode for body number: 012722

01A = Built the First week of January.
67-12637 = Custom Interior Coupe.
LOS = Built in Van Nuys California.
765 = Custom Black Bucket Seats.
Z = (A50) Strato Bucket Seats.
F-F = Car Color is Marina Blue
C128 = internal plant scheduling code.
Options:
1W = (A02) Tinted W/S only
1L = (A67) Fold-down rear seat
2L = (M20) 4-speed floor shifter
2G = (D55) Console front compartment
2R = (U80) Speaker rear
3D = (U29) Courtesy Lamp
3L = (Z22) Rally Sport Package
4P = (L48) SS 350 or (L30) 327-275H
5Z = (A85) Shoulder harness - Deluxe
5Y = (A39) Belts All Deluxe

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So let's hear the story on this car. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]
Looks like it had a tough life.

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HOLY CRAP - Kevin...what does she have for documentation?...looking forward to hearing the history of this car and details on the hunt that led you to her.....CONGRATS!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif[/img]

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By any chance, did you buy that car out of Banning, CA? Because I'm going to kick myself if you did....

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Very Cool Kevin! I think this one deserves a 'play by play' on the restoration. It would be a great addition to this site....I'll get some towels.
-Mark

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A small block car conversion with no power brakes, yet other nice options. Is this the norm for dana cars? I was looking over fences in LA a few weeks ago, my luck says i was probably one block away. Great find kevin, lets here the story? Roger

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Roger, there is only one other Dana car that's been found, Kevin's 68. Nonetheless, this 67 is optioned almost identically to those in a handful of magazine reviews from the period, which were also SS350 conversions. It's got some cool rare factory options like deluxe shoulder belts plus some neat Dana additions like the traction bars, heavy duty shocks, 3-leaf leaf springs, period tach, Dana hood (that's never been reproduced), etc. I got to crawl under and over it soon after it was delivered--what a blast!

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Denis, any idea on the maker of the 3 leaf springs? And did they keep the org 67 Shock mounts with the springs?

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i don't know who is better at this finding cars stuff, kevin suydam or dave belk?

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Re-posting this, as it was lost from last web host crash.

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/yenko.net/DANAB.jpg

This is the back page of a 3 page folded DANA brochure. Shows many of the options such as the 2 or 3 leaf springs asked about by Jeff. By the way, "Scuncio" did talk to a prior owner of my car when it was in Banning CA. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

A question was asked about DANA using a small block for conversion and non-power brakes. The original white 67 DANA started as a SS350 and also was non-power brake as seen in the underhood photos. As featured in the 67 vintage magazine articles, it was virtually identical to mine. But mine has a couple additional options from the factory such as headrests and shoulder harness belts, which are quite rare options. In late 67 or 68, DANA used a big block for conversion like my 68 DANA.

I believe the Bardahl Oil company owned the white 67 DANA. I have 3 vintage magazine articles of it, and it is featured in the first pages of the brochure above. In two of the vintage articles it is shown with the DANA fiberglas hood, and in one of the articles it still had the stock SS hood. But in all 3 of the articles, plus the DANA brochure, the underhood photos show a Bardahl Oil sticker on the radiator shroud. Mr Bardahl (also famous for racing Hydro-planes) lived in Seattle , I've been to his house, but he is deceased now. He had some famous winning Camaros, "MR BARDAHL" was on the side and they were raced by Bill Hielsher. I would like to stumble into a hidden wharehouse here in Seattle to find a couple of these forgotten Camaros. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

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SuperCars,

This is a real special car you have found, it will be fun to see it shine in all it's glory when you have it finished.
What have you found regarding the history of the Dana shop? Here is some information that may fill in some gaps, although it is only speculation on my part.

Bill Hielscher raced a 1967 Camaro 427 SuperStocker, I believe he got from Bill Thomas, which may have been the first Nickey car. It was wrecked in a 1968 race. As most are aware, Bill raced under the name "Mr. Bardahl". Read somewhere that he actually raced it one more time after the accident, after they pushed out some body panels, but never raced the car again. I have an early 1967 Dragworld article announcing that Bill would drive the new Nickey 427 Camaro in CA, built by Bill Thomas and Dick Harrell. Maybe all these early cars came out of the same spot, some dark corners of a race shop in Anaheim, CA? I believe Bill Thomas "wrote the book" for the L88 engine, and can't help but think he was behind both the Nickey and Dana efforts.

