# it all starts here: 1966 GTO revival



## mpags (Jul 22, 2018)

I told the basic story in the "newbi introduction" section. Plan was: New/Upgraded Suspension front & rear swap out the not currently running/out of car 389 w/Hurst 4 speed for an LS2 engine & trans out of a 2006 GTO. But after much thought with the advice & comments from the "introduction" thread, I've changed my thought process.
Current plan: Replace body mounts, still the originals & they are showing a bit of dry-rot...
Upgrade Front & Rear Suspension with Upgrade kits I've looked at in the "Original Parts Group" catalog (saving all stock parts removed including hardware)
I'm going to hope for a thumbs up from my engine guy on rebuilding the 389 & drop that back in along with the freshened up 4 speed.
After jacking it up to get under & spray up the body mount nuts & bolts with "PB Buster" & looking the frame over as good as I could I've decided to at very least get the body up high enough to roll the chassis out from under it. Needs to be media blasted, pretty rusted...who would have thought??? I did find only 1 small rot hole directly under the drive side "A-pillar" section of the car that will need to be welded but, believe it or not that's it. When I first crawled under there I thought oh-no! But I think a media blast will do the trick as long as I don't find anymore surprises under there. Only really get to work on the car on weekends by myself it may take some time. Going to try & do everything myself to save as much $$$ as possible. It'll be done right, & if I run into anything out of my league, then I'll bring in someone to make sure it's right. I'll post up a few Pictures of the car as it sits right now as soon as I get home from work tonight.


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## Shake-N-Bake (Jun 16, 2015)

Good plan. Expect the media blast to expose more rust or damaged areas.

Now is a good time to research the car a bit more. Do you have any of the original paperwork for the car? The broadcast build sheet(s) may still be in the car somewhere. Not sure where to look....maybe someone else can help with that?

Do you have the PHS docs?
What is the 2 digit code stamped on the front right face of the engine block? Just under the cylinder head.
Can you post a photo of your body trim tag?

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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

Theres a wealth of knowledge on here, tap into it and "Just Do It".

i was in the same boat 7 years ago and these guys walked or talked me through every situation i ran into, changed , or just plain screwed up. In the end after getting body and paint quotes ended up doing everything myself except the Engine build (make sure your guy knows PONTIACS, or find someone who does), they are a whole different animal than chevys. 

after driving it 6 years ai had a backfire that caught my carb and filter on fire and i let the hot rod shop paint the the bubbled hood and worked a deal to do the trunk and roof so it faded into the body lines. very happy with the match and it gave me an excuse to put on the dual quads i got at a swap meet 5 years back and full 67' ram air set-up. 

I had done some airbrushing but starting my paint career with a 14' long car with subtle body lines thats gonna take a gallon of base with silver flake and a gallon and a half of clear and was a daunting task. luckily i checked at the local high school and they rented me the booth on a saturday and the money goes to the car club , very cool. The teacher also broke out his stash and let me use a top line Iwata gun with paint bags that can spray upside down without spatter.

Still holding strong at 8 years....Go for it!!!


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## Shake-N-Bake (Jun 16, 2015)

On a separate note....if I had a spare LS2 with M12 laying around looking for a home then something like this would interest me.
Just saying....

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/cto/d/1963-buick-skylark-hardtop/6652422357.html

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## mpags (Jul 22, 2018)

Shake-N-Bake, Ya I kind of figured the clean up of the frame will show me what I'm really dealing with, I can only see so much with the body still sitting on it. But again, I was expecting far worse the first time I slid under the car. I just looked at the block & the only numbers I see are: 220234 with WT under the number. I'll "PM" you the same numbers, as far as the body trim tag, I'll type in the information here now & figure how to get the photo's from my Iphone onto my laptop asap. I'm assuming that tag is the one on the firewall top driver side. as I read it:
General Motors Corporation
12C 035
ST 66 24217 BAL 3081 BODY
TR 223 NN PAINT
GD
Body By Fisher 6

That's the best I can replicate the tag without a picture, I promise I'll figure out how to transfer the pictures from my iphone asap. As far as the build sheet & more information on the car, I'll try & talk to my Uncle's widow, she like my Dad, don't like to talk about my Uncle Bobby, still a sore spot in their heart I guess, him being gone. It really is a very sad story & I could see it in my Dad's eyes the first time I drove the car to his house after he had passed away. He held it together, but I never brought the car there again. OK, on to happier thoughts... I was a Plymouth 'CUDA guy my entire life, had 4 different cars over the years, 2-'74's 1-'73 & 1-'72 & I found the original build sheet for each one woven in the springs of the rear seats. I'll pop the rear seat out of the GTO as soon as my wife & daughter are up in the morning to see if Pontiac put them in the same place. Thank You for the interest in my "Quest" so far Very Happy with the information I've received thus far. Pic's to follow...


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## Shake-N-Bake (Jun 16, 2015)

WT is correct for base manual transmission so that is good news. Sounds like a nice and complete car. I have always enjoyed restoring complete cars the most. No fun trying to hunt down missing parts at every turn....

Are you familiar with PHS services?

'cudas are cool. One of my all time favorites...

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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

If performance is what you are after, build the 389 to the 1966 360HP "XS" engine specs. This was a low production factory "ram air" engine - only 190 built. Used the "093" heads, Pontiac "744" cam with matching springs, and tri-power. Four of these "tiger gold" cars toured the drag circuit in 1966 as the GeeTO Tigers sponsored by Royal Pontiac and later re-lettered "ROYAL" in orange with black tiger stripes. 2 were tow cars that towed the 2 race prepped cars. In race form, they hit mid 12's in the 1/4 mile @ 112 MPH. 0-60MPH was in the 4 second range. So don't think that the 389 doesn't have potential to satisfy your need for speed! :thumbsup:


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## mpags (Jul 22, 2018)

Jim, I hear ya, I hope to hear from my engine guy in the next week or so (fingers crossed he's tearing into my engine today) with good news. the engine ran when I pulled it out. it ran badly but did run, oil smoke out the tailpipes & felt like it was not running on all cylinders. Basically it was a tired engine. What I really want out of the engine & entire project is more of a reliable, drive-able fun car. That was my thought process in the beginning when I was thinking LS2 drivetrain out of a 2006 GTO. Too much late night television I think. Damn they make it look so easy. Anyway, don't want a race car, but don't want a ***** either. I think this is going to be a long, slow process. I hope to get all the body mount bolts out today. I'd be happy with that for now.


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