jpcarter48

FIRST posting so please be gentle, been following you guys for years but was more interested in "listening than talking"
Has anybody successfully communicated with Gulstrand since Dick passed away? I've talked to "Kevin" and "Phil" but neither follows up on requests for parts info. Website won't load past Homepage for me.
Thanks,
John

Special thanks to Rex (Dr L-88) for all his help and the great headers.

claysmoker

Can't help with your question, but welcome to the forum. We have some first class people here who are very knowledgeable and willing to help.

Bet you get your answer pretty quickly!

Todd H.

I know Phil Roche, but I haven't spoken with him for awhile.

I'll see if I can reach him tomorrow and see if there's a problem.

TCracingCA

First most here don't consider me as one of the first class members! But oh well!

I tried to help Kevin organize what was there and see if it was possible to continue the parts line, but that didn't go so good, not enough left to continue, it was just scraps! The Porsche guy at the former shop location did a number on Dick!

He had toe adjusters, no bolts, or no lube thru bolts
He had Bump Steer blocks small hole, no bolts
He had the tapered machine pieces for the front sway bars, but you would have to source everything else! But those are the important piece
He had various Heim Rods and some misc heim ends, but nothing labeled with part numbers
He has two front spring sets, not marked as to which ones
He had some concentrically drilled upper a-arm bushings
No lowers
No ball joints
No sway bars
No kits of any type
No 5 link parts
No trailing arms
No brake stuff
No rear springs
No half shafts

Etc etc etc

It is pretty bleak!!!!!! Having a catalog would do you no good, as nothing left was numbered to the catalog! The parts bins numbered differently (inventory numbers) 90+ percent of those empty! I even suggested they keep like one of whatever they could find, but they were willing to sell me the very last one that existed of many of the items that were still there!

I shot pictures of how bad it is!

I bought basically from Dick what was left that was worthwhile, which wasn't much! That was a few weeks before he died and that was a sad visit in many ways! He just gave me some things, being a long term friend and customer! Therefore I might have been his last parts customer! And then I visited with Kevin a few times and picked up a few more of the scraps and went through every box!

jpcarter48

Thanks it's a shame to think that all that old school engineering could be lost for good.

TCracingCA

If I describe where I saw those, I bet Kevin can get you a set of the adjusters!

Duntov Motors has bushings
Global West are really good bushings, not concentrically drilled!
No one has the real old heavy duty adjustable ball joints, except me and I use precision four bolt Howards
You can get the springs from many outfits
You can buy lube or channeled bolts with zerks
You can get offset trailing arms from Van Steel and others
You can buy big block parts and upgrade some things that way, as his Catalog used much of that, like the latter relay rods!
The bump steer block came originally from Vette Brakes
You can buy a strut rod brace of a heavier duty reinforced from Global West or Toms a Differential!
Someone should be able to assemble a heim set up sway bar
You can buy a Daytona or F41 rear spring and shorten one
The long rear suspension bolts could be made or found!
The rear trailing arm spherical a were crap, ask me why I know!!!
Other cool things had left his Catalog a long time ago!
HD idler arm go get a Vette Brakes unit!
I never liked his shock combinations with his springs! The Bilsteins just weren't ever right and the cheaper Monroes weren't any.better than the red generic Konis single adjusts!
The custom lugs haven't been offered since the 80s
And on and on! If I missed something you wanted, let me know and I probably know who markets such!
I not only have enough Guldstrand components to freshen up my three cars, but I also own everything and more of all of the stuff I just mentioned!
The loss is the 5 links, but he told me that he has only sold in all of the years about 50 sets! I feel I could easily make one, since I have two to pattern off of!

redvetracr

my father used to say "nothing lasts forever". there is a guy in OK who can make you pretty much anything Guldstrand sold.

jimgessner

Thank you Derek. Some day, Dick's engineering will get recognized. I pleaded with him in the 80's to get better organized. He was a great person, but terrible business man.

TCracingCA

To have a small boutique tuner shop or operation! If you go back to many of the classic speed related shops were small type outfits, but with giant reputations (Keith Black, Ed Pink, Traco, Mickey Thompson, Blair's, Moon, Isky, etc etc.)

Only people like the Edlebrocks and similar took it to these big greed empires !

Dick Guldstrand was very recognized! I probably am the only guy with all of his catalogs! And know what he offered year to year! It is fact that some of the cool items were available in the early 70s! I probably singularly have more purchases than anyone else, playing with 3 Camaros, 5 Corvettes that got Guldstrand sold goods! Here are most of the earlier catalogs and I have the latter ones and some others with the same covers like the early brown one, but maybe some changes of the pages year to year! Appears that he usually did a new catalog every year and a half or two or like on three I pictured the ink color of the covers was changed!