# 1966 GTO questions



## sonic22 (Aug 9, 2015)

Hey guys,

I just bought a #s matching 1966 GTO hard top all original Tri power, 4spd. Been reading up on the message boards and all the great information on here. The reason for my post is while I am a car guy I am not a mechanic and cannot do any of the restoration or fix ups myself. I have to take it to a classic car mechanic here in town. Its currently there now as I wanted someone to look at it and give me their opinion on what needed to be done. He charges $100 per hour which I can live with but again as mentioned I don't know whether I am getting taken advantage of or not. The car is in decent shape, no rust at all. 

Currently I am getting the back breaks fixed, new shocks and springs, new fuel tank and the wiring harness done, also replaced the oil pressure, temperature, and fuel gauges. All of this is costing me $6500. I plan on driving this car around 5000 miles per year as I don't want to just let it sit in the garage. 

I believe there is an oil pan leak and possibly a rear seal leak. The mechanic wanted to basically take the whole engine out and clean it including the carbs. When I heard what he was going to charge (8K)I decided not to since I just bought the car. 

If I plan on driving the car around 5K each year what kind of maintenance or preventive care would you recommend I do to keep the engine in decent shape. I definitely want to get the leaks fixed and also at some point do a carb clean but i do have to keep price in mind. Overall I think the car is in good shape but I also know its from 1966 and want to make sure I can enjoy the car for years to come. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I attached a few pictures.


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## Goat Roper (Oct 28, 2014)

:eek2:


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

sonic22 said:


> Currently I am getting the back breaks fixed, new shocks and springs, new fuel tank and the wiring harness done, also replaced the oil pressure, temperature, and fuel gauges. All of this is costing me $6500. I plan on driving this car around 5000 miles per year as I don't want to just let it sit in the garage.
> 
> I believe there is an oil pan leak and possibly a rear seal leak. The mechanic wanted to basically take the whole engine out and clean it including the carbs. When I heard what he was going to charge (8K)I decided not to since I just bought the car.



RUN!!!!!:eek2: First off, I HIGHLY suggest you download the online Ames Performance catalog and price individually each item that you are getting replaced/repaired. I don't think it will take very long to see you are being ripped off at the prices MR $100 AN HOUR is charging you.

Rear brakes, springs, rear shocks, and gas tank are all "simple" remove & replace items. ANY shop can do these to include your average local brake shop. BECAUSE you don't know mechanics, you should check around locally and get several estimates to get your best deal. A dealership might even be a consideration, but I would "network" a little and talk with other old car owners, go to car shows, and get some recommendations as to whom they use as a mechanic/garage.

8K to remove the engine and "clean" it????? I don't know what that means, but you can have the engine professionally rebuilt for less. The carbs, those should be sent out to a professional rebuilder -period.

Not trying to make you feel uncomfortable, but you need to get another shop to do your work at a fair price.:thumbsup:


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

IMHO, never hire a mechanic on an hourly rate for any repairs. Ask for a contract price listing the work to be performed. Then price shop that price, here is a list of automotive shops with reviews in your area;

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#...bm=lcl&rlfi=hd:;si:5233556702364441089&rlha=0

Good luck,


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## sonic22 (Aug 9, 2015)

PontiacJim,

Thank you for the information. You are not making me feel uncomfortable at all. I knew I was being overcharged but also wanted to get opinions here on this forum. Im picking my car up Wednesday and certainly will not bring to back. I have ordered the Ames catalog and that's where my suspicions arose when I saw how much the fuel tank, and gauges were and how much I was being charged. I read the shops reviews online which were all very good however all of them did say he was expensive so I knew I was getting overcharged but didn't know how much. 

I have an Escalade and the mechanic at the Cadillac dealer who Ive used for a few years told me they would be able to service it as I was asking him if he knew any classic car mechanics. I will certainly start to network and see what else I can find. 

The good thing is I bought the car in very good shape(at least I think) but I also paid a good price for it so im trying to limit what I put into it. Another question if you don't mind is I paid 33K for the car and they were asking 39K. I wanted an all original matching #s GTO tripower 4 spd whichthis is . I verified all the #s down to the heads and intake manifolds and also obtained the PHS documents which matched up. It has 91K original miles and black is the original color according to the PHS documents. This is something I wanted and wanted it original that was working and rust free but curious to see what your thoughts are on the price I paid for it. 

I am very thankful I found this forum and appreciate all your insights and advice.


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## sonic22 (Aug 9, 2015)

05GTO,

Thanks for the link..im going to contact 2 of them I didn't find before in my search on Monday. Ironically the place I took mine too was on your list. Unfortunately in Vegas there are classic car dealers but really don't do mechanic work as Ive called several of them to find out. The 2 I have in mind from your list I will let you know what they say. 

This forum is great and appreciate the responses.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

The mechanic was indeed overcharging, but it sounds like he knew the proper course of action to take. Removing the engine for a complete reseal is the only proper way to address a leaker. All of the gaskets get hard, the rear main seal leaks, and the core plugs get thin. I did this job in 2011 on my '67 GTO for under $200. But I did all the labor myself. If you don't work on these cars, be prepared to pay a good deal of money. Skilled auto techs are going extinct, and with no-skill service workers getting $15 minimum wage, the auto techs can and will charge whatever they can get away with. Keep us posted, and keep the photos coming! Good luck. Beautiful GTO there.
Jeff


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## sonic22 (Aug 9, 2015)

Geeteoohguy,

Thanks for the information. Yes I believe that's exactly what he was going to do and remove the engine and reseal and basically clean all the other parts, again he was going to charge 8K which now I know is way too high. Im going to price out a few other mechanics here in Vegas and see what they charge. Although I have to admit I have done some research this morning on the 2 mechanics I am going to call and while the reviews are good the common theme seems to be they are expensive. Will find out the price though and let the forum know what they are going to charge me. Seems here in Vegas I really need to network and find a good mechanic that isn't going to kill me on charges. I certainly don't mind paying for quality work but after this recent visit I definitely got taken advantage of which I won't let happen again. Here are a few more pics from the place I bought it and the PHS document. Can't wait to pick it up on Thursday.


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## Indecision (Oct 24, 2010)

There's a reputable machine shop that will do a full rebuild on the engine minus the carbs for like $4k and you can do a couple upgrades at the same time that make sense (dropping the compression for our shitty gas for instance.) 

Central Virginia Machine Service - Home of the ***** Engine! This place was recommended to me when I was looking at rebuilding my 428, I'm sure they can do a 389 though.


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