I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
03-12-2013, 07:51 PM
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I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Does anyone here know much about these? I have one... it does not have the original engine or trans... .. but wondered if anyone had any more info on them
Here is a link to the article i found on this site
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...third-gen.html
And a picture of my car.
Here is a link to the article i found on this site
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...third-gen.html
And a picture of my car.
Last edited by mattquerio; 03-12-2013 at 08:39 PM. Reason: added pics
03-12-2013, 08:31 PM
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Re: 1983 GSS Camaro (Guldstrand Sport Suspension)
03-14-2013, 02:46 AM
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Car: 82 Z/28
Engine: 5.0
Transmission: 700r4
Axle/Gears: 323
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
My guess is its kinda like the 83 berlinetts "convertable" or a pro am or a banditII or the fourth gens SLP DID they probably where stock priduction cars then a separate company bought them and modified them and GM sold them.
03-14-2013, 09:31 AM
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Maybe you should read this one: https://www.thirdgen.org/hotrod-shoo...-prep-july1982
Gulstrand developed a lot of parts and tuning for the early 3rd gens. See if your car has any of these parts and get back to us.
Gulstrand developed a lot of parts and tuning for the early 3rd gens. See if your car has any of these parts and get back to us.
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06-06-2013, 07:37 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
UPDATE!
I have purchased the GSS Camaro from Matt.
Here is a BUNCH of information I have since found out about the car and the history of the car since my recent purchase of the car:
About 2 months ago this 1983 L69 Camaro Z/28 came across the scale at a scrape yard near Grand Rapids Michigan. The car was almost totally complete and was brought there by the owner of almost 15 years. The Camaro had "GSS" graphics on the side of the car. A friend of mine got a call from the salvage yard about the car and could not believe that a Camaro this complete would come across the scale as junk. He was able to purchase the car complete from the Salvage yard.
Through his initial research he thought the car was a 1983 Dick Guldstrand GSS Camaro and I agreed. The car still retained the "By Berger" sticker on the back of the car. Research through Guldstrand and Dick personally yielded information that the Dick remembered selling one GSS Camaro to Berger Chevrolet. I thought this must be that car. We found a Hot Rod article about the GSS Camaro's from 1982 and a "Shootout" test with GSS Camaro, a Maire Racing Mustang, a Herb Adams Trans Am and the Quikor Suspension Capri. The Guldstrand GSS Camaro won the shootout! My friend who purchased the car from the salvage yard said he did not have time or money to restore the car and I ultimately purchased the car believing it to be a Guldstrand GSS Camaro.
After receiving the car I began to dig deeper into the history of the car. Working with Joe Freeman at Gulstrand, Dick Guldstrand and Dick Jacques at Berger Chevrolet I was able to determine the history and provenance of this 1983 Berger Built GSS Camaro. Dick Jacques showed the pictures of the car to Matt Berger Owner of Berger Chevrolet who was able to tell me the "Rest Of The Story" behind this Camaro!
Yesterday I received this email from Matt Berger detailing the history of the car when new at Berger Chevrolet:
"Michael,
That car is the first vehicle I built for myself in the early 1980’s while my father was on vacation. I had found out through the grape vine that Chevy was building a new engine for the late 1983 model Z/28. The cross-fire looked cool but was very underpowered. The 5.0 Liter H.O. was a huge step up and we ordered a dozen in the spring of 1983. Sometime subsequent to receiving the cars we read that a Camaro had won the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges which was a showroom stock road race in Ohio. After doing a little research we uncovered that the chassis work on that vehicle was done by Dick Guldstrand. Dick was a former employee a famous muscle car dealer Dana Chevrolet in California (as was Dale Armstrong, Kenny Bernstein’s Crew Chief for his Budweiser King Funny Cars) and a nationally known Corvette professional road racer from the 1960’s. We wanted to replicate for the street what Dick was doing for the race cars. To that end the dealership installed lowering springs in the front, cut the rear springs, installed Bilstein dampers on all 4 corners, urethane bushings on front lower control arms, rear trailing arms, Dick’s trick panhard bar and some sway bar bushings. The finishing touch was a set of 245/60 x 15” Goodyear GT radials on BBS looking Epsilon wheels. We added the better speedo because if memory serves the stocker only went to 80 MPH. This was a pretty uncivilized package for a street car but great at the track. I remember as a young kid taking it out to the road course at Grattan, Mi. for my first road racing experience. The local Alfa and Porsche clubs were hosting a track day event and we thought we would give it a whirl. After technical inspection, I was approached by a few members who informed me my Camaro wouldn’t be competitive with the Stuttgart specials. They didn’t know what the car was but were soon to learn. It was a terrific day. It was faster than almost all of the vehicles in attendance. I totally killed a set of both tires and brake pads that afternoon but we were fast! We sold the car in the fall of that year but didn’t retain any of those records. I can tell by the color, trim and components that this is my old car. If you get it restored I would love to see the finished version. Good luck with your project.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
I especially like the part where Mr. Berger says the car was built while his dad was on vacation. Hard to believe that this Camaro came across the scale with those expensive and hard to find 3 piece Epsilon wheels still on the car! Below are pictures of the car at the salvage yard and dirty at my shop. I have since cleaned all the dirt off the car and will be adding additional pictures to the album later today when the rain stops.
