[Bob-o]

I have always been a car guy. I'm 43 and I've had at least that many cars. When I was in 9th or 10th grade My sister worked with a guy that always wanted a 69 gto. I remember when he finally got one and how proud he was. His was white with a black vinyl top. Started out stock and wound up going tens at detroit dragway. I have wanted one of these since at least then. I've had a few pretty quick cars (11's) that I always dumped way too much money into because I couldnt afford my dream car. About 6 months ago I bought my car out of a barn about 20 minutes from my house. I'm sure I paid too much as its in need of a total restoration. I'm even more sure that I DONT CARE!!!! It is a true gto. Verdoro green, black vinyl top, 4 spd with console, cornering lights and hood/trunk lights. The original engine/trans/rearend are long gone. Here is my dilema... What do I do now? I'm 4 body bolts away from seperating the body from the frame and I dont even know what color to paint it. Much less do I know what I want to do with it. I deffinitly want more than a street cruiser. I deffinitly dont want a drag only car. I deffinitly dont have any intention of ever selling it but I dont want to destroy its value either. Every other car I've had from Trans Ams to Mustangs to a Grand National have just been "itch scratchers". Throw all the money I can afford at them to make them as cool as I can then get rid of them because their not a GTO.
I have a couple of different 400's in the garage and a set of edelbrock heads. I really dig the 4 spds but I dont believe I could afford to make one last for long behind nitrous and slicks. I had a manual valve body th400 in the car for a bit before I took the car apart and sold the trans. (it was attached to a small block chevy that was only in the car to sell the engine) Roll Cage or not? I have 3 kids and a wife and only my son has any interest at all, and it is very minor, to even ride in it. So its not about the space just the value if I ever have to sell. My most reoccurring thought has been to go back to totally stock looking (even though the verdoro green is not my favorite) put some wheel vintiques on it with drag radials and an autogear muncie. I think a roller cam would make it sound close enough to stock to really have some fun especially with the nitrous. My biggest issue here is budget. I've already collected much of what I need to restore including a fiberglass hood and front bumper to save some weight, quarter skins, valance, and rear bumper. But money to do it right just isnt on the table right now beyond paint and body. Give me your suggestions, experiances, anything! Ultimately I realize this is my decision but I am stuck!

[1969GTO]

I own a 69 GTO too,ten years now and #4 in my life time.
Mine is painted Matadore RED, T400 from Monster Transmissions and a Continental 10" 2800-3000 stall converter, engine is a 400 stroked to a 462.
I put all Ram Air Judge parts on it without the stripe and THE JUDGE decal.
I have 15x7 & 8 rally 2's with REDLINE tires and 3.90 gears.
Cast intake as per Cliff Ruggles cut by SDPERFORMANCE and an 800 Q-JET from Cliff.
The car is stock appering inside and out,cruses nice,and will do 12.4@107 in the 1/4 mile with slicks.
Have fun with the car,make it yours.

[salem1912]

I say Verdoro green but that's just me Any picture's of the car?

[Cerberus]

Resto-mod it and have fun. That's the beauty of restoration - you can go whatever direction you want!

[The Boss]

Stick with Voodoo Green and the stock appearance. Build a stroked 400 using quality parts, some good ported D-port heads will flow as well or better than the round ports and not cost as much. Keep it a 4spd and find a nodular rear or a 12 bolt to throw in it.

Won't be a 10 second car but you'll be solidly in the 12's and probably hit the 11's and will be streetable enough to take the wife & kids out and also won't break the bank.

Welcome to the board, you've come to the right place.

[GTO JOHN]

I've owned my '69 GTO since 1994. Original drivetrain long gone. So I made it the way I wanted. Original plan was to do a black Judge clone. Then found out a guy in the local GTO club already had a real black 69 Judge so I left the stripes off. Put some blacked out Rally II wheels on it and left off some trim to give it the Punisher look.

Took a '69 400 2bbl block, punched it .030 and added a stroker crank, roller cam and valvetrain, E-Heads, and Hooker supercomp headers to give it 540HP and 595FT tourque. DMH cutouts give it a nasty rumble on the streets when you want it. Muncie 4spd and 10 bolt 3.55 posi are holding up ok for now. A Tremec and 12 bolt or Ford 9 inch are in the future I think. Raced it once I think it went 8.51 @90mph in the 1/8 mile. Killer street car though.

