[arbys]

Glad that everything went fine for you. The car looks great and looking forward to more pictures.

[6 Grrrs]

Looks great. I too am looking forward to more pics.

[hotrodrx]

Jeff, All I can say is what a great day! It is rare to participate in breaking-in a freshly restored 67 convertible. I enjoyed every minute. I may have driven a "little" faster than you at times but she was telling me to test her. No danger of a Ken Keefer/Steve Dietz engine having any rpm issues. By the way, the back two barrels of the q-jet work just fine. This convertible is as tight as a hardtop. Easy to drive. The restoration is a 10, no doubt. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures and hearing some stories. Thanks again for including me on sharing the memorable day. Bill Bass

[Gator67]

My intention was to post photos of the car sooner, but I've been having way too much fun driving it. It's run through almost two tanks of gas since it's been home. I've taken it about everywhere except for mall (which I like to avoid) and work (parking spaces are far too narrow). I can't believe all the thumbs up I get...this caught me off guard, maybe because I'm so used to people waving other fingers at me!

It's been a long time since I've had an old car (1986 to be exact), and it took some time to re-familiarize myself. I forgot, for example, that these cars won't start first thing in the morning with just a turn of the key. I chuckled to myself when I remembered there was a routine I needed to follow to get it to fire up and run.

In any case, here is a photo of the first oil change with my son helping. I realize now why my parents used to hate me getting under a car when I lived at home. The other photo shows the car at a park where my wife and I take long walks together.

[Old Goat 67]

Don't ya just love it when a plan comes together!

Especially when it looks like that!

[GT182]

Originally Posted by Gator67

I realize now why my parents used to hate me getting under a car when I lived at home. The other photo shows the car at a park where my wife and I take long walks together.

My dad would never do his own oil changes, so I was the one to do it for him if he didn't go to the service station.

Park? Which one is it? Just in case I'm down that way and need something to drive while you both are on that 'long walk' together. LOL Seriously tho... I'd never leave my GTO sitting like that in any Park. You never know..... especially with the top down. It's almost an open invitation.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by GT182

I'd never leave my GTO sitting like that in any Park. You never know..... especially with the top down. It's almost an open invitation.

I've owned many convertibles and I've learned that if a thief wants to rifle though your car to find out if you have anything inside worth stealing, it's much better to have the top down or windows open (and glove box and console unlocked). I try to keep nothing of value in my car in plain sight, but I've been surprised at how low the bar is for some thieves. I once had someone rip through the top of an M3 I owned to steal a pair of ratty basketball shoes...

[Gator67]

I realized today that it's been a while since I posted an update (a month in fact), and that I failed to post more pics as promised.

Here's photo of the finished interior. I had the steering wheel remolded by our host, and it came out great. I have a thread in the PY Customer Satisfaction forum where I posted before and after pics--and also pics of a wheel that was restored using a different method. Jim Shepard (j69shep) from Phoenix restored the AM/FM radio and installed an auxiliary input, the unit looks and functions perfectly.

The photo of the trunk shows the spare tire mounted on a HURST wheel. I secured the wheel by tapping a reproduction center cap so that it would screw on to the hold-down bolt (which I had to extend a couple inches). It works quite well. Don't know what to do with the jack base now, though I'd never use it with the bumper jack to lift the car.

Finally, here's a photo of the finished engine bay. The battery topper looked kind of cheesy in the package, but installed on the car it looks really good.

In terms of an update. I drove the car a couple hundred very enjoyable miles. The car we so reliable I didn't think twice about driving it all the way back down to the shop in Stuart so a couple issues could be take care of. The issues were pretty minor, but Steve's such a great guy, he stands behind his work 100% and was happy to take of it. I'm looking forward to getting the car back soon, that's for sure. I won't think twice about driving it home this time!

[nodwyer]

Once again, beautiful restore and great pics.

[geeteeohguy]

So THAT'S what a brand new 1967 GTO convertible looks like! Gator, you got yourself a "keeper"!!!! Turned out excellent in every detail. Congrats.

[GT182]

Gator, that is gorgeous. Most excellent job.

[Gator67]

Thanks for all the compliments guys.