Another "Berger Camaro" from a different era!
Here are pictures of the car at the scrapper, when Matt purchased the car and here at my home when the car arrived in all it's dirty glory!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Here is an update from Matt Berger concerning the car and his answer to several questions I had asked of him:
"Mike,
The GSS decals came with some of the parts. We aren’t big sticker fans but they matched the factory stripes on the car and differentiated it slightly so we went with them. I didn’t do an engine swap. Dad would have been too PO’d so I drove it with the L69. The crate motor would have been a big upgrade compared to what it came with. The issues with that particular powertrain get a little dicey after about 300 ft. lbs. of torque. The weakest link was the rear end followed by 5th gear in the T5 transmission. I built a 91 1LE with one of John Lingenfelter’s stroker motors and a box plenum. It was about 420 HP and 460 TQ. It had the exact same powertrain and I had to replace the clutch, trans and rear-end ($10,000) to make it live. Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
More interesting information on this salvage yard survivor Berger Camaro!
Soap, Water & A Pressure Washer!!!!
Here are pictures of the "Berger GSS Camaro" NOW after a couple of hours of pressure washing, cleaning and vacuuming. Quite a difference from the photo album I posted in my first post. Check em both out!
I have also acquired from the JY much of the missing A/C parts and other under-hood parts. The GS air cleaner is on the car to keep the water out of the engine. The spare tire has never been on the ground and the jack never removed from the car. The dash pad is perfect as is the console and console armrest. The seats are from another car. The door panels are super along with the armrests. The carpet ain't bad either. I tried a little polish on one of the Epsilon wheels and they will polish quite nicely thank you! Under the hood I was able to remove a lot of the silver paint someone had sprayed on the firewall and shock towers. Next up is to pull the engine/transmission. I expect to purchase a correct transmission and parts this weekend along with the correct air cleaner and other parts. While out check the engine, detail and more.
Pretty amazing how the car looks now considering that just 6 weeks ago rolled this car rolled across the scale at the scapper in Michigan!
Check out the pictures of how the car looks NOW today June 6th 2013!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
I have purchased the GSS Camaro from Matt.
Here is a BUNCH of information I have since found out about the car and the history of the car since my recent purchase of the car:
About 2 months ago this 1983 L69 Camaro Z/28 came across the scale at a scrape yard near Grand Rapids Michigan. The car was almost totally complete and was brought there by the owner of almost 15 years. The Camaro had "GSS" graphics on the side of the car. A friend of mine got a call from the salvage yard about the car and could not believe that a Camaro this complete would come across the scale as junk. He was able to purchase the car complete from the Salvage yard.
Through his initial research he thought the car was a 1983 Dick Guldstrand GSS Camaro and I agreed. The car still retained the "By Berger" sticker on the back of the car. Research through Guldstrand and Dick personally yielded information that the Dick remembered selling one GSS Camaro to Berger Chevrolet. I thought this must be that car. We found a Hot Rod article about the GSS Camaro's from 1982 and a "Shootout" test with GSS Camaro, a Maire Racing Mustang, a Herb Adams Trans Am and the Quikor Suspension Capri. The Guldstrand GSS Camaro won the shootout! My friend who purchased the car from the salvage yard said he did not have time or money to restore the car and I ultimately purchased the car believing it to be a Guldstrand GSS Camaro.
After receiving the car I began to dig deeper into the history of the car. Working with Joe Freeman at Gulstrand, Dick Guldstrand and Dick Jacques at Berger Chevrolet I was able to determine the history and provenance of this 1983 Berger Built GSS Camaro. Dick Jacques showed the pictures of the car to Matt Berger Owner of Berger Chevrolet who was able to tell me the "Rest Of The Story" behind this Camaro!
