# 1966 GTO Restoration



## jaymay75 (Feb 16, 2012)

I need some advice. This is a few pictures of my dad's 1966 GTO (link below). He was the original owner. This car is in bad shape. Its been sitting outside for at least the last 25 years. Is it worth restoring? Any idea what I would spend restoring it? Is it a lost cause? 

I'm not sure what to do with it. 

http://jmay75.shutterfly.com/174

Thanks for the help


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

That's a tough question. I looked at all the photos and it made me sad --- as you already know, there's extensive rust damage "everywhere" the eye can see. The really hard part is judging whether or not it would be "worth it". I know that cars in worse condition than this one have been successfully restored. It's not easy, and it's certainly not inexpensive, but given the will, the time, the effort, and the cash - it's possible. You'd spend "a lot". Unless there's something about the car that makes it very unusual, rare, or desirable you'd probably spend at least two or three _times_ the amount of money you could ever hope sell it for.

But then there's the fact that it's your Dad's car and with him being the original owner... well it's hard to place any kind of value on that. Depending on your situation, just that fact alone could make bringing it back "worth it" to you personally and then some. 

That's up to you do decide.

I wish you success and peace with whatever you decide to do.

Bear


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## jaymay75 (Feb 16, 2012)

Thats really what I needed to know. I really don't have the time or money to restore it right now, but I always feel guilty that its just sitting outside at my dad's house rotting. 

Given that it would cost 2x-3x more to restore it than its worth, it really just not worth the time and effort to restore it. 

My dad parked it around 1970 because of mechanical issues, and that was it. He never got a chance to work on it after that. UGH. Sad.


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## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

How many miles on it? Should be number matching. I would find a great body and swap all the parts onto it that are usable, keeping it as original as you can. Mitch aka. Too many Projects could put it back together. That car is dooable, but it's going to take alot of welding. The floors look rusty, but are they rotted out?


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Burgundy with a black gut and a four speed. Was a neat car. What Bear said, 100%. I'd put it on ebay and sell it. It may wind up restored or parted out, but at least some or all of it will no longer be rotting away and it will go to a good cause. As an observation, if your dad left it outside in 1970 (42 years ago) and it's sat since, it can't have meant _too_ much to him....probably just an old tired car to him. I'd move it along.


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

:agree with GeeTee, if you don't have the resources put it up for sale, someone will have a use for it.


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## jaymay75 (Feb 16, 2012)

I have a welder and big garage. I have restored my 2004 F150 truck before...It was a Salvage total and I put a new frame and front end on it. That was easy though. Taking off parts, and putting on new parts. Not a lot of body work. 

I'm just trying to get an idea if this project would be worth it. I don't want to spend the time and money restoring it, if its just not worth it. Trying to figure out if this should be a restore project, or a parts car.


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

if you have space and time i would take it apart and see whats salvageable...that way you can get a good assessment for resto and if it's a lost cause you can sell the parts for more than you would get for the car if you are patient . I would say if you did all the work yourself including paint your looking at at least 25k if you have to pay to have it done double that.


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## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

There's a LOT of work there....trim restoration/chrome alone = $$$$ As far as body parts go, you can find original fenders, doors, hood, trunk lids that aren't rusted. the quarter panels and roof are the big problems!....how is the chassis? A sweet body resto in N.Y. is about $35,000....That car Needs everything , BUT it is still a GTO....It is a shame, nothing looks wore out, just shot from sitting.....Eric


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## FlambeauHO (Nov 24, 2011)

Makes me sad too, 25k easy. Like these guys said, put it in the garage and gut it. See how bad it really is, you could spread the money out over years... might be worth doing the resurrection to pass it down.


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## crustysack (Oct 5, 2008)

You are asking "is it worth it?" to restore your dads (original owner) gto . Money wise no, you will spend 25-40k on a car that will be worth 20k when done. So if you are going to restore it to try and sell it for a profit it is NOT worth it. If you are going to restore your dads car to its former glory and keep it in the family and maybe pass it down to your offspring then it is completely worth it. You will have a car that has been in your family for over 50 years and the cool factor there is immeasurable. Those are the two sides of this from a logical, financial standpoint it is a bad investment, but for the sentimental ,and intrinsic value of this car then its a great investment. You need to decide if you want to invest the time and money for your own satisfaction.


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## jaymay75 (Feb 16, 2012)

Thank you for all of your feedback. I think I'm going to pass on restoring it. It think its a lost cause. 

If he would have kept it in a garage for 40 years, then I'd have something to work with. That didn't happen. 

Like many of you said, I'll spend 2x-3x what its worth to fix it. I was thinking of restoring it if I could spend under $10K...but I can't spend $20-40K on restoring it. That just isn't going to happen. 

I think I'm going to find a later model wrecked sports car and restore that - then sell it and do another. I did this with my 2004 F150 with 8,000 miles. I bought it wrecked and rebuilt it putting a new frame on it. It was a great project and I'm still driving that truck today. The pictures of it are in my original post. 

Good luck to all of you, and thanks for the feedback.


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## Logchain (Nov 29, 2011)

Jaymay if your interested in parting the car out I would be willing to buy some of the parts. Console, radio, grilles. Let me know if your interested.


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