Lost Muscle Car Dealerships. Duncan Scott Brown
Paul appreciated the “draw” that performance gave the dealership, but he was a traditional dealer prior to this and grew tired of how expensive racing was. It may have seemed to him that Peyton was out having fun and getting interviewed by the news media while he was in the trenches every day taking care of business.
With the writing on the wall and an already strained relationship with Paul, Peyton decided to leave in February 1968. Paul bought out Peyton’s share in the dealership. Before he left, Peyton sold his racing inventory to Carroll Shelby. His Dana employees who were ex Shelby workers also returned to Shelby American.
No matter who was right or wrong, Peyton or Paul, enthusiasts benefitted with the hot iron processed through Dana Chevrolet. The Dana Chevrolet Hi-Performance Center continued to crank out high-performance muscle cars despite losing Dick Guldstrand and Peyton Cramer. The incredible appetite for Novas, Impalas, Corvairs, Chevelles, Corvettes, and Camaros continued. These cars continued receiving anything from small modifications to full-blown engine and performance package upgrades.
The 1968 Camarao The Canuck
Dale Armstrong convinced Paul to donate the 1968 Camaro and he would finance the engine build. Dale raced the orange 1968 sponsored Camaro under his nickname The Canuck in Super Stock/C class.
Strangely, Dale’s 1968 Camaro was not a 427 conversion car. Dale chose to build a 396 375-hp that was a rare aluminum head version. Dale did it up with L88 rods, camshaft, and intake manifold. Doug’s Headers and an M-22 4-speed rounded out the package. Dale recalled that his best ET was 10.61 seconds at 128 mph.
Dale ran the car until the end of 1968, when he left Dana. With Paul not wanting the car, Dale obtained ownership and the orange 1968 396 Dana Camaro sat at a friend’s service station lot for a while until it was purchased by Jim Bowers. Dale agreed to run the car at the 1969 AHRA Winternationals in Phoenix, where it set the record at 11.31 seconds at 118 mph.
Dale Armstrong moved on from Dana and won 12 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and 12 International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) events in 1970 with the Pro Comp title in 1975. He continued to participate in racing by becoming Kenny Bernstein’s crew chief and was inducted into numerous halls of fame. Dale died on November 28, 2014, at the age of 73.
This 1968 Camaro RS/SS was converted from 350 4-speed status into a 427 monster by Dana Chevrolet. In 1969, second owner Bertwin Nakamura shipped the car to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he raced it until 1971. After storing it until 2007, he sold it with only 1,700 miles but suffering rust from the salt air. The car currently resides in the Charley Lilliard Collection. (Photo Courtesy Bob McClurg)
During 1968, Paul withdrew from the racing side of performance, but he kept selling the “Mr. Hyde” potions available at the Hi-Performance laboratory. Through the efforts of sales manager Ron Byrum and the strong momentum established by Peyton Cramer, the wave of muscle cars continued selling through the hot lot.
The interior of the Hawaiian 1968 Dana Camaro RS/SS 427 features a Hurst T-handle shifter and Sun Super tachometer mounted on the steering column. What may surprise people expecting a “stripper” is that the original owner went for houndstooth seats, radio, and weight adding console. The bulky box between the seats is a “reverse loading” 8-track player. You had to put your 8-track into it by feel. (Photo Courtesy Bob McClurg)
The big-block 427 in the Hawaiian 1968 Dana Camaro has a fly eye air cleaner atop the Holley carburetor. Absence of power assist for steering or brakes provides less weight and slightly better access to the engine, which fills the engine compartment. Note the Mickey Thompson finned valve covers. The headers are a tight fit. (Photo Courtesy Bob McClurg)
The Hi-Performance location continued to advertise choice stuff, such as a Chevy II with mags, slicks, and 4-speed or a batch of Corvettes. An April 12, 1969, advertisement stated that Dana had 22 new Camaro Z28s in stock in all colors. Dana’s goal was to sell half that inventory of Z28s over the weekend. The ad also noted a plethora of SS cars, Chevelles, Camaros, and Novas and some with 427s installed.
The first owner of the Hawaiian 1968 Dana Camaro RS/SS 427 ordered the optional hood made by Berry Plasti-Glass. Note the mesh on the rear air extractors. Both front intakes and rear extractors used this mesh to keep gunk out of the engine bay. The front intakes delivered cool air to the carburetor while the rear extractors cooled the engine and reduced underhood pressure. Two hood pins hold down the lightweight hood. (Photo Courtesy Bob McClurg)
The Hawaiian 1968 Dana Camaro has red line tires mounted on wide mags to improve handling and appearance. No dog dish or steelies on Dana 427s! The yellow traction bars at the rear wheels ensured the fat tires got that power to the ground. The original owner ordered a vinyl top to augment all the brightwork trim that came with the RS package. (Photo Courtesy Bob McClurg)
One thing that is sometimes forgotten is that aside from the “Dr. Jekyll” regular transportation cars being sold through Paul’s location and the “Mr. Hyde” rip-snorting killer package cars coming out of Peyton’s Hi-Performance location, there were many middle cars.
Not everyone could afford a 427 Dana Camaro or a big-block Corvette. Some documented Dana cars are hot little pieces that were inexpensive and yet well optioned. Small-block cars with good suspension upgrades and some tuning work came out of Dana that could hold their own against a standard big-block muscle car sold off a regular dealer lot.
There are also cars now forgotten or undocumented that benefited from gradual improvements. When a customer had money, he or she might improve a car step by step. These forgotten cars that came through the Dana pipeline were high performance but low profile. For example, in 1968, Paul oversaw an extremely interesting 1969 Camaro project. Robert Watts from Flagstaff, Arizona, crossed the state line to have Dana convert his new Camaro to a 427 L88. He had a Doug Nash 5-speed hooked up to the car in an era where 4-speeds were the norm.
Closing Down Dana Chevrolet
In June 1969, Paul consolidated his operations and closed Dana’s Hi-Performance Center. He moved the remaining high-performance inventory to Dana Chevrolet Inc. (located at 8730 Long Beach Boulevard), where he continued to campaign the heavily optioned Corvettes, Chevelles, Camaros, Novas, and Impalas.
In late 1971, due to continued EPA restrictions and pressures, Dana Chevrolet Inc. closed its operation at 8730 Long Beach Boulevard and fleet vehicle location at 3052 E. Firestone Boulevard. Paul sold his controlling interests and remaining inventory to Cormier Chevrolet.
Today, the Dana Chevrolet Inc. dealership at 8730 Long Beach has been demolished. The lot was subdivided in order to lease out portions to various automotive-related business, such as repair shops, used car sales, and car insurance offices.
The Dana Hi-Performance Center became home to a motorcycle dealership, South-Lyn Honda Suzuki. The South-Lyn grand opening was in July 1970. Following the motorcycle dealer’s close-out sale in 1990, the lot was occupied by South-Lyn Auto Repair. Today, the former Dana Hi-Performance Center lot is currently the location of South-Lyn Auto Sales. An old Camaro from the 1970s and a fuselage Road Runner have been sitting on the lot for decades, keeping that old Dana vibe alive!
The “normal” Dana Chevrolet lot at 8730 Long Beach Boulevard in South Gate was renumbered 8738 Long Beach Boulevard and