Yesterday I received this email from Matt Berger detailing the history of the car when new at Berger Chevrolet:
"Michael,
That car is the first vehicle I built for myself in the early 1980’s while my father was on vacation. I had found out through the grape vine that Chevy was building a new engine for the late 1983 model Z/28. The cross-fire looked cool but was very underpowered. The 5.0 Liter H.O. was a huge step up and we ordered a dozen in the spring of 1983. Sometime subsequent to receiving the cars we read that a Camaro had won the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges which was a showroom stock road race in Ohio. After doing a little research we uncovered that the chassis work on that vehicle was done by Dick Guldstrand. Dick was a former employee a famous muscle car dealer Dana Chevrolet in California (as was Dale Armstrong, Kenny Bernstein’s Crew Chief for his Budweiser King Funny Cars) and a nationally known Corvette professional road racer from the 1960’s. We wanted to replicate for the street what Dick was doing for the race cars. To that end the dealership installed lowering springs in the front, cut the rear springs, installed Bilstein dampers on all 4 corners, urethane bushings on front lower control arms, rear trailing arms, Dick’s trick panhard bar and some sway bar bushings. The finishing touch was a set of 245/60 x 15” Goodyear GT radials on BBS looking Epsilon wheels. We added the better speedo because if memory serves the stocker only went to 80 MPH. This was a pretty uncivilized package for a street car but great at the track. I remember as a young kid taking it out to the road course at Grattan, Mi. for my first road racing experience. The local Alfa and Porsche clubs were hosting a track day event and we thought we would give it a whirl. After technical inspection, I was approached by a few members who informed me my Camaro wouldn’t be competitive with the Stuttgart specials. They didn’t know what the car was but were soon to learn. It was a terrific day. It was faster than almost all of the vehicles in attendance. I totally killed a set of both tires and brake pads that afternoon but we were fast! We sold the car in the fall of that year but didn’t retain any of those records. I can tell by the color, trim and components that this is my old car. If you get it restored I would love to see the finished version. Good luck with your project.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
I especially like the part where Mr. Berger says the car was built while his dad was on vacation. Hard to believe that this Camaro came across the scale with those expensive and hard to find 3 piece Epsilon wheels still on the car! Below are pictures of the car at the salvage yard and dirty at my shop. I have since cleaned all the dirt off the car and will be adding additional pictures to the album later today when the rain stops.
Another "Berger Camaro" from a different era!
Here are pictures of the car at the scrapper, when Matt purchased the car and here at my home when the car arrived in all it's dirty glory!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Here is an update from Matt Berger concerning the car and his answer to several questions I had asked of him:
"Mike,
The GSS decals came with some of the parts. We aren’t big sticker fans but they matched the factory stripes on the car and differentiated it slightly so we went with them. I didn’t do an engine swap. Dad would have been too PO’d so I drove it with the L69. The crate motor would have been a big upgrade compared to what it came with. The issues with that particular powertrain get a little dicey after about 300 ft. lbs. of torque. The weakest link was the rear end followed by 5th gear in the T5 transmission. I built a 91 1LE with one of John Lingenfelter’s stroker motors and a box plenum. It was about 420 HP and 460 TQ. It had the exact same powertrain and I had to replace the clutch, trans and rear-end ($10,000) to make it live. Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
More interesting information on this salvage yard survivor Berger Camaro!
Soap, Water & A Pressure Washer!!!!
Here are pictures of the "Berger GSS Camaro" NOW after a couple of hours of pressure washing, cleaning and vacuuming. Quite a difference from the photo album I posted in my first post. Check em both out!
I have also acquired from the JY much of the missing A/C parts and other under-hood parts. The GS air cleaner is on the car to keep the water out of the engine. The spare tire has never been on the ground and the jack never removed from the car. The dash pad is perfect as is the console and console armrest. The seats are from another car. The door panels are super along with the armrests. The carpet ain't bad either. I tried a little polish on one of the Epsilon wheels and they will polish quite nicely thank you! Under the hood I was able to remove a lot of the silver paint someone had sprayed on the firewall and shock towers. Next up is to pull the engine/transmission. I expect to purchase a correct transmission and parts this weekend along with the correct air cleaner and other parts. While out check the engine, detail and more.
Pretty amazing how the car looks now considering that just 6 weeks ago rolled this car rolled across the scale at the scapper in Michigan!
Check out the pictures of how the car looks NOW today June 6th 2013!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Last edited by Vintageracer; 06-06-2013 at 07:47 PM.
06-06-2013, 07:56 PM
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
Engine: LB9. Dual Cats. Big Cam
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Axle/Gears: BW 3.45
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
UPDATE!
I have purchased the GSS Camaro from Matt.
