Bear Chevrolet

[Belair62]

Any Californians ever heard of Bear Chevrolet ? I believe it may have been somewhere in the vicinity of Salinas....owner was from Arleta, California.

[1967Z28]

I think what you may be talking about is Baher Chevrolet. They had a little bear as their logo and I think the pronunciation sounds like bear. They were originally in Manhattan Beach, CA (if I remember correctly) and sponsored Dick Guldstrand and his Corvette in the mid '60s. Toward the later part of the '60s they moved to the San Fernando valley. I believe the actual town was Northridge. I did go to the dealership at that location a time or two in the late '70s/early '80s. They were a performance oriented dealership. Hope that helps.

-Jon

1967 Z28 street car
1967 Z28 Trans Am race car
1967 Z28 Registry

[Belair62]

Thanks...my 69 Chevelle warranty book shows Jack Head Chevrolet and Bear Chevrolet written by hand. Was Baher in the Arleta, California vicinity ?

[1967Z28]

Baher was 7 miles west of Arleta. Jach Head was down in Alhambra and that was 27 miles SE from Arleta. Maybe there was some sort of dealer trade? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

-Jon

1967 Z28 street car
1967 Z28 Trans Am race car
1967 Z28 Registry

[Belair62]

Excellent info. I believe there was a dealer trade involved.I think Head was the originating dealer and the sale went thru Baher....they did spell it Bear on the Warranty folder....original owner from Arleta so Baher must be the one...Now that I have correct info I can start searching for a dealer emblem or tag.....Jon do you know if they are still in Northridge ?

[1967Z28]

We don't use the dealership emblems on the body out here in CA. The typical thing was a dealership license plate frame. I'll try and keep my eyes peeled at the swap meets and see if I can find some for you. Can't guarantee I will but I'll try. I will check to see if they are still in business and get back to you. My guess is that they have changed hands by this time.

-Jon

1967 Z28 street car
1967 Z28 Trans Am race car
1967 Z28 Registry

[Belair62]

That would be great...I did a Google search on Baher Chevrolet and I must say and they seem to have had quite a history of racing...the only dealer I see in Northridge is Rydell Chevrolet now.

[Belair62]

Baher Chevrolet sponsored Corvette with Dick Gulstrand

[SuperNovaSS]

A few years ago we had a 1968 RS/SS from Beher that had a L72 in it(Installed by Beher). Sweet car. Corvette Bronze with black vinyl top and black deluxe int.
I have pictures of it somewhere

Jason

[Mr70]

Found this in the July 1985 issue of SuperChevy Magazine:
Baher Chevrolet
18600 Devonshire st.
NorthRidge Ca. 91324
Phone#..818-360-2381

[Belair62]

That was their last address Rick....it apparently is the home of Rydell Chevrolet now...they were definitely in the action back then...

[scuncio]

I just wanted to bring this post to the top to see if anyone had add'l info on Baher Chevy. Just bought a '69 RS/SS project, nothing special (350/350 car), but it's got both original license plate frames from Baher Chevrolet and I thought people might be interested to check them out. Will post a pic when I can get back to the garage, in a week or so-

[Mr70]

I look forward to seeing those pix.

[Belair62]

I'm grovelling !

[scuncio]

Here's a pic I shot of the rear license frame. It needs to be repainted, inserts are/were an off-white color. Belair, PM me...front frame has been whacked and might be more trouble to fix than it's worth-

[hvychev]

You lucky Bast...!! Orville where are you at!!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I frequently see a lot of native Cali cars that still retain their original plate frames. This has got to do with the fact that the plates stayed with the car if it stayed in the state. I guess if you never remove the plate why remove the plate frame right? Try and find a plate frame from a Chi-town dealer still with the car!

[scuncio]

Exactly! All of my "cool" cars came from the greater LA area and have their original dealer license frames. This is pretty rare, though, even out here...finding a car that's been in CA its whole life isn't too common anymore...the guys from "back east" have really picked a lot of the cars from the area and taken them out of state. You lose the original black license plates for good once the car's registered out of state...really sucks! The black plates do look sweet on the '69!

[Salvatore]

Wasn't Baher Chevrolet at one time Dana Chevrolet where Dale Armstrong and Dick Gulstrand worked? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

[Belair62]

Tony...black plates are fairly unusual on a 69.....what letters do the plates start with ?

[scuncio]

ZYW...a few thousand shy from the dreaded blue plates! Bob, check your PMs.

[Belair62]

ZRR on mine ! Pretty late plates...

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Sam,
Dana Chev. was formerly Enoch Chevrolet before Payton Cramer bought it and renamed Dana. I believe the Dana name came from one of his favorite streets in OH (?)

[Salvatore]

Thanks Marlin! You are a /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/scholar.gif Sam

[1967Z28]

Belair,

The CA black plates made it pretty much through the whole '69 model year. I see a few '69 Camaros with blue plates but they are very late production cars.

-Jon

1967 Z28 street car
1967 Z28 Trans Am race car
1967 Z28 Registry

[Belair62]

Thought 69 was the changeover year.....they used up the blacks and went to the blues.