Dick Guldstrand was a racer, engineer, vehicle designer, and beloved Corvette Hall of Fame member. Recently, the National Corvette Museum added to its Guldstrand Collection hundreds of items of memorabilia collected throughout his lifetime including helmets, banners, racing suits, trophies, and more.
Pictured here is one of Guldstrand’s racing suits. Made by Hinchman of Indianapolis, the Pre NOMEX fireproof suit is a light cotton crème colored jumpsuit that offered no fire protection value. Embroidered on the right check in blue is Guldstrand’s name, and on the right is Goodyear’s Wingfoot logo with three red, yellow, and blue stripes. Not pictured is the back, where another Goodyear logo is between the shoulder blades. Interestingly, a 1.5-inch-long safety pin is in the left leg, suggesting that it could be a good luck charm.
On the back of the Bell 500TX helmet is the safety approval by the Snell Memorial Foundation and a decal deteriorated beyond legibility.
These artifacts speak to the rich life among Corvettes and the racing that Dick Guldstrand lived. We are honored to be the torchbearers of his legacy at the National Corvette Museum.
This Collection was generously donated by Leslie Gardner.
Author: Brian Baker, Director of Collections and Education
