1967 GTO project thread
 

Well heres my project. I sold my Nova and its time for me to begin my "new/old" project car. My 1967 GTO. Heres the rundown. Its a factory California car and absolutly rot free. Its very straight and basically the bodywork and paint is done. It was a factory 360hp H.O. auto car from the factory. It came with AC, PS,PB,PA, turbo 400 with a his/hers shifter and 3.36 gears. The car is in fantastic shape.

Its got setimental value for me. Dad and I started the car as a father son project. I drove it in highschool for a while and it spun a bearing so its sat for the last 10 years. When we built it the first time, it was done as cheap as possible just to get it running and driving. Dad and I did the best we could with it but times were tough and money was tight. Several years later I wanted to buld a racecar. Dad and I fought over it and he told me hed be gone to hell before i cut his original GTO up. So thats where the Nova came in. I had my fun with the Nova but it was a racecar at heart. I am now settled down and want a cruiser. Dad told me about a year ago that if I wanted to build that GTO, I could have it, on one condition....i couldnt cut it up and anything that was done as a mod would have to be easily put back to original. I agreed so here we are. The start of a process. It might take a while, but in the end it will be worth it. The basic plans are to...

-Build a street friendly modern steering and suspension
-Richmond 5 speed
-428ci engine {it was the dealer installed factory cool motor for that year}
-4 wheel discs
-Bone stock interior and exterior with the exception of front seatss
-17 or 18" wheels

Nothing too radical, just a nice old GTO that i can drive anywhere

Heres a few pics of the car before I get to building. I tried to get a couple shots of the interior but they wouldnt upload...hmmmmm

Your Dad was a smart guy to save that car from you in your youth. That is a very clean Goat.

so why change it at all ? just rebuild it It's a nice car as it is.

Yeah he was very smart! Funny though at the time i was mad. Now days i would have been mad had he let me do to that GTO, what I did to that Nova. It would have been minitubbed, caged, fuel cell etc etc and would have been a hacked up pile. its funny how things change when you get rid of some of that "piss and vinegar" youre full of when your 18.

Well heres the scoop.
-The engine is original and the block is still good, but its also .030 already and im not going to take a chance on blowing it up....again. Im going to find a donor engine to play with and hop up a bit so if I hurt that engine i wont care.

- I have the original automatic but not the his/hers shifter and console. In our foolishness we sold that 10 years ago because it was collecting dust. We did change the car over to a 4 speed when i was in Highschool. The small hole is already in the floor and the tab is on the frame, plus i have all the odds and ends. I currently have a good Richmond 5 speed and Long H-pattern shifter sitting in the garage so im going to get a scattersheild and SFI flywheel and use it.

-The chassis mods will be modest. No cutting or welding. Just bolt in stuff. Maybe coil overs, tubular A arms, big sway bars etc. Nothing radical. In the rear ill probably use some adjustable uppers and aftermarket lowers. The steering needs to be updated. It has manual steering right now {installed by yours truly in order to go faster in HS} The old power steering wasnt in great shape so ill just update the whole thing at once.

-I like the look of the 17-18" wheels on the big A-body cars. I dont want it to look gaudy so im going with a classic looking Torque Thrust II wheel with a tire that will fit nicely in the wheel well with no mods. I know everyone has them but they are economical and a very nice looking wheel.

-I think all classics should AT LEAST have front discs. If im doing those, I may as well do the back and be done with it. I drove a 70' chevelle in highschool that had 4 wheel power drums and i remember driving through a deep puddle once and loosing them almost altogether. HAHA...good thing no one was in front of me.

This is a good representation of what im looking for when im finished. Anyone on here know who owns this?

I can see your point for the most part. However, if it's done right, rebuilding the 67 block by someone who "knows" Pontiac engines well. You'd have no problem at all, even if you had to do a 40 over. And, as you said you don't want to ruin the block. This means that at some point you'll be dealing with the original engine anyways.

On the other hand, I also see the advantages of building the 428 and going with a nice OD transmission. It all comes down to what you like. Other people can do it their way, but you have to drive and own it. I like to ask myself if I'll drive a car that's all factory original more then one that has had a few of the goodies added that make it more enjoyable to drive? Of course, if driving the car is what it's all about then the upgrades are always a welcome addition. Look at it as more of a means to drive it in today's world. One more thing, the car looks so nice already, anything you do should be an easy endeavor. Have fun, and remember what a smart man your Father was when he said your not making a toy out of the GTO. Best wishes to you, and yours.

Well i over the last 2 months i pulled the entire front end apart and cleaned everything. I got my unnecessary firewall holes all welded in and cleaned up. I got the firewall painted along with the front chassis. I installed my AC delete.com parts wich i can say im very pleased with the fit and finish of this stuff. I also bought a Wilwood 7/8" master cylinder to run the factory brakes for now. Heres a couple shots of the action.

a few more...

Sorry if the pics arent A-1 quality. For some reason my digital camera dosent like my garage lighting

Looking Great! Nice Work!

Shawn

What type of bread are you using? :D

Looks delicious!

...oh, and the progress is looking good too!

....i was hungary!

First I saw this thread.

Nick - Your story is similar to mine...Dad had GTO & wouldn't let son cut it up blah, blah, blah. No disrespect to you or your dad, but you know what I mean, dad's don't want us to enjoy these cars the way we want to.

I made a deal with the 'devil' myself (devil being my dad). However my one stipulation was no 'ghetto' wheels. His interpretation of ghetto wheels is very different from mine! He really didn't want the car chopped up either. Once I realized I had a real Tripower, rustfree car, I agreed. All the mods I have done so far are reversable. I plan on a bigger motor & maybe a 5 speed, but I will not cut the floor. I will pull the original stuff out & save it (motor is not original, but is a '66 GTO 389 - trans & rear end are original to car). He says I gotta wait until he is gone before I put 17s or 18s on it :D. I kinda like my dog dish caps for now anyway.

Good luck on your project & I look forward to seeing your car transform. Feel free to visit my build thread to read about my similar story.

I wanted to put in a floor shift(more cool)but dad wanted me to leave it so I did.Now dad has passed and I want have the car with more comfort and power but no Ghetto.

Very clean car!:cool:

You sure you weren't Yugoslavia?
LOL....sorry, couldn't pass that one up.



I'm glad you posted that....I have them bookmarked as I plan to order the same thing very soon here and just read yesterday on this site where someone said it was just junk, didn't fit right, he's throwing it in the garbage, etc.
Wonder if they sent him the wrong part?

I was very pleased with the fit and finish. I think its a good way to eliminate the heavy AC parts and still have a semi-stock appearing firewall. When you do your install take your time and it will be very easy. I reused my AC heater core and blower motor. all you should have to buy is the AC delete part and some black silicone caulk.

Good. I'll probably order it in the next week.

Your Dad was smart to set that condition. I only have myself, to prevent me from myself...and that is a hard thing to do sometimes. I adopted the same stance - don't change anything that can't be changed back. So far, so good.