[6 Grrrs]

I just wanted to post my progress on my '66 GTO Hardtop. I tried to get this car for 15 years & finally have it in my posession. It is a 60,000 mile original tripower 4speed car that came to PA from N. Carolina in the early '80s. The body was pulled off of the frame in 1985/1986 (the underneath was cleaned & painted Montero Red), the frame was sandblasted/painted, all new suspension was installed (with single piston disc fr brakes), the body was set back on the frame, and then it sat like this for 20-21 years. I know it is not original with the shiny paint & all, but I don't care, because it looks good the way it is. I will probably install a set of 17s or 18s on it when I am done.

I have created a page on my website that goves a little more detail to this buildup. It is located here: http://www.akvalley.net/~ss/1966GTO.html

Here is some pics from back in December '06 at the beginning of this journey:



This is a shot of the first time it saw daylight in 20-21 years...


Fast forward a few months...

Same car after washing it, pulling the motor, & changing the wheels...


Here is a shot of the motor installed, after changing the color of the firewall from red to black...


Here is a shot of the underneath of the car with the new gas tank installed & the new Magnaflow Stainless exhaust (the exhaust still needs adjusted - this is why one of the clamps is still visable)...


A close-up of the carbs...

[Jeff Hamlin]

6G,
Very cool. Looking real good!
We just sat the body of a 65' drop top back down and it is also painted bright red top & bottom, at first I thought it would look like crap but it really looks sharp the way all the details POP!

Best of luck & keep up the great work.

[66GTO Jim]

Patience pays! Your 66 looks great! Can't wait to see it when it's finally completed!! Congrats... Jim


Deleted multiple duplicate messages, forum kept timing out.

[6 Grrrs]

Thanks guys

[Brad B. Hillebrand]

Unreal!!!

It starts out looking sort of like a "barn find" then this awsome car after it gets a wash. The engine and detail look very nice. You are doing a great job. Like the exhaust too, is that stainless?

Brad

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Brad B. Hillebrand

Unreal!!!

It starts out looking sort of like a "barn find" then this awsome car after it gets a wash. The engine and detail look very nice. You are doing a great job. Like the exhaust too, is that stainless?

Brad

Yes it is stainless (Magnaflow bolt on kit). Most of the builds I have done in the past, I have done custom exhaust. Either by an exhaust shop, or like on my truck, I took 3" mandrel bends & 3" stainless pipe & built the whole exhaust from scratch.

This time I decided to open a box, and install it. It fits great, but I have to get the front down pipes made. I decided to run the stock manifolds on this car for now. Once I get the pipes made, the rest will be adjusted & tightened up.

[Fred's red sled]

Todd, What product did you put on your firewall?
Car looks great. keep us "posted" ;-)
Fred

[mwritter]

Awesome car - you didn't mention that it had AC. Doesn't get much cooler than a 4spd, tripower and AC.

[6 Grrrs]

Fred:

The firewall was painted with PPG acrylic enamel with some extra hardener in it. The whole underneath was done this way as well. The motor in my truck was painted the same way, and it has held up for 7-8 years (on a 505hp Big Block - heat has not hurt the finish).

mwritter:

This car was not an original A/C car. My father started to put A/C in this car when he did the work that was done to it. If the holes were not in the firewall, I would have left it out. I don't like how it clutters up the engine compartment in these cars. I'm sure I will be glad I did finish the A/C install once I get the car on the road.

He also added Power Windows, Map lights, Sport Wood steering wheel, walnut shift knob, tilt column, power steering, tinted glass, and single piston power disc brakes on the front. These are all original parts, not repops. He has parted out many 64-67 GTOs & LeMans/tempests over the years to accumulate these parts.

This car originally had AM/FM, TriPower, 4speed, 3.55 posi, fr & rr floor mats, tinted windshield, center console, rallye guages, deluxe wheelcovers, and Montero Red/Black interior. It has been confirmed by PHS with these few options.

[6 Grrrs]

Just thought I would update this thread. The GTO has gotten some love over last few weeks & I'm getting closer to having it on the road.

My interior is finished, but needs installed. The car is at a body shop now witht he windshield out. The dash is getting painted & the area around the W/S is getting cleaned up & painted before the new W/S goes in. I have about 90% of the parts I need to get this car on thre road. The rest is just little stuff. I'm shooting for the end of this month. Some of the items done recently: new Griffin Radiator, painted the whole inside with Chassis Saver to preserve the existing metal, as well as get rid of the musty smell, assembled the doors & most of the front clip onto the car, lots of bead blasting/repainting small parts, collected most of the A/C parts I needed, fabricated head pipes to mate the manifolds to the Magnaflow exhaust, clay bar, wetsand, & buff the entire car, etc, etc. Here are some pics from last Saturday...

There are many more pics/info on my site: http://www.akvalley.net/~ss/1966GTO.html

[Greg Reid]

You're doing an excellent job of documenting the resto/refresh of this car. I have a '66 4spd that I bought 2 or 3 months ago that I haven't even had a chance to get home yet. It's in pretty sad shape. I plan to visit your site often for pics of how it should be done.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

You're doing an excellent job of documenting the resto/refresh of this car. I have a '66 4spd that I bought 2 or 3 months ago that I haven't even had a chance to get home yet. It's in pretty sad shape. I plan to visit your site often for pics of how it should be done.