I picked up the car from the shop yesterday and drove it back home--another 250 trouble-free miles. While it was there, the carb was rebuilt so it could keep up better with the increased displacement and other performance related parts in the motor. Steve incorporated several modifications suggested by Cliff Ruggles, and I couldn't be any happier with the outcome. The car ran well before (the carb was previously rebuilt to stock specks), but it felt sluggish at higher RPMs, it ran a little hot (never any higher than 210 though), and there was some pinging at WOT. Now the car feels much more responsive and powerful at all RPMs. No more pinging. It runs 20-30 degrees cooler. And to top it all off, I went a lot further on a tank of gas. I'm blown away that the carb modifications would take care of so many issues and make the car run so much better. I can't thank Steve enough for taking the car back and working so hard to make me a very happy and satisfied customer.

The only bummer is that it's love bug season here in Florida--see attached photos if you don't know what this means. She cleaned up well, and looks new again.

[Greg Reid]

I know why they call them love bugs but they really ought to call the hate bugs...because I don't know anyone that doesn't hate 'em.

[GT182]

Jeff, get a bug screen for it.... if you can find one. I remember back in the 50s my dad putting a bug screen on the front of the 64 Star Chief to keep the bugs off. Worked very well for the shadflies we had up on the Canadian border in NY. Those things are just as bad as your love bugs down there in Florida.

[Gator67]

After about two months, I thought I’d take a couple minutes to update this thread.

The biggest news is that I’ve relocated with my family to Arizona.

I used Reliable to ship the car (enclosed) from Orlando to Phoenix—it arrived before I did, and they stored it in their warehouse in Chandler until I was ready for it.

I picked the car up about 2 in the afternoon, and it was scorching hot—about 115 degrees! The car looked great, and I was excited to climb inside for the twenty-five mile trip home. The trip was uneventful, except I was disappointed to hear pinging when I accelerated. The water temp didn’t get any hotter than it did in Florida (190). Can the difference in elevation (higher), air temp (higher), and humidity (lower) explain it?

I stopped on the side of the road, and took a little timing out of the car, but it didn’t seem to help much. I was almost on empty, so I stopped at a gas station, and it was there I discovered that the max octane for pump gas in Arizona is 91—I used 93 in Florida, which the car was happy with. I put in about a half-tank, and sure enough, the pinging seemed to get worse.

A couple days later I drove past a gas station and saw the words “Race Gas” printed on a sign. I pulled in and purchased a 5-gallon jug of VP100. At $65 dollars, it was expensive (and my wife, who was with me at the time, wasn’t very impressed), but it sure did take care of my pinging issues—and it also made the car run stronger (at least it felt so). I’ve since found sources that will feed this new habit less expensively, but at some point, I’ll want to make changes so that the car will run here on 91 from the pump.

I been driving the car quite a bit, but given the heat, I’m limited to early mornings and evenings. That said, there’s nothing quite like driving in the desert hills at night with the top down. The car scene here is fantastic. I routinely see classics driving around, and there seem to be cruise-ins and car show every week. At some point, when it cools down a bit outside, I’ll get up the nerve to participate.

[JTT99]

Originally Posted by Gator67

After about two months, I thought I’d take a couple minutes to update this thread.

I been driving the car quite a bit, but given the heat, I’m limited to early mornings and evenings. That said, there’s nothing quite like driving in the desert hills at night with the top down. The car scene here is fantastic. I routinely see classics driving around, and there seem to be cruise-ins and car show every week. At some point, when it cools down a bit outside, I’ll get up the nerve to participate.

The car activities here are really good like you point out, just wait until October when things really begin to happen. Pavillion's (101 & Indian Bend in Scottsdale) show is every Saturday evening and Pontiac night is the second Saturday of the month. Cactus GTO's is a good group, I recently joined and they are a good bunch of guys. Check it out, look to see you on the scene soon.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by Gator67

After about two months, I thought I’d take a couple minutes to update this thread.

The biggest news is that I’ve relocated with my family to Arizona.

I used Reliable to ship the car (enclosed) from Orlando to Phoenix—it arrived before I did, and they stored it in their warehouse in Chandler until I was ready for it.

I picked the car up about 2 in the afternoon, and it was scorching hot—about 115 degrees! The car looked great, and I was excited to climb inside for the twenty-five mile trip home. The trip was uneventful, except I was disappointed to hear pinging when I accelerated. The water temp didn’t get any hotter than it did in Florida (190). Can the difference in elevation (higher), air temp (higher), and humidity (lower) explain it?

