[SD455DJ]

Sorry in advance for the long story, but thought the PY family would like to hear about it…

Last week an older lady contacted my brother Dan to ask him if he would come over to look at a car her recently passed husband left. She thought it was a 1967 Tempest and wanted someone with Pontiac knowledge to help her assess its value before she peddled the car. She told him that some of her deceased husbands friends were pressuring her into selling them the car, that it wasn’t worth anything and nothing but junk. She got Dan’s name from her nephew who got it from me through a coworker of mine…follow that? Didn’t think so...lol...

Dan said he would meet her where the car was stored (yes, an old barn) about 20 minutes away. Dan asked Scott Tiemann to tag along and they meet her at the barn. The story was her husband (the friend’s uncle) stopped driving the car in 1980 (when last registered & licensed) and sat outside parked on grass until 1988 when it was rolled into the barn. She didn’t know if the engine ran since it was parked over 42 years ago.

The car ended up being a 1966 GTO that her husband bought used back in late 1971 with roughly 60,000 miles on the odometer (now with 138,480 mi.). The barn was dark and back in the far corner was the Goat with 4 flat tires, it was covered with dust and bird crap, and was easy to see the prolific rust even in the dim light cast from the open barn doors. The GTO’s roof was caved in from kids swinging on ropes from the beams and using the it for a landing pad. Squeezing between the grills and the barn wall they could just release the hood latch to open the hood. They saw the std. 4-bbl ‘pie-pan’ air cleaner but rest of the engine bay was too dark to see anything, so was assumed to be the original YC code for the 389 with ST-300 2-speed automatic trans. They couldn’t get the doors opened, but could wee an aftermarket shifter on a center console, some aftermarket gauges, but not much else due to the dim light. She already made up her mind to sell it to these two ‘strangers’ since they were polite and respectful showing her the actual condition of the car and why it wasn’t the gold mine she was thinking it was.

They finished giving the GTO the once-over and inspection report (verbal) and she was pretty set right then and there to sell the GTO Dan and Scott. Scott passed and Dan told her he needed to think about it and would call her the next day to let her know if he wanted it or not. My co-worker friend called me the same night to say thanks for getting Dan in touch with his friend’s aunt, and she said that he (Dan) was going to buy it. I called Dan after that conversation and he said he hadn’t committed to anything yet, but she had! Well, Dan did decide to buy it and take his chances knowing it was super rusty from what little they could see of the old Goat in the dark barn. He went back the next day to finish the deal and arranged to have a roll-back wrecker bring it home. The brakes were locked up so was dragged out of the barn and up onto the rollback.

Once back home, he dug deeper into the unknown to see what he just bought. In the daylight it was evident that most of the body was reverting back to its basic elements (iron ore) and the only salvageable parts were the front end sheet metal, post coupe clear glass and window bright work. The mice had their way with the interior, but not as bad as first thought. The seats looked pretty intact with just the driver seat ripped and worn. The vintage aftermarket tach on the steering column and gauges on the console added to the former street racer’s vibe. You can see the 14x8 ET Slot mags with G60x14 Goodyear Rally GT’s on the rear and the factory wheels with Kelly tires and hubcaps on the front that the uncle raced on the streets with. The body was repainted sometime in the late ‘70’s in a similar color. The frame is rusted through in the typical places of a car sitting on dirt for 8 years…everywhere!

The original owner’s manual, Protect-o-Plate, and window sticker were in the glove box and in the original dealer envelope (along with a speeding ticket, court appearance citation, and fine receipt!) that the mice had chewed the corner off, but hadn’t damaged the contents. The std. YC code 389 4-bbl GTO was ordered with the ST-300 2-speed automatic, AM push button radio, deluxe wheel covers, center console, and Saf-T-Track (3.23 gears and still under the car!) in Palmetto Green and black vinyl interior.

Lifting the hood in the open daylight revealed not a YC code 389 with 093 heads, but a ’69 WH code 400 RAIV block with ‘722’ RAIV heads and ’68 1/2 RAII A-body RA round port exhaust manifolds!!! On top of the heads was an old square bore Edelbrock PB4 aluminum intake with the original AFB 4-bbl carb. This engine was originally installed in a ’69 RAIV 4-speed Firebird (or TA?)! We wish we knew the back story on how it found its way into the ’66 Goat. The aunt didn’t know anything regarding the history of the car or the engine transplant unfortunately, but hazarded a guess that sometime in the mid-seventies the husband found this engine and swapped it in. Where he got a Firebird RAIV engine and RAII A-body exhaust manifolds we can only speculate, but, what a crazy surprise to be found under the hood! It must have been a fun ride.

The engine does rotate, looks really clean under the valve covers, and didn’t have anything but oil on the dipstick, but Dan won’t try to start it since it’s a pretty rare engine (116 ’69 WH code RAIV Firebirds produced) and it hasn’t run in at least 42 years and could have some unseen issues. Under the valve covers (with the extra breathers installed) revealed that the stamped RAIV 1.65 rockers and double nuts were still there…maybe the 041 RAIV cam too, but that will be found out soon. The engine has the hand stamped ‘9792506’ on the right rear of the block where the casting number was ground off. The EUN is 0454078 and the WH engine code are both very clearly stamped. The VIN, however, is hardly legible and can only make out the last 4 digits clearly, the others just barely visible and not legible. Still checking date codes on the block as it’s got to be cleaned of all the crud build-up.

It just shows to go you that there is still muscle car treasure out there hiding in garages, barns, fields, etc. ready to be discovered.

Dennis