I don't know if it's how it "should" be done, but it is the way I learned to do it. Good luck on your project. It looks like a decent, complete car. I'd go crazy if I didn't have my car home 2-3 months after I bought it. Hell, I'm going crazy while it is at the body shop & that is only 5 miles down the road.

[GTOGreg]

Outstanding work, I'm impressed! Great to see these cars get their lives back.

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by 6 Grrrs

I don't know if it's how it "should" be done, but it is the way I learned to do it. Good luck on your project. It looks like a decent, complete car. I'd go crazy if I didn't have my car home 2-3 months after I bought it. Hell, I'm going crazy while it is at the body shop & that is only 5 miles down the road.

I've got the '68 project at home to keep me busy. When it goes out for finishing, the '66 will come home. I am anxious to get it here though...Last weekend was the first time I ever even heard it run!

[GT182]

Tod, your 66 could be the twin to mine in looks if you add airbrushed flames. But don't, she looks great just as she is. Actually your looks much better than mine. Nice job and well done.

[6 Grrrs]

Originally Posted by GT182

Tod, your 66 could be the twin to mine in looks if you add airbrushed flames. But don't, she looks great just as she is. Actually your looks much better than mine. Nice job and well done.

The front fenders have some fire damage That is about as close as it will get to flames. I don't know if you knew, but this car had an engine fire back in 1985, and that is how/why it has sat for many years all apart. The tops of the fenders & the cowl panel have some of the paint burnt off. I am leaving it as is for now to give it a little character

[6 Grrrs]

Big change in plans from my last update...

The little bit of paintwork that the car needed to get on the road became a major pain in the ass. I was just interested in repairing the pass side door & the right rear 1/4 panel. That turned into repairing the front fenders (paint was burnt from the engine fire 20 years ago, and something was spilled on the LF fender & trunk lid). Once the front clip & doors were aligned, the top of the front fenders were stripped, and the body work was done on the right side, then were primed & painted with ppg laquer to match the rest of the car (painted in 1983 or so with ppg laquer). Well somehow the paint would not match at all & after a few attempts to try to match it, it was decided to sand the whole car down & repaint it (the roof & trunk looked horrible after the car was wetsanded & buffed anyway - looked like a wrinkled up blanket was left on the paint for a long time & stained the paint). I know this was not my plan originally, but I am happy it is now done. The work is great & now the exterior of the car looks as good as the underneath. There was a bunch of dents & a little rust repair that needed done, but the bodywork from 1983 is still under the new paint. I know the proper way would have been to strip the car, but this was all I could afford to do right now & my main objective from the beginning was to get the car on the road & enjoy it for a while. My intention is not to try to win trophies with it, and never was.

I know putting more laquer on top of 20 year old laquer is not the best idea, but my reasons below will make it easier to understand why it was done this way.

This car is being built for a couple of reasons. 1)It is a car I have dreamed of owning for many years, and 2)as some of you know, it was rescued from my parents house 8 months before their house was struck by lightning & burnt to the ground. My parents lost everything, including several other nice classic cars. I want my dad to enjoy this car, too, as his health will not allow him to do a complete restoration on an old car, and he does not care to spend $40k on a finished car. This car is not for sale & I do not care what it is worth to some collector. It will be in my family forever. My son will get it someday. Maybe in another 10 or so years, it can be taken apart, stripped completely, a given a proper base/clear paintjob.

Here are some shots before any paint...









Some shots of it ready for paint (before the problems of matching the color turned up)...







Then the rest of the car got some bodywork & painted...Kind of an odd way to paint the whole car but It really turned out great. The reason the trunklid is taped off is that it needs chemically stripped & he was trying to get the car back to me so I can start assembly.





Some pics of the car yesterday when I picked it up...









Some pics at my house after I put the door handles, mirrors, windshield trim, some emblems, headlight bezels, & other misc trim on it tonight...










The trunk lid, hood, header panel & some other misc small parts still need painted. The trunk lid needs stripped completely & the hood has a few dents in it. Now I plan to start assembly. I still need a few items, but for the most part, I can get alot of work done. I just need to find the time to work on it in the near future.

[hpp]

Car looks great,enjoy it with your dad!

[6 Grrrs]

It's ALIVE!!!!

It's been a long wait, but worth it.

I got it running today and drove it to the gas station to put gas in it. Everything seems to work well (brakes, steering, etc). Have some issues, but hopefully nothing too major. It misses real bad -- like 2 or 3 dead cylinders. It is popping thru the carbs when revving it up. Seems like a lifter is stuck (probably exhaust lifter or 2 since it is popping thru the carbs). This motor was rebuilt in about 1986, yet was never run all these years. It doesn't blow smoke out the exhaust, so no stuck rings. All the ignition/fuel components are new, plug wires on correct, carbs rebuilt, etc, etc. I'm going to do a compression test first & go from there. If it is a stuck lifter or 2, it isn't that big of a job to pull the intake & replace all of the lifters. It has good oil pressure, so the bottom end is fine.

I'm still waiting for my hood, trunk lid & misc small parts from the body shop. Hopefully have them this week. The interior is mostly finished. Mechanically the car is done (except for the lifters), and ready to drive soon.

I'll be posting some more pics soon.

[Old Blue 66]

Todd, I love this thread and the car. Thanks for all the updates. Has your father been able to help through out the restoration?