Here is a BUNCH of information I have since found out about the car and the history of the car since my recent purchase of the car:
About 2 months ago this 1983 L69 Camaro Z/28 came across the scale at a scrape yard near Grand Rapids Michigan. The car was almost totally complete and was brought there by the owner of almost 15 years. The Camaro had "GSS" graphics on the side of the car. A friend of mine got a call from the salvage yard about the car and could not believe that a Camaro this complete would come across the scale as junk. He was able to purchase the car complete from the Salvage yard.
Through his initial research he thought the car was a 1983 Dick Guldstrand GSS Camaro and I agreed. The car still retained the "By Berger" sticker on the back of the car. Research through Guldstrand and Dick personally yielded information that the Dick remembered selling one GSS Camaro to Berger Chevrolet. I thought this must be that car. We found a Hot Rod article about the GSS Camaro's from 1982 and a "Shootout" test with GSS Camaro, a Maire Racing Mustang, a Herb Adams Trans Am and the Quikor Suspension Capri. The Guldstrand GSS Camaro won the shootout! My friend who purchased the car from the salvage yard said he did not have time or money to restore the car and I ultimately purchased the car believing it to be a Guldstrand GSS Camaro.
After receiving the car I began to dig deeper into the history of the car. Working with Joe Freeman at Gulstrand, Dick Guldstrand and Dick Jacques at Berger Chevrolet I was able to determine the history and provenance of this 1983 Berger Built GSS Camaro. Dick Jacques showed the pictures of the car to Matt Berger Owner of Berger Chevrolet who was able to tell me the "Rest Of The Story" behind this Camaro!
Yesterday I received this email from Matt Berger detailing the history of the car when new at Berger Chevrolet:
"Michael,
That car is the first vehicle I built for myself in the early 1980’s while my father was on vacation. I had found out through the grape vine that Chevy was building a new engine for the late 1983 model Z/28. The cross-fire looked cool but was very underpowered. The 5.0 Liter H.O. was a huge step up and we ordered a dozen in the spring of 1983. Sometime subsequent to receiving the cars we read that a Camaro had won the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges which was a showroom stock road race in Ohio. After doing a little research we uncovered that the chassis work on that vehicle was done by Dick Guldstrand. Dick was a former employee a famous muscle car dealer Dana Chevrolet in California (as was Dale Armstrong, Kenny Bernstein’s Crew Chief for his Budweiser King Funny Cars) and a nationally known Corvette professional road racer from the 1960’s. We wanted to replicate for the street what Dick was doing for the race cars. To that end the dealership installed lowering springs in the front, cut the rear springs, installed Bilstein dampers on all 4 corners, urethane bushings on front lower control arms, rear trailing arms, Dick’s trick panhard bar and some sway bar bushings. The finishing touch was a set of 245/60 x 15” Goodyear GT radials on BBS looking Epsilon wheels. We added the better speedo because if memory serves the stocker only went to 80 MPH. This was a pretty uncivilized package for a street car but great at the track. I remember as a young kid taking it out to the road course at Grattan, Mi. for my first road racing experience. The local Alfa and Porsche clubs were hosting a track day event and we thought we would give it a whirl. After technical inspection, I was approached by a few members who informed me my Camaro wouldn’t be competitive with the Stuttgart specials. They didn’t know what the car was but were soon to learn. It was a terrific day. It was faster than almost all of the vehicles in attendance. I totally killed a set of both tires and brake pads that afternoon but we were fast! We sold the car in the fall of that year but didn’t retain any of those records. I can tell by the color, trim and components that this is my old car. If you get it restored I would love to see the finished version. Good luck with your project.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
I especially like the part where Mr. Berger says the car was built while his dad was on vacation. Hard to believe that this Camaro came across the scale with those expensive and hard to find 3 piece Epsilon wheels still on the car! Below are pictures of the car at the salvage yard and dirty at my shop. I have since cleaned all the dirt off the car and will be adding additional pictures to the album later today when the rain stops.
Another "Berger Camaro" from a different era!
Here are pictures of the car at the scrapper, when Matt purchased the car and here at my home when the car arrived in all it's dirty glory!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Here is an update from Matt Berger concerning the car and his answer to several questions I had asked of him:
"Mike,
The GSS decals came with some of the parts. We aren’t big sticker fans but they matched the factory stripes on the car and differentiated it slightly so we went with them. I didn’t do an engine swap. Dad would have been too PO’d so I drove it with the L69. The crate motor would have been a big upgrade compared to what it came with. The issues with that particular powertrain get a little dicey after about 300 ft. lbs. of torque. The weakest link was the rear end followed by 5th gear in the T5 transmission. I built a 91 1LE with one of John Lingenfelter’s stroker motors and a box plenum. It was about 420 HP and 460 TQ. It had the exact same powertrain and I had to replace the clutch, trans and rear-end ($10,000) to make it live. Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
More interesting information on this salvage yard survivor Berger Camaro!