Not to discount the Dana operation's abilities, but didn't the main operatives, Peyton Cramer and Don McCain just over from a Ford operation (Shelby)? I wonder where they got the engine, headers etc. The car life magazine article about the Dana built Bardahl car mentions a test drive over to a famous engine builder. "Because all involved are prominent in the sport and supposed to be old enough to know better, names won't be recorded", as they took the car out to go for "pink slips", with no takers. Might have been the aforementinoed duo, or trio?

If I am not wrong, Bill Hielscher owned all of his cars, was sponsored by Bardahl, mostly in name, not $$$ (from reading between the lines of his interviews). He ran a successful machine shop in Irving, Texas. At one time owned the Green Valley racetrack. Recently passed away last November.

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Maybe Dick Guldstrand will know somthing about it? He worked/raced for Dana and was involved in the 67 Z/28 Dana raced. One article said DG drove the Z/28 for it's first ever race win.

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There has also been some speculation in the past that Dana offered Don Yenko/Yenko Sports Cars,Inc.,to be a retailer for the Dana Camaros, prior to Yenko building their own Conversions.

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Kevin,

Been really busy over here this past week... but I am still on the lookout for that phone number.

"although I wish I'd bought that car when I had the chance" [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

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Hi 68topstock Ken. That is some good info and insight on your part. I think you are basically correct that the 427 Camaro was initiated on the West coast here, i.e. Bill Thomas. Then with DANA close by, they marketed it first. Nickey could've been next, as they were small block conversions to start as well. Yenko may have come into production of his 427 Camaros after the fact and most likely explains why there were no early small block conversions built by Yenko.

I would have to think for a race car to have "MR BARDAHL" in big letters on the side and Bill Hielscher in smaller letters on the front fender was because Bardahl owned the cars as he had some deep pockets. I suppose it's possible that since the initial car purchase was the minor cost; Hielscher purchased them, and then Bardahl provided the serious sponsorship money to campaign/race the cars. But if Hielscher owned the cars, you'd think it would be "MR HIELSCHER" as the namesake of the race cars.

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/yenko.net/MRBAR.jpg

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Guys I hope that I am following this thread right. I am going to post a page from the 1970 AHRA Drag Racing Rules & Tech Manual that I have where Bill Hielscher's name is on the side of the door and Mr. Bardahl is on the front fender. Could this mean by this time he bought the cars and owned them himself and just had Bardhal oil sponser him? See attachment.

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Here is an add for Holley spark plugs from Hot Rod June 1970 showing the Bill Hielscher cars and showing the same thing with his name on the doors.

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Here is a really cool add from the 1971 AHRA Drag Racing Rules and Tech Manual that I have advertising Bill Hielscher speed shop in Irving, Texas. Have any cars been found that he converted?

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Kevin
Bill H. owned all his cars. The Mr. Bardahl name came from Bill H. selling the Bardahl oil products and additives. Of course Bardahl Oil also gave him money in form as a sponsorship abeit small as it may have been. I'm taking this from a SS&DI mag that said Bill was one of the larger dealers for the Bardahl products back in the day-hence the nickname-I'm thinking he received the name out of reverance or people could not pronounce or remember his last name.(kinda like how Joe Hrudka was nicknamed "Mr. Gasket" when he was selling his home made gaskets from the tailgate of his station wagon at the drag strips way way before the business was born) The article said this was how Bill received his sponsorship from Bardahl- by his connections as being one of the top dealers. Remember these were the days when the car owners name/nickname on the door was bigger then the sponsors (Grumpy's Toy, Ronnie Sox etc). Most sponsors were lucky to have small decal on the front fender in those days.

Bill still owned some of his old cars well into the early '80's and had them displayed in a special room at GV raceway along with all his trophies/memorabilia etc.

