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#241
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I agree the grill looks strange (probably "homemade" at the DPG) but I don't think it has any rocker trim installed in the DPG photo.
I doubt it was anything special originally. I'm inclined to believe it was a production vehicle that, because of it's availability, gradually got morphed into this tire test vehicle. Perhaps in a future Heritage Center visit I could get some build information off the car. K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#242
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Here's another picture of the "back yard", this time my alma mater: Chevrolet Flint Assembly in Flint, Michigan:
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#243
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Well....we've come full circle. I was having breakfast with my buddy MikeW. Mike worked his whole career at the Pontiac complex and retired a few years back. He told a similar story, only in his version it was a '64 big car (Cat or Bonneville) and it was discoved in '67. He also added that there was some body damage, like a dented quarter and bent bumper, as though it had been in an accident in the plant and then stashed to avoid being found out. Different version of the same story? Or an entirely different event? K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#244
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GTO Test car
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Here is the GTO test car. Luke |
#245
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Here's the revised Ames/PY image link of the Tires Test GTO http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...&pictureid=430 |
#246
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#247
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I for one am glad to see this thread getting some action again. Some things have changed (Mike Nixon is sadly no longer with us, and I fear the same for Ralph Reinhart = citydesk175) so perhaps some updates are in order.
Here are some updated links, corrected for the new forum name: Finding and interpreting historical documents: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549092 A couple Arnie Beswick stories: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...=546939&page=3 Delorean and "the Sandwich": http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549318 '63 Nationals: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=549309 Old racer pics: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=543741
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#248
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An update: after driving this truck for about five years I sold it to my father in law. He had it for about 18 years. When he passed away in August of 2008 (just a few short months after the original post) the family asked if I wanted it back. It was pretty beat cosmetically but very sound mechanically. I spent from May to September of 09 redoing the appearance and this truck, since that time, has been my daily driver. 28 years on the road; 206,000 miles. K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 Last edited by Keith Seymore; 04-10-2015 at 10:05 AM. |
#249
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Last edited by giles; 12-26-2016 at 01:28 AM. |
#250
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I also have high g/limit handling certification, as well as Bondurant training. This was back when ABS development was in its infancy and they sent all the related engineers through the training. I managed to schmooze may way into it even though I was not a brake engineer at the time. K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#251
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Just noticed this part of your post; we would have just missed each other.
I was stationed at the DPG from 1990 through Jan 1 of 1994. I came back to Michigan at that time to be a design/release engineer on the GMT800 program. K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
#252
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I'm sure we crossed paths at some point. As part of the 3800 development group we were out at DPG nearly every month (except Jan Feb when we were at Kap!)
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#253
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As long as we are traveling "back to the 90s" I thought I'd post up this picture from an F-car development trip circa January '97. Grainy, yes, but this was still pre-digital pictures!
This was an engineering trip so the purpose was product development and refinement for the 1998 model year. All of the cars are engineering mules except for the '97 Anniversary Camaro. Note all the other cars have a "hood bump". The cars mechanically were '98s including powertrains, brake systems, electrical content, and chassis tuning. They also had '98 induction systems which would not fit under a stock '97 hood. Rather than put '98 sheet metal on everything and give secrets away, the cars were built with rather unsightly fiberglass panels attached to cover the holes cut in the steel hoods for clearance. Some were painted body color, some were left gel-coat white. The '97 Firehawk hoods provided ample clearance too, and we had a few Firebirds with them, but none were on this trip. The trip included V-6 (my program) and V8 cars. We drove from Michigan to Denver (where I joined) through Colorado into Utah. We took this side trip to the Bonneville Salt Flats. We did not venture far out on to the salt as it was a little wet this time of year, but far enough to realize how vast and flat it was! We continued on into Nevada stopping in Vegas and ending in Phoenix. If I remember correctly there were 3 V6s and 3 V8s along with the '97 production Camaro, and I think we had a Mustang along for comparison, as well as a chase truck. This was a typical product development trip where we would travel 3-400 miles per day, taking data, rotating among cars and meeting and discussing at the day's end to consider changes / improvements for the following day. This timing would have been "pre-pilot" with the intent of finalizing any changes prior to "pilot" build (or "start of saleable vehicle" - can't recall exactly when that term replaced pilot, but around this time frame). Pilot '98s would have been built in March '97 at Ste Therese. I wound up with two vehicles out of that pilot build but that is another story.... |
#254
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Hi Keith. I used to work for the traffic safety department at the dpg. I conducted the high-speed training and spent a lot of time training in that old gto. Believe It Or not, that car is still around.
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#255
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#256
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Yes! Pictures are always welcome! K
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'63 LeMans Convertible '63 Grand Prix '65 GTO - original, unrestored, Dad was original owner, 5000 original mile Royal Pontiac factory racer '74 Chevelle - original owner, 9.85 @ 136 mph besthttp://www.superchevy.com/features/s...hevy-chevelle/ My Pontiac Story: http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=560524 "Intro from an old Assembly Plant Guy":http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=342926 |
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