Soap, Water & A Pressure Washer!!!!
Here are pictures of the "Berger GSS Camaro" NOW after a couple of hours of pressure washing, cleaning and vacuuming. Quite a difference from the photo album I posted in my first post. Check em both out!
I have also acquired from the JY much of the missing A/C parts and other under-hood parts. The GS air cleaner is on the car to keep the water out of the engine. The spare tire has never been on the ground and the jack never removed from the car. The dash pad is perfect as is the console and console armrest. The seats are from another car. The door panels are super along with the armrests. The carpet ain't bad either. I tried a little polish on one of the Epsilon wheels and they will polish quite nicely thank you! Under the hood I was able to remove a lot of the silver paint someone had sprayed on the firewall and shock towers. Next up is to pull the engine/transmission. I expect to purchase a correct transmission and parts this weekend along with the correct air cleaner and other parts. While out check the engine, detail and more.
Pretty amazing how the car looks now considering that just 6 weeks ago rolled this car rolled across the scale at the scapper in Michigan!
Check out the pictures of how the car looks NOW today June 6th 2013!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
I have purchased the GSS Camaro from Matt.
Here is a BUNCH of information I have since found out about the car and the history of the car since my recent purchase of the car:
About 2 months ago this 1983 L69 Camaro Z/28 came across the scale at a scrape yard near Grand Rapids Michigan. The car was almost totally complete and was brought there by the owner of almost 15 years. The Camaro had "GSS" graphics on the side of the car. A friend of mine got a call from the salvage yard about the car and could not believe that a Camaro this complete would come across the scale as junk. He was able to purchase the car complete from the Salvage yard.
Through his initial research he thought the car was a 1983 Dick Guldstrand GSS Camaro and I agreed. The car still retained the "By Berger" sticker on the back of the car. Research through Guldstrand and Dick personally yielded information that the Dick remembered selling one GSS Camaro to Berger Chevrolet. I thought this must be that car. We found a Hot Rod article about the GSS Camaro's from 1982 and a "Shootout" test with GSS Camaro, a Maire Racing Mustang, a Herb Adams Trans Am and the Quikor Suspension Capri. The Guldstrand GSS Camaro won the shootout! My friend who purchased the car from the salvage yard said he did not have time or money to restore the car and I ultimately purchased the car believing it to be a Guldstrand GSS Camaro.
After receiving the car I began to dig deeper into the history of the car. Working with Joe Freeman at Gulstrand, Dick Guldstrand and Dick Jacques at Berger Chevrolet I was able to determine the history and provenance of this 1983 Berger Built GSS Camaro. Dick Jacques showed the pictures of the car to Matt Berger Owner of Berger Chevrolet who was able to tell me the "Rest Of The Story" behind this Camaro!
Yesterday I received this email from Matt Berger detailing the history of the car when new at Berger Chevrolet:
"Michael,
That car is the first vehicle I built for myself in the early 1980’s while my father was on vacation. I had found out through the grape vine that Chevy was building a new engine for the late 1983 model Z/28. The cross-fire looked cool but was very underpowered. The 5.0 Liter H.O. was a huge step up and we ordered a dozen in the spring of 1983. Sometime subsequent to receiving the cars we read that a Camaro had won the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges which was a showroom stock road race in Ohio. After doing a little research we uncovered that the chassis work on that vehicle was done by Dick Guldstrand. Dick was a former employee a famous muscle car dealer Dana Chevrolet in California (as was Dale Armstrong, Kenny Bernstein’s Crew Chief for his Budweiser King Funny Cars) and a nationally known Corvette professional road racer from the 1960’s. We wanted to replicate for the street what Dick was doing for the race cars. To that end the dealership installed lowering springs in the front, cut the rear springs, installed Bilstein dampers on all 4 corners, urethane bushings on front lower control arms, rear trailing arms, Dick’s trick panhard bar and some sway bar bushings. The finishing touch was a set of 245/60 x 15” Goodyear GT radials on BBS looking Epsilon wheels. We added the better speedo because if memory serves the stocker only went to 80 MPH. This was a pretty uncivilized package for a street car but great at the track. I remember as a young kid taking it out to the road course at Grattan, Mi. for my first road racing experience. The local Alfa and Porsche clubs were hosting a track day event and we thought we would give it a whirl. After technical inspection, I was approached by a few members who informed me my Camaro wouldn’t be competitive with the Stuttgart specials. They didn’t know what the car was but were soon to learn. It was a terrific day. It was faster than almost all of the vehicles in attendance. I totally killed a set of both tires and brake pads that afternoon but we were fast! We sold the car in the fall of that year but didn’t retain any of those records. I can tell by the color, trim and components that this is my old car. If you get it restored I would love to see the finished version. Good luck with your project.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
I especially like the part where Mr. Berger says the car was built while his dad was on vacation. Hard to believe that this Camaro came across the scale with those expensive and hard to find 3 piece Epsilon wheels still on the car! Below are pictures of the car at the salvage yard and dirty at my shop. I have since cleaned all the dirt off the car and will be adding additional pictures to the album later today when the rain stops.
