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Guldstrand Visit (long)

Joined
Apr 4, 2003
Messages
174
Location
So Cal
Corvette
1996 LT4 Collector Edition
Well, quite a treat for this relative newcomer to the Corvette world.

I live and work near Dick Guldstrand’s shop in Burbank, CA. I’ve known his name and reputation as a racer and car builder for many years, but when it came to repairs on the Vette, I never really considered his shop, thinking that they might somehow be above working on my plain old street car. Nothing could be further from the truth!

I finally got so fed up with replacing rear wheel bearings every six months that I called the Guldstrand shop. The guy I talked to was friendly and helpful, and said Sure, bring it on down. When I learned that “the guy” was The Man himself, I knew it was going to be good! They put the car on the lift, and in the space of two hours, not only located the side play in the diffy that is probably causing my wheel bearing problem, but also located several other problems. Everybody there was great, and Dick even took the time to show me around the shop, and some of the other cars being worked on. What a great guy, he’s like 80 years old, and still goes into the shop every day!

Dropped the car off Monday to have the diffy and steering gear rebuilt, and while that’s all apart, I’m having him replace all the worn-out rubber bushings with poly. Guldstrand’s shop will have her for probably two weeks, but when I get her back, she’ll be almost like new!

Sorry for the long post, but I had to share what was, for me, a pretty cool experience!

Barry
 
He often comes to VetteFest in Boise each summer. He is a very nice man, and he tells a pretty good story.
 
Very cool. Sounds like it was a great experience Barry!
 
and one heck of a race car driver:

Won three Pacific Coast Championships from '63-'65, including the Southern Pacific A/P Championship in 1964.

Received the California Sports Car Club Driver of the year award in 1964.

Won the GT class at the Daytona 24 hour race in 1966, finishing 9th overall.

Drove the legendary Grand Sport Corvette for Roger Penske at the 12 hours of Sebring.

Developed and drove the first Camaro to win a race in the Trans Am series.

Won Trans Am series races driving a Camaro Z/28 at St. Jovite, Riverside and Stardust raceways in 1967.

Used to watch him race at Riverside in the 60-70's
 
Great story, I’ve always wanted to meet him!

B17Crew
:w
 
Us guys, who've been in the hobby for many decades, hold Dick in very high regard.

He's a class act. Here's a great video about his long career and many accomplishments. CLICK
 
That's a great clip! Thanks for that.
 
i met Dick at carlisle a few years back and we talked for a good 45 mins or so. very nice guy! i was picking his brain on 3rd Gen FBodies as I own an 82 and someone gave me an 83 camaro mag with the top 10 camaro's of all time (back in 83) and there was one article in there called the "Golden Ferrari" was an 82 Z Dick tuned and drove. it was one bad ass machine! he gave me his personal business card and told me to call him anytime to talk about the Z.

Rrubel was there with me and he couldn't believe he talked to me for so long!

very nice guy and very down to earth! i hold Dick in very high respects!
 
I also saw Dick at Carlisle, very down to earth guy.
 
Back in the early days of the CAC the (then) general manager for Guldstrand was a regular on the site and on our Sunday night live chats. He was a wealth of information.

Dick is a legend and I hope he is around for a long time.

Tom
 
Guldstrand Visit (update)

Well, got the car back on Friday, and it is sooooo nice! The steering is nice and tight, and the poly bushings make the car ride smoother. A little firmer too, but that’s not a bad thing. Too soon to tell about the diffy, but I’m no longer hearing some of the noises that were coming from back there!

One small fly in the ointment, a 10 inch long gouge in the right rear bumper facing, discovered after I had already driven the car home. What did Dick say about it? “So sorry, and we will fix it.” :cool This is a man who knows how to protect the excellent reputation he has.

All in all, a really great experience, one I highly recommend.

Barry
 

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