whats this??

[68TopStock]

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.