Another "Berger Camaro" from a different era!
Here are pictures of the car at the scrapper, when Matt purchased the car and here at my home when the car arrived in all it's dirty glory!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Here is an update from Matt Berger concerning the car and his answer to several questions I had asked of him:
"Mike,
The GSS decals came with some of the parts. We aren’t big sticker fans but they matched the factory stripes on the car and differentiated it slightly so we went with them. I didn’t do an engine swap. Dad would have been too PO’d so I drove it with the L69. The crate motor would have been a big upgrade compared to what it came with. The issues with that particular powertrain get a little dicey after about 300 ft. lbs. of torque. The weakest link was the rear end followed by 5th gear in the T5 transmission. I built a 91 1LE with one of John Lingenfelter’s stroker motors and a box plenum. It was about 420 HP and 460 TQ. It had the exact same powertrain and I had to replace the clutch, trans and rear-end ($10,000) to make it live. Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
Matt Berger"
More interesting information on this salvage yard survivor Berger Camaro!
Soap, Water & A Pressure Washer!!!!
Here are pictures of the "Berger GSS Camaro" NOW after a couple of hours of pressure washing, cleaning and vacuuming. Quite a difference from the photo album I posted in my first post. Check em both out!
I have also acquired from the JY much of the missing A/C parts and other under-hood parts. The GS air cleaner is on the car to keep the water out of the engine. The spare tire has never been on the ground and the jack never removed from the car. The dash pad is perfect as is the console and console armrest. The seats are from another car. The door panels are super along with the armrests. The carpet ain't bad either. I tried a little polish on one of the Epsilon wheels and they will polish quite nicely thank you! Under the hood I was able to remove a lot of the silver paint someone had sprayed on the firewall and shock towers. Next up is to pull the engine/transmission. I expect to purchase a correct transmission and parts this weekend along with the correct air cleaner and other parts. While out check the engine, detail and more.
Pretty amazing how the car looks now considering that just 6 weeks ago rolled this car rolled across the scale at the scapper in Michigan!
Check out the pictures of how the car looks NOW today June 6th 2013!
http://s263.photobucket.com/user/mjs...%20June%202013
Thanks for posting!
06-06-2013, 09:21 PM
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Car: 1989-92 FORMULA350 305 92 Hawkclone
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Cool history.
The poor car, those underhood shots make me wana puke...
Good luck with it
The poor car, those underhood shots make me wana puke...
Good luck with it
06-06-2013, 09:28 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Wow!! I remember when this car was first posted ...... and found it interesting, but sad.
Maybe pitch the resto to one of the shows on TV out there .... Saved from the Scraper
Maybe pitch the resto to one of the shows on TV out there .... Saved from the Scraper
06-06-2013, 11:54 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Guldstrand parts are some of my favorite stuff. They are no frills no compromise effective racing parts. This car is a great find! Hard to believe it showed up to be scrapped. Keep us posted please.
06-07-2013, 12:00 AM
#14
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Very nice find, and a good read. Keep the updates coming.
06-08-2013, 02:01 PM
#16
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Great find and an awesome story. Nice save!
Good luck with the resto, looks like you've got your work cut out for you...
Good luck with the resto, looks like you've got your work cut out for you...
06-08-2013, 04:44 PM
#17
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
These kind of post are why I come here. The cars are cool but the stories are so much cooler. Thank you for all the info, that is an awesome find & save. I understand limited ability & funds, so I am glad to see someone with the resources moving forward rather than just sitting in waiting. Sounds like a great & wothwhile project. Keep us updated
06-10-2013, 05:59 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Very cool car and even cooler story, so glad you are going to save her. Yeah that is one ugly engine tho LOL.
06-10-2013, 08:16 PM
#19
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
super neat car...
07-15-2013, 02:33 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Interesting. I just took delivery on this Formula and found a 3 page list of performance and suspension mods performed Gulstrand for the original owner back in 1995. Hhmm.....
07-24-2013, 08:45 AM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Interesting read. There is a lot of work to be done, but glad to see its in hands of someone willing and able.
