Читать книгу Lost Muscle Car Dealerships - Duncan Scott Brown - Страница 32

When trying to track the early Dana Camaro conversions, the waters are somewhat murky, so try to bear with the intricate details.

The 427 Dana Camaro and Hi-Performance Corvettes continue to dominate SoCal. That tiny air cleaner just makes that mondo monster 427 motor seem all the more menacing when stuffed into a Camaro. The 1967 Dana Camaro 427 prototype car can be identified by the Bardhal sticker placed on the radiator support. (Photo Courtesy Dave Fillion Collection)

Dana license frames didn’t distinguish between their two radically different locations. Without much space to write a message, they kept it simple. (Photo Courtesy Steve Strand)

Hot Rod magazine presented research on an old racer unearthed in 2015 that was purportedly the source car for the first Dana Camaro conversion (DC1). Its contender for the honor was a 1967 Camaro sold through Brown & Hoeye Chevrolet in Mesa, Arizona. The car was a Sierra Fawn 1967 Camaro 327 Powerglide built on November 26, 1966. It was repainted black early in the game. The platform (small-block Powerglide) and time frame suggests this may be a one-off customer project racer sold through Dana, but it didn’t fit the parameters of the usual Dana package conversion cars.

The theory presented was that the engine was swapped at Shelby’s Arizona facilities in December 1966, which contradicts the known fact that at least one location of Dana Chevrolet was already up and running by this time. Peyton Cramer was directing Dana racing action and preparing his Hi-Performance dealership in South Gate. It was also known that the Shelby operations had gone into standstill mode in August 1966 due to his creation being moved to be built on a Ford assembly line. There was no need for Peyton or his Dana staff to travel to Arizona to use Shelby’s facilities or to borrow Shelby’s staff in Arizona to do the job. A conversion could be done at the “normal” Dana dealership or one of the two used car locations if needed.

Dana Camaro conversions were known to be a package built using a Camaro SS 350 4-speed platform as a starting point, not a 327 automatic platform. Why go to the extra work of switching out pedals to build a 4-speed car when you can simply order a SS 350 to start with and also get the heavy-duty components (suspension, transmission, axle, etc.) already on the car?

The answer lies with Dana Chevrolet Inc. acquiring its franchise date in August 1966. With Dana emerging onto the scene in late August, the 1967 Camaro production campaign was in full swing with other dealerships placing orders and standing in line to get their hands on what was to be GM’s answer to the rival Ford Mustang. Peyton’s desire to campaign the 427 Camaro led Dana to acquire other Camaros from the network of dealerships. By then, Dana had already established its position in the 427 Camaro race and brought its car to the market in mid- to late-October 1966.

Even after Dana Chevrolet was in the swing of ordering Camaros directly from the factory, it continued to transfer Camaros from other dealerships to fulfill the explosive appetite. Peyton’s established relationship within the dealership network enabled him to acquire early production 327 Camaros, and it is believed that the Arizona car is a result of this transaction. The Camaro’s origin and historical facts have been endorsed by the original owner of the car. The Arizona Camaro went on to be raced extensively until the 1980s, when it was parked. The car has been revived and is now out racing again.