Type: Automobiles
Model: Pontiac GTO
Real Name: Ken S
Location: Concord, CA US.
Web Site:
Gender: Dude
Age: 33.41 years
I bought this car in 1991 to work on and restore while I was in High School. I was supposed to sell it for college tuition. I drove it my first few years of college but the commute really took a toll on it's condition so I parked it. In 1997 I brought it out of storage and began driving it again. In 2002 began a complete chassis restoration correcting all the things I did to it when I was younger. It's basically had a frame-off restoration without actually having had the frame removed.
Comments
I just can't get over the color of this car. It's the perfect shade of green. Also really impressed at how the interior looks to be in perfect shape.
Thanks. I restored the interior a few years back so it is mostly new. What ever wasn't available in reproduction I rechromed, cleaned, polished or re-dyed.
Regarding the color, this shade of green is actually very common on '68-'70 Pontiacs. Unlike a lot of other colors that were shared among the GM banners, Verdoro Green was exclusively available on a Pontiac. For most people it's a love it or hate it color - I happen to like it despite how common it is. To be honest, the shade of my car isn't 100% correct. The original color has more yellow in it than my car has. I had to settle for this shade when I had the car repainted in 1993.
You have a very nice car. I like the detail work under the hood very clean. The AC is a nice touch for cruising.
That is one clean classic!
Awesome! Awesome! Love the Goats.
The Goat's Stats
Modifications Made
How it was Used: Boxed rear control arms and added a rear sway bar from a '70 GM A-body.
Price Paid: $100
How it was Used: Converted front brakes to '69-up style single piston caliper power disc brakes. I sounds have done this a long time ago!
Price Paid: $500
How it was Used: Replaced control arm bushings on all four corners with graphite impregnated pieces from PST.
Price Paid: $150
How it was Used: Replaced worn and leaking original steering box with a fast ratio rebuilt unit from my local Kragen. I came in black so I had to
Price Paid: $150
How it was Used: 2-1/2" mandrel bent aluminized exhaust system from Pypes Exhaust. I opted for the x-pipe after reading some comparison results b
Price Paid: $400
How it was Used: Custom built torque converter based upon a GM L88 converter.
Price Paid: $400
How it was Used: Swapped the stock cast steel drums in the rear for early '80's vintage Monte Carlo SS/Olds 442 aluminum drums.
Price Paid: $50
How it was Used: Had the engine rebuilt in 1998 by LJ's Speed and Machine in Napa, CA.
Price Paid: $3500
How it was Used: For those into GTO history, Milt Schornack is a legendary name. He was the creator of the Royal Bobcat performance kits.
Price Paid: $300
How it was Used: Rear bumper was rechromed and replated. I reconditioned the tail lights, tail light housings and all the brackets.
Price Paid: $400
How it was Used: Stripped and restored the engine compartment. Replaced, replated or refinished anything that could be removed. Installed new sta
Price Paid: $0
How it was Used: Replaced weathered and pitted emblems with GM or reproduction replacements.
Price Paid: $0
How it was Used: Cut out original rusted through trunk floor pan and replaced it with a 3 piece trunk floor kit from Performance Years.
Price Paid: $300
How it was Used: Sent the original optional Custom Sports steering wheel to Performance Years Pontiacs and had the rim re-molded and re-grained.
Price Paid: $300
How it was Used: Sandblasted and refinished original Rally II wheels. Replaced weathered center caps, trim rings and lug nuts with reproduction p
Price Paid: $500
twogoats owns:
I have been lusting after a modern GM performance car ever since I got my license. For years I either couldn't afford one or didn't like the styling. Just as I was about to give up I spotted this car sitting by itself among all the '05s on my local dealer's lot. It's the little GTO nobody wanted. It took me a month to work a deal with the dealership (and my wife), but it was worth it. I took it home on December 7th, 2005. The icing on the cake is that it's one of the last 800 produced and has the W40 package which includes Pulse Red paint, a "silver" gauge package and red GTO stitching on the seats.
twogoats used to own:
Technically this is my wife's car. We bought it in July of 2002 and got a great deal on it after going through 4 or 5 sales people during an 8 hour stint at the VW dealer. Like my '04 GTO, this car had been sitting on the lot for quite a while which is why we were able to get a good deal on it. Life was good with the car for about 6 months.
First the driver's side window fell into the door. It was a recall item. Two weeks later the passenger side window fell into the door. The same recall, but hey, why fix BOTH sides when it's in the shop for only one? That might actually save the customer some trouble down the road.