10-29-2013, 02:06 AM
#24
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I gotta laugh. I have been good frineds with Guldstrand for over 40 years. This car is nothing more than something someone bought a few catalog parts and is trying to panhandle as some kind of special GSS car. Dick never made those stickers- someone probably bought them from pepboys.
I personally rode in the shootout car back in 1982...that is not it, nor is it anything that ever roll into thunderalley in Culver city.
Things people will do for a buck.
Dean
ps- I am responding here because of a recent ad I just saw in the "Camaro's for sale" on this car just a week or two ago.
I personally rode in the shootout car back in 1982...that is not it, nor is it anything that ever roll into thunderalley in Culver city.
Things people will do for a buck.
Dean
ps- I am responding here because of a recent ad I just saw in the "Camaro's for sale" on this car just a week or two ago.
10-29-2013, 08:21 AM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I gotta laugh. I have been good frineds with Guldstrand for over 40 years. This car is nothing more than something someone bought a few catalog parts and is trying to panhandle as some kind of special GSS car. Dick never made those stickers- someone probably bought them from pepboys.
I personally rode in the shootout car back in 1982...that is not it, nor is it anything that ever roll into thunderalley in Culver city.
Things people will do for a buck.
Dean
ps- I am responding here because of a recent ad I just saw in the "Camaro's for sale" on this car just a week or two ago.
I personally rode in the shootout car back in 1982...that is not it, nor is it anything that ever roll into thunderalley in Culver city.
Things people will do for a buck.
Dean
ps- I am responding here because of a recent ad I just saw in the "Camaro's for sale" on this car just a week or two ago.
You are right!
Dick Guldstrand is the LESSER part of the history of this car. Berger Chevrolet built FAR MORE CARS in the muscle car era and has been in business FAR LONGER than Dick Guldstrand.
Ask most any Camaro owner and they are far more aware of Berger Chevrolet, the cars they built & raced than Dick Guldstrand and his accomplishments. Ya and that includes the Guldstrand mod for the 1st gen Camaro's. That is TOTALLY confirmed by the calls I have had on this 3rd Gen Camaro as usually one of the first questions is "who is Dick Guldstrand"?
Different buyer's (younger) and a different era of car. As hard as you may find it to believe not everyone is knowledgeable about Dick's racing career and accomplishment's as GREAT as they are!
And YES the stickers did come in the box of parts from Guldstrand.
Just ask Matt Berger!
10-29-2013, 08:55 AM
#26
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
Very interesting, I am so confused.
10-29-2013, 10:21 AM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I'm confused too. Is this car a slice of history or what?
10-29-2013, 11:47 PM
#28
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
All I am clearing up here is the title I think is misleading people to believe this is the car Dick Guldstrand built for the magazine shootout. It is NOT- again I am just clarifying this fact for anyone that might read this post wrong sinc ethe car is labeled "Dick Guldstrand GSS"
This car is a REPLICA that Berger built to try and be like the Dick Guldstrand car built for the magazine shootout.
This car is nothing more special then me buying lets say Hotchkis springs, shocks and panhard from his catalog and installing them myself onto a Z28 then putting a ":Hotchkis" sticker on the side of the car and try to sell it. It is an ordinary car uless you somehow feel Berger is famous? I've never heard Berger famous in racing other that just Berger Chevy Dealership, kind of the same as Felix Checy out here....But Dick Guldstrand is in the Corvette Hall Of Fame for what it's worth. TO say he's a nobody compared to Berger is simply naive.
The ONLY Guldstrand sticker that is worth anything are the Special 2 color windshild banner stickers that were no sold to the general public. Dick had single color stickers made and sold by the thousands, but the white leter with thin red line two-color stickers were ONLY distributed to his race car drivers. I still have a few and will never part with mine. Here of two of mine on both my racevette and my Vetruck
This car is a REPLICA that Berger built to try and be like the Dick Guldstrand car built for the magazine shootout.
This car is nothing more special then me buying lets say Hotchkis springs, shocks and panhard from his catalog and installing them myself onto a Z28 then putting a ":Hotchkis" sticker on the side of the car and try to sell it. It is an ordinary car uless you somehow feel Berger is famous? I've never heard Berger famous in racing other that just Berger Chevy Dealership, kind of the same as Felix Checy out here....But Dick Guldstrand is in the Corvette Hall Of Fame for what it's worth. TO say he's a nobody compared to Berger is simply naive.
