Greetings all,
Well I'll try to keep this focused but need to include first intro to power and brief history. A married Church friend of mine bought a brand new 68 Super Bee and at the ripe age of 11, I encountered what horsepower was all about. That thing was awesome and would plant you back. Too bad that traffic had stopped when the lead car picked up a hitchhiker and my friend was the last car. An approaching vehicle couldn't stop in time and totaled the Bee. My family was pretty much a Ford family but we didn't do much with speed...at the time. FF to 1972 and a move from Idaho to Western Colorado and in 1974 it was time for my first car which wound up being a 61 Chevy Belair 4 door. At the same time my neighbor had a 53 ford F-100 w/o motor or Trans so I traded a bike straight across for it. Uncle Jim was a GM guy and I rebuilt the 283 that came from the Belair in my Auto Mechanics class. Once rebuilt then he pretty much installed the engine for me. Didn't think I'd ever hear it run but while Mom and I were in town Dad turned on the CB radio and they fired up my new Chevord truck. Had a blast in that for awhile but while working for a Ford dealership as a detailer, a 67 Buick GS400 (all stock with Star wars air cleaner and all) crossed my path for $600 and off went my truck. Then a 68 RS Camaro (327 210 hp with 4sp Saginaw) came up and I had both for awhile but sold the Buick to a good buddy of mine.
It was during my HS Auto Mechanics time that I became aware of Pontiacs. A buddy of mine (Rick) had this 67 GTO with a dual quad 400 and something like 4.88s in the back. They thing would chirp the tires, no throttle, coming from the parking lot to main street. Just a wicked ride when he laid into it. Then he sold that an got a 69 Lemans which he promptly pumped up. (Think he still has it too) But we all had some pretty good rides back then with another friend Bill having a 69 Judge. Kicked around Colorado for awhile longer discovering all that life had to offer and met a cool friend (now Brother Tim) with a 69 Road Runner. Well it was time to move to Oregon in 78 and I had sold the Camaro and bought a Vega of all things. Could have trade it for Ricks old 67 GTO but it had caught on fire and I needed a driver. More FF to 1984 and the day before I joined the Navy, I bought another 68 RS Camaro. Then in 1990 a Navy buddy of mine was having problems getting his 68 GTO to fire up after being on cruise. Ammeters don't like 22 gauge speaker wire on the ignition circuit and she fired right up after that. Then he wanted to find a taller geared diff since he was getting out and heading back to Florida. I still don't know what the gear ratio is but we couldn't find a diff and he fell in love with a Trans Am that just returned from Japan. So with $500 and I big smile I bought the GTO. The smile disappeared after checking the oil and finding milk
(oil/water mix) on the stick but I still bought it. Something about no antifreeze while he was on a winter cruise. Dragging it home a guy left a message with my wife telling her that the engine was not the original motor. This fact would come up again in 2007 when I debated selling her. But before I get to 2007 lets stop at 2003 when I heard about the new
"GTO" while I was on a WestPac cruise. One stop was Fremantle/Perth Australia and I found Shacks Holden. Totally impressed with the tour they gave me and a bagful of goodies; I headed back to the ship. Crossing the street, an Aussie bloke saw my bag full of stuff and figured he'd show this Yank the true sounds of American power in the Holden Monaro. After that it was just a matter of time before I had one. The 2004 looked kind of bland to me so I just shined it on. Had hoped to buy a new 2008 GTO to offset my 1968 GTO and 40 year time span. After a couple of relocations post Navy, I stopped at a dealership in Nevada and there was this awesome black GTO w/ 6speed. Had no intentions of buying one just yet until I heard "last year...GTO discontinued". Oh crap...it's on sale...my company has supplier discount...yes you qualify. Test drove and what the heck is this all about. Speed, great interior and handling, 400 hp Vette engine...sign right here. Done.
One year later I find myself with a new company and in Iraq of all places. So today as I write this, I bench race and ponder my future shop and what to do with my 68 Goat. Do I buy the new aftermarket frame and all the goodies, turning the girl into a skid master beast? What power plant do I use? When I thought about selling her in 2007 a guy coded the engine and says it’s a 455ci. Well crap.
So I probably don't have the original motor but I'll double check someday. Back to my question...what engine.
HMMMMM, I have a Chevy 454 on a stand...ok that would work. New GTO's are being wrecked at an alarming rate and LS2s are becoming available. Repower with a new block if the 455 is cracked and toast? Hmmmm option there for sure. One other option....MAXGOAT (name copywrited..you saw it here live). After buying a 2005 Duramax dually and tuning up that beast I am finding others who have powered their musclecars with the Duramax. I've read about 11 sec, 750hp, 1500 lbft and 22mpg in a 7000 pound truck. Those who have done the Max transplant into a car have reported at getting 35mpg in the light body. Dial a boost level and smoke away. I guess it's all about bushel baskets of cash and how true to the original Pontiac I want to be. Getting great fuel mileage and being able to drive my Goat on long distances would be way awesome. The new Goat (and yes it works for me and I'm making the payments)
is a great touring car so there is always that option and just restore the 68 to her April gold color w/black vinyl roof and gold interior.
Novel complete but in a shorter version...1975-76, HS automechanics, Ricks 67 goat, his 69 Lemans and Bill' Judge. Good times at Ridgemont High or something like that.