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Mr. Bardahl II [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

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There was some type of deal with Yenko and Dana or at least they planned something. They ran a full page ad in National Dragster Dec. 66. announcing that Dana and Yenko "have joined forces" to offer a Dana 427 Camaro and a Yenko Stinger both with racing options. The drawing of the Dana Camaro looks like simlar car in the picture of the Bardahl car. Both have same wheels and both have "Doug's Headers" on front fender. ad attached

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Dana first?? I saw how you tried to slip that one in.LOL.
Any dated material to suggest that Kevin? The way I remember it, the partnership was NICKEY/Bill Thomas, not DANA/Bill Thomas, and, that started when the first Camaros arrived in '66.

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From the ads and pics it appears that Hielscher could've owned all the race cars. But on the other hand, it is also possible he owned all except the 67's with "MR BARDAHL" and "MR BARDAHL II"; especially "MR BARDAHL II" as it appears it only says Hielscher racing engines in small letters with a "Harrell" badge on the front fender.

Joe C, your attachment lead us to believe that a Yenko 427 Camaro never existed prior to a DANA 427 Camaro.

HA-HA Mike, I can see this would get me a response from you. No, don't have any literature to prove it, so it could've been one way or the other. But I'd have to think that DANA as only a few miles away from Bill Thomas, was first in the 427 Camaro program ahead of Nickey which was 1500 miles away. With both DANA and Nickey's first cars as SS350 to 427 transplants, shows both must have started in 1966

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I remember going to Greenvalley raceway in Dallas,Tx. back in mid '70's. Bill Hielscher had several of his cars parked together.I think the Hielscher family operates a drag strip near Dallas today-maybe Kennedale Raceway. I don't know if they still have the old race cars.I hope I've got this correct. gkhoury

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Wasn't the Butternut Yellow 67 Yenko a conversion from an SS350?

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I know someone here remembers the relationship better than I do, but, didn't Dick Harrell & Bill Thomas have some things going, and, then they both got together with the Nickey folks? The proximity of Thomas to Dana means nothing. I will give you one thing though. IMO, Bill Thomas was the pioneer of this whole concept, and, provided the engineering knowhow to get it done. His influence on the 427 conversion programs, as well as, big block development in general with Chevrolet gets lost in relation to those people who might have been better marketers, or, "tooted their own horn" better.

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Yes Keith H has a BY 67 Yenko Camaro that is a 350 conversion. He showed me the Yenko paperwork that listed it as a Yenko Stomper.
If you believe the articles on the red Hot Rod Camaro, this was the first 427 Camaro and was built by Bill Thomas. This may be true since Hot Rod had this car very early and Bill T. had the shop and talent to fabricate all the needed parts.

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In all the articles I have seen that were done in late Summer of '66 for magazines printed as early as January of '67, the Thomas built red car has Nickey, Illinois dealer plates. I know we're getting off of the Dana subject, but, I think we should give credit where credit is due, to Bill Thomas. It's just a nice sidebar that the first car was built by him, and, as the prototype for his partnership with Nickey. Just MHO, of course.

Nothing against the Dana program. They are certainly cool cars. Both of them. It's neat that Kevin has perhaps the only two known to exist, or, for that matter, the only two ever made.?

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For what it's worth, When i purchased a large lot of Don Yenko's personal photographs, within those was a sleeve of I believe 3 promotional photos from DANA Chevrolet, which were apparently sent to Don Yenko personally from someone at Dana. I don't have them in front of me, but i believe they are of a 67 427 car, with the Dana hood, sidepipes, and Cragar G/T wheels. There was also a photo of the Dana dealership itself. All were 8x10 Glossy B&W pics. (more stuff I i need to dig out to bring to SCR7!)I found it odd that Don would have been sent these pics, and there DEFINITELY was a connection between Yenko and Dana... to what extent I am not sure. Tom, do you have any correspondence between Yenko and Dana in any of your original Yenko paperwork and documents? By the way Frank, cool pics you posted, where'd you ever get those? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Mr. Bardahl Trivia
 

Since we're on the subject of Mr. Bardahl heres a little trivia for ya. Does anyone remember Mr. Bardahl's 15 min of movie fame?... I'll give you a minute........
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Ok. Thumbs up to the first person with the right answer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]