The ONLY Guldstrand sticker that is worth anything are the Special 2 color windshild banner stickers that were no sold to the general public. Dick had single color stickers made and sold by the thousands, but the white leter with thin red line two-color stickers were ONLY distributed to his race car drivers. I still have a few and will never part with mine. Here of two of mine on both my racevette and my Vetruck
Last edited by SlickTrackGod; 10-30-2013 at 12:19 AM.
10-30-2013, 09:06 AM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I think the GSS Camaro, while maybe not the magazine shootout car has some documented history to it that imparts value to the car.
I wasn't before but am now somewhat familiar with the Dick Guldstrand name, but anyone growing up in the mid-west is probably more familiar with Berger Chevrolet.
Here's a little write-up that may jog some memories.
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...et-83469.xhtml
All said and done, good save on the Camaro.
I wasn't before but am now somewhat familiar with the Dick Guldstrand name, but anyone growing up in the mid-west is probably more familiar with Berger Chevrolet.
Here's a little write-up that may jog some memories.
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...et-83469.xhtml
All said and done, good save on the Camaro.
10-30-2013, 11:01 AM
#30
Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I think the GSS Camaro, while maybe not the magazine shootout car has some documented history to it that imparts value to the car.
I wasn't before but am now somewhat familiar with the Dick Guldstrand name, but anyone growing up in the mid-west is probably more familiar with Berger Chevrolet.
Here's a little write-up that may jog some memories.
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...et-83469.xhtml
All said and done, good save on the Camaro.
I wasn't before but am now somewhat familiar with the Dick Guldstrand name, but anyone growing up in the mid-west is probably more familiar with Berger Chevrolet.
Here's a little write-up that may jog some memories.
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/ca...et-83469.xhtml
All said and done, good save on the Camaro.
That car is a BASIC z28 camaro and the only value anyone could see from an increased sale price is that if "they think" because it was Matt Berger's car then they would pay more. It has ABSOLUTELY NO INCREASE VALUE DUE TO ANY RELATION TO GSS OR DICK GULDSTRAND.....PERIOD.
Might I remind you the tilte of this post reads: "I have a 1983 DICK GULDSTRAND GSS camaro"
It does not read: "I have a 1983 Z28 that Matt Berger owned"
The seller is wrong and misleading and this should be taken down.
My pet pieve is when I see people trying to make a history for a car in order to sell for profit. My brother and I discredit people all the time trying this on the Corvette forum. It is a common practice from immoral crooks.
As I see you link to Berger Chevrolet and know they were merely a performance parts dealer in the 60's, we have many of those including Scroggin Dickey's, the late Cone Chevrolet, and McPherson Chevy who in recent decades claimed to be the GM hot rod parts specialist. Berger just falls right into that same catagory.
Dick Guldstrand howeven is represented as an individual (not a corporate name) that has brought a significant change to the auto racing world as well as the "development" of the Corvette. If you have not heard of the name Dick Guldstrand then you obviously do not have any basic racing knowledge of Corvettes...and since this is a Camro/Firebird website I can understand why alot of younger people may have never heard of him. You may know the name Bob Bondurant? Well he and Dick took the very first Corvette to 24 hour LeMan and Dick set a track record in the car for his class. http://www.corvettemuseum.org/librar...ldstrand.shtml
It is criminal for this poster to list Dick Guldstrands name on this car with any historical value credited from him for profit.
10-30-2013, 12:52 PM
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I guess for religious reasons we MUST let you have the last say in this matter since you are by your own admission a "Slick Track GOD"!
10-30-2013, 01:38 PM
#32
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
I hear what Slick is stating. The same issue is happening with the 3rd generation Motion Camaros. People have tried selling certain 3rd gen cars as Baldwin-Motion IROC-Zs in the past. I reached out to Joel Rosen a few years back and asked about these cars. He mentioned that they are not Baldwin-Motion cars, but Motion performance cars. He also said that they really aren't Motion cars because they were just a speed shop that threw whatever parts on the car that the buyer wanted. These were not package cars that Motion Performance built using Motion designed and proprietary parts. Joel said that the Motion IROC-Zs are really just modified IROC-Z that were modified by Motion performance with the same parts that anybody could add themselves. How many people today can say that they have an Edelbrock Camaro? Or an SLP Firebird just because they used aftermarket SLP parts to build the car?
11-01-2013, 10:41 AM
#33
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Re: I have a 1983 Guldstrand GSS Camaro... any info?
That car is a BASIC z28 camaro and the only value anyone could see from an increased sale price is that if "they think" because it was Matt Berger's car then they would pay more. It has ABSOLUTELY NO INCREASE VALUE DUE TO ANY RELATION TO GSS OR DICK GULDSTRAND.....PERIOD.
The seller is wrong and misleading and this should be taken down.
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