[Qball]

When I was a very young boy in '72-'73 my dad had a used '66 GTO. I remember riding in that car and i remember the my dad was not judicious with the gas pedal and I loved every minute of it. I didn't know what a GTO was, I just liked how dad drove it. Around that time my folks split up and my mother, brother and I moved back to Ohio from Newark, New York.

Dad stayed in New York and would drive out here to see us and we would go see my grand parents. They had a photo album which contained a few pics of my dad's brand new '65 GTO that he bought just after he got out of the Army. it was charcoal gray and was absolutely gorgeous. It was THAT moment that I caught the fever. I would stare at those pics for long periods studying every line and contour. I vowed that I would have a GTO of my very own, some day.

Fast forward to 1989 and I'm in the Air Force and I come across an ad for a 67 GTO. I immediately call and it's still available. The only hitch is that is was @ a 2 hour drive and I didn't have a car. I had to coerce a couple of friends of mine to take me there which they did.

I was love struck the second I saw it. It's 3 different shades of gold paint. It's mad tyte kustom interior. No heater core, the wipers didn't work and, oh yeah, the built 455 under the hood. The guy who built it, had drag racing in mind and it moved out accordingly.

I promptly bought it and dragged it home as I discovered shortly after driving it that it stalled out alot due to the electric fuel pump was not located properly.

The car was very raw and needed a lot of work to make it a good, reliable driver. I eventually realized this and put it up for sale in hopes that she would find a better home and get treated like she deserved. I got a call from a gentleman asking if I was interested in a trade. Sure, why not. I asked him what he had in mind and he said that he had a '66 LeMans. I told him that I was interested and to bring it by. My jaw dropped as he pulled up in this fantastic, red Lemans. It looked perfect. It was a Sprint 6 car with the OHC 4 bbl engine. 3 speed on the floor with a black interior. It was phenomenal. We traded cars plus some cash for me and I was in hog heaven. I joined the local GTOAA chapter (the Central Oklahoma GTO club) and I was on my way.

I ended up blowing the engine and after rebuilding it I couldn't get oil up to the cam. My dad ended up taking the car (he lived in Texas at the time so it was a 3 hour drive) back to his place where it ended up being sold as I wasn't able to do much with it.

Right after I got out of the Air Force in '91 my dad decided that he needed a project and pick up a 67 GTO. He's put in a lot of time, effort and money into it and it's a very nice driver. The day he picked it up I've been trying to talk him out of it (just like any good son would) 16 years later he finally relented. He's ready to pass it on. This February '08 I'm having this gold beauty shipped up here to Chicago. I couldn't be more stoked. I've already been scouring this site and others to get back in the swing of things.

At any rate, this is how the fever started and this is also how it continues.

- Mike