Eckler Industries

I have owned my 1974 Z/28 Type LT since 1989 or 1990, depending on what part of it you are talking about. I have only owned one other car longer. My attraction to it started in high school when a friend bought a beautiful, low-mileage ’73 Z/28 with a 4-speed.  He took me for a ride and I was impressed at how docile it was to drive normally, but it was an animal when he got on it. That stuck with me, so when in 1989 a co-worker announced he was selling his ’74 Z/28 4-speed, I was interested. Beautiful it was not, but I bought it for about what the engine and transmission were worth. It was originally from New Jersey, then was brought to Florida to live on the beach. As you can imagine, this meant there was rust everywhere

It’s that time of year again – summer! These are the times we look so forward to all winter long - warm summer days that blend seamlessly into the night, giving us plenty of time for those classic car get-togethers.

In 1957 I traded a ’54 Ford Crestliner and $1200 for this ’57 Bel Air 2-door hardtop. Black with a black/silver interior along with a 270 horse, 2x4 barrel set up, 3-speed tranny and a 3.55 single track rear end. This was in February of ’57, and the only drag strip open that time of the year was Yello Belly Drag Strip in Grand Prairie, Texas. The car ran 16 seconds flat at 90 mph crossing the finish line in second gear. This was our family car until 1960, then we purchased a 1959 station wagon.

I purchased this 1987 Ford Mustang LX 2.3L from its original owner, literally a little old lady, who drove it for over 100K miles and then parked it for 16 years. Fortunately, her husband had some sense and kept it covered in a garage. It was the exact car I was looking for. 

The 1966 Sting Ray’s styling was very similar to the ’65’s, but there were some subtle changes. The Corvette “script” emblem was an elongated, more vertical style and was affixed to the hood and rear deck. The grille was now a plated, square mesh, cast unit. The roof B-pillar vents that had been both functional and non-functional in previous mid-year Corvettes (1964-1965) were now deleted. Another cool thing about the ’66? This was the intro year for the legendary 427!

This rare big-block 1969 Camaro Pace Car is one Dane’s dream realized.


When people say “pace car”, the 1969 Camaro comes into your mind. At least it does for me, I think it is epitome of Indy Pace Cars.

The dream of owning one started back in 1988 when I travelled the U.S. for 13 months with two friends. They were “car guys” just like myself, and we got to see 39 states and a lot of cars.

Since high school, I had longed for two things. A 1957 Chevy convertible was number one and number two was an El Camino. The ’57 Chevy came first, and the search for an El Camino came later. I started with a ’71 then sold it and bought a ’77, then ’80 SS. My desire still had not been fulfilled, much to my disappointment. The sun did shine on me however the day I stood looking at this ’67. My heart skipped a few beats when it dawned on me that this car had a lot of potential. After much discussion with my wife regarding my vision for purchasing this El Camino and doing a restoration, the car became a reality. That was in April of 2006.

This may seem like a super simple little project, but believe me, when your tires have been coated in primer overspray, it’s not.

Our project Chevelle was in the shop undergoing bodywork, primer, more bodywork, more primer, some finessing bodywork, a little more primer…well, you get the idea. The car was moved around in the shop (a lot) over the course of the months, and quite often, our wheels and tires were the unlikely recipient of some nasty overspray, rubbing compound, etc.