I stopped on the side of the road, and took a little timing out of the car, but it didn’t seem to help much. I was almost on empty, so I stopped at a gas station, and it was there I discovered that the max octane for pump gas in Arizona is 91—I used 93 in Florida, which the car was happy with. I put in about a half-tank, and sure enough, the pinging seemed to get worse.

A couple days later I drove past a gas station and saw the words “Race Gas” printed on a sign. I pulled in and purchased a 5-gallon jug of VP100. At $65 dollars, it was expensive (and my wife, who was with me at the time, wasn’t very impressed), but it sure did take care of my pinging issues—and it also made the car run stronger (at least it felt so). I’ve since found sources that will feed this new habit less expensively, but at some point, I’ll want to make changes so that the car will run here on 91 from the pump.

I been driving the car quite a bit, but given the heat, I’m limited to early mornings and evenings. That said, there’s nothing quite like driving in the desert hills at night with the top down. The car scene here is fantastic. I routinely see classics driving around, and there seem to be cruise-ins and car show every week. At some point, when it cools down a bit outside, I’ll get up the nerve to participate.

You might find this thread interesting...I haven't tried it but it sounds promising...

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...hlight=toluene

[Gator67]

I read through the thread you referred to Greg, but for now I think I'll stick to adding a couple gallons of race gas each time I fill up. I've discovered that it's readily available here, the closest location being just 5 minutes away from my home. However, because I want to take the car on some long road trips to places where race gas may be unavailable (or where it would be very inconvenient to have to look for it), I'll have to make changes so that it will run well with what's commonly available at the pump. I guess an option would be to cart along a 5 gallons jug of toluene, but I'm not sure how safe that would be. In any case, we're still settling in here--unpacking and taking care of neglected household systems (we've had problems with AC, the pool, and irrigation so far) so time constraints force me to leave things as they are for now.

[Gator67]

Originally Posted by JTT99

The car activities here are really good like you point out, just wait until October when things really begin to happen. Pavillion's (101 & Indian Bend in Scottsdale) show is every Saturday evening and Pontiac night is the second Saturday of the month. Cactus GTO's is a good group, I recently joined and they are a good bunch of guys. Check it out, look to see you on the scene soon.

I should have time to drive to the Pavillions this Saturday to check things out, it's only 5 minutes away. I'll also look into the Club. Thanks!

[Gator67]

I can't believe it's been over 6 months since my last post. Here's an update.

The car has been running great, and it's been super reliable. I don't think twice about loading up the family for 30 mile trips across town. With 462 cubes, a 4-speed and 3.55s, it's also a blast to drive, especially on canyon roads while the sun's setting. It looks like I'm on track to put on about 2000 miles this year.

I haven't entered it in any shows yet. This year's Pontiac Heaven (March 30-April 1) will be the first. I attend some cruise-ins and always get compliments on the car. The number one comment I get is, "I love that color". Apparently, there's another Linden Green convertible in town with black guts and top. At some point, I hope to get a picture of the two side by side. I also get compliments about the quality of Steve Dietz's bodywork and paint. I also get lots of question about the Hurst Wheels. They take a bit of work to keep clean, especially the ones on the front because I have disc brakes. I'm probably going to replace the bullet caps with flat caps just to change things up a bit.

It appears that the pinging I referred to previously was due to bad gas. After I ran through a few tanks of Chevron 91, I no longer have the problem. It ran cool all summer, never getting much above the line between 100-210 on my rally gauges, even in traffic or when cruising at 75mph.

I haven't done much to the car since moving. I replaced the cracked tail light lenses with some that I bought from Ebay. They polished-up nicely and look absolutely perfect. I replaced the black knob window crank handles with ones with white knobs (from Corvette Central). I also replaced the vent window latches (and the vent window I broke while doing the latches), convertible switch bezel, rear view mirror bracket, seat knobs, and a couple other minor items.

I can't think of anything left to do with the car except to drive it. Though...I have a set of 670 heads and a 67 intake sitting in my garage, and the possibility of sending them off to SD Performance for the full treatment is something I'm starting to consider...or maybe I should just buy another project...

Here's a recent photo...