Before I installed the 461 I had less than $10,000 in the car including paint and body, interior, a $500 Craigslist engine, and the trans/rear that came with the car. Looked great for the money. I would start with that formula if your strapped for cash early on. You can always make changes and upgrades along the way as money comes available. I would make it a nice driver first so you and your family can enjoy it, then add the racing stuff if you want. Just my $.02 but I would do it this way again. Also, paint the car whatever color you want.

For inspiration, here are some pics and videos....

Engine on Dyno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l0F...3&feature=plcp

Car running through Flowmaster Series 40 mufflers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdIGT...6&feature=plcp

Car running with open cutouts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmFlo...6&feature=plcp

69 GTO Before (1994) and After (2003)

[GTO JOHN]

Forgot to say Welcome to PY! , and post some pics!!

[Verdoro 68]

Originally Posted by The Boss

Stick with Voodoo Green and the stock appearance. Build a stroked 400 using quality parts, some good ported D-port heads will flow as well or better than the round ports and not cost as much. Keep it a 4spd and find a nodular rear or a 12 bolt to throw in it.

Won't be a 10 second car but you'll be solidly in the 12's and probably hit the 11's and will be streetable enough to take the wife & kids out and also won't break the bank.

Welcome to the board, you've come to the right place.

This is the way I'd go with it. Keep it well mannered, but quick and reasonably stock appearing. No tubbing, no roll cage or manual valve body - just a fun car to drive and enjoy. Since the original drivetrain is long gone, paint it whatever color you like.

[Bob-o]

Thanks for all the responses! Forgot to mention that it already has a ford 9" with 31 spline axles and a 3.70 gear set. I'm glad to hear your muncie is holding up behind the 461 stroker!!! I'd love to go that route and will look more closely at that option now. I picked up the e heads as part of big package of stuff for $1500 for everything. I couldnt pass that up! I have a bunch of stuff on craigslist as of 2 days ago, to add to the project funding. I'll get some pics on here tomorrow. Its paintbrush blue now but you can still find the original green in the door jams and cowl area. Hoping to spend some time in the barn this weekend and get back to it. Thanks for the inspiration!!!

[Hammertime Mike]

Sounds like your getting yourself into a very rewarding project. Go with a stroker 400, a reasonably stout roller hydraulic cam [bigger than RA IV specs] to go with your E-heads. 4 speeds are fun, but a well built turbo 400 with a 3,200-3,500 stall will easily handle a 500 hp poncho and be hassle free. That's my ideal street set-up anyhow and welcome to PY. And by all means POST pictures !!

[Bob-o]

Moved the car from the barn back to the garage yesterday and cut off the drivers side quarter panel. pics coming soon of that!

[GOAT WHORE]

Bob, welcome to the board, I also own a 69. When I first read your post I thought wow, this guy has a lot of decisions to make. After seeing the pictures I think the decision is pretty clear. I think you would be a fool to not remove the body from the frame, clean and paint and start your restoration.
The picture below is of my car with the quarter cut off. If you are doing complete quarters, not skins, I hope you got the door aligned where you need it before you cut off the quarter so you have something to align the new quarter up to.
My car has the original engine, trans and rear. I sent the heads out to Dave at SD performance and he ported them to 250 cfm and port matched the intake to RAIV specs. I plan on stroking the 400 with a .030 over bore to make a 462ci. also plan on MSD RTR and RAIII exhaust manifolds. Besides the above mentioned it will look stock in everyother way.
Again welcome and keep the picts coming.

[69 RA GTO]

Bob, I agree with Whore.... Remove the body and do the chassis being you have the car all the way down to the bare shell. You will be glad you did it in the end as all the body bushings and suspension are 43 years old and shot and need to be replaced. I am currently working on 2 69 cars currently and they are both down to bare shell and I pulled both bodies off as its so much easier to work on. Good luck with your project and welcome to the board

[Bob-o]

So, I bought a rotisserie today! 1st question is floorpans... it seems like I should leave the body attached to the frame to avoid bending things. I'll be replacing the entire floorpan including the braces. I've seen alot of bracing welded into the doors and crossbracing through the interior. This is my first total restoration so sorry if the questions seem a bit basic. (laughter is welcomed, but so is help!)