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.