One morning a few months later my wife called from the Bart station to tell me the oil light had come on in her car. Puzzled, I stopped by the station to investigate. I found the oil level alarmingly low. So low that it didn't even read on the dipstick. It took nearly two quarts to get it a reading on the stick. Little did I know that I would be opening a can of worms.
Long story short, thanks to VW's "precision engineering"* on their 2.0 L 4 cylinders I have to add about a quart and a half of oil every 1000-1500 miles. According to VW and several dealers in the area, this is within VW's acceptable range. I have never, I repeat, NEVER owned a car that gratuitously used so much oil. I am not alone here, this is a well-documented issue with the 2.0L engines.
Fast forward another couple of months. My wife goes to leave in the morning after a rain storm and find 2" of water in the driver's side floor pan. We bail the water, take a to a dealer who diagnoses the leak and "solves" the problem. Apparently the windshield was not sealed properly. VW wouldn't cover the replacement of the carpet in the car even though it was soaked. As a matter of fact, the dealer didn't even try to dry it out.
Fast forward yet another few months and two or three quarts of oil. My wife calls me from the Bart parking lot again. This time it's because her car won't go into gear. I'm confused as I haven't noticed a leak and this is usually a sign of low fluid. Strangely I couldn't find a transmission dipstick. That's because VW uses a sealed automatic tranny with a special break-off dipstick that only allows a VW tech to add or check fluid.
That was beside the point anyway, because this thing was locked up beyond all hope. It wouldn't even roll in neutral. I had to call three different tow companies to find one that would literally drag it from it's parking spot. Never did find out what went wrong with the old transmission, but we got a new one under warranty.
The latest drama happened a couple of months ago. The car had developed a musty smell inside and we were having trouble tracing the origin. I happened to notice the floor on the passenger side was damp so I took it into the dealer and mentioned the past history we had with leaks.
This time it turns out that there are some small drain tubes in the corners of the sunroof recess that need to be periodically cleaned or else they will overflow...INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. Note that it doesn't say anything about cleaning these drain tubes anywhere in the factory literature. Design flaw anyone? Never. Not on a German car. We found out the hard way it's a $250 fee to clean the drains. We're still puzzled as to how these tubes got clogged when the sunroof had not been opened or used in months.
Anyway, that's our story. Thanks for sticking it out with me, I'm sure you can see how it earned it's nickname. Hopefully it helps someone out that's thinking of picking up one of these cars. I think it pretty much goes without saying that this will be our first and last VW. I can't wait to scrape this one off my shoe.
*One service advisor did actually use "high precision German engineering" as an excuse for the oil usage.
twogoats spotted:
I first spotted the Monkeemobile in '86 at the Dallas Autorama. 20 years later I ran into it again at the Elk Grove High School car show in Elk Grove, CA. This is #2 of 2 cars that were originally created by Dean Jeffries out of '66 GTO convertibles for use on The Monkees TV show.
It's currently owned by George Barris and will be restored for SEMA in the fall. It's just so goofy looking, how can you not love it?
See http://groups.msn.com/TheMonkeemobile for a great site with lots of Monkeemobile info.
I spotted this '65 GTO convertible at the same car show I saw the Monkeemobile. I belongs to someone in the Northern California GTO Club. It's definitely the quintessential Goat. In addition to being a convertible, it was a 389 tri power 4 speed car with a 3.23 posi rear and rally gauges. It doesn't get much better than that.
I spotted the Woodward Ram Air 6 GTO concept at the Goodguys Get Together in Pleasanton, CA this passed weekend. Much more stunning in person than I imagined. It's got an LS2-based powerplant but I didn't study it close enough to see if it had any power adders. The ram air intakes shroud most of the engine compartment. Lots of carbon fiber detailing throughout the car. Very slick.
twogoats wants to own:
If I had unlimited funds, this is the car I would track down and buy. The Jersey Rattler was my uncle's old gasser in the late '60s. It was a Holman-Moody built car, one of approximately 10 they built. I believe they ran the car primarily on the East Coast as my dad's family was from a small New Jersey town. The car ran the exotic and legendary Ford SOHC 427 and a Chrysler clutch-flite transmission. By the pics it looks like it had fuel injection on it. I believe they ran low 10 second passes with it - possibly high 9s. I'd like to think someone knew what they had and saved this car, but the reality is it was probably raced into the ground. I can only imagine what it would be worth today.
Posted on 2006-06-14 01:11:48