1968 Pontiac GTO - Fateful Fortune

In an obvious attempt to generate showroom traffic and neck-snapping second-takes, this factory-optioned two-tone and hideaway-headlights hardtop was specifically ordered by the selling dealer. Rather than going to Joe and Jane Smith Pontiac shopper, it ended up becoming one of the dealership's very own technician's first new-musclecar purchase.

"I darn near bought a '66 396 Chevelle before going overseas in the [army] military," a 60-year-old Stan Ubben confesses. In June of 1967, Stan returned from his draft-induced military service and landed a mechanic's job at Ken Nelson Pontiac of Dixon, Illinois, two months later.

"One morning in 1968, I walked into work and found this '68 GTO in my bay with a dead battery," says Stan. With visions of cruising and racing on the brain, Ubben approached the dealership owner with an offer to buy. Working with a Pontiac salesman up front, Stan found a buyer for his old car. For a princely price of $3,450 in March of 1968, Stan drove off the lot with the brand-new Nightshade Green and Ivory-topped '68 GTO you see before you (two months after it arrived). The Mt. Morris, Illinois, resident confesses, "I was scared to death and shaking like a leaf when I drove the car off the lot. I had never spent so much money in my life!"

For the next seven years, the GTO, Stan's first new musclecar, became the family vehicle with frequent-flyer miles racking up at the, "drive the car faster, daddy!" requests of his daughters. In 1975, the non-vinyl, Ivory-topped Goat was relieved of family duties and driven on special occasions. Sharing a popular notion with '70s musclecar owners, Stan expresses, "I thought about selling it a few times, but I always felt that it had been mine for so long, it should stay with me." Stay with Stan it did, being licensed and insured for summertime cruising and, no doubt, occasional street romps. Who could resist flexing some Goat muscle when you had a factory 360-horse 400 H.O. motor under the hood and a Muncie four-speed between the Parchment bucket seats?

Eventually, the GTO lost the twinkle in her eye and strut in her step. Specialty driving or not, the '68 was tired. No stranger to fixing classic Pontiac muscle, Stan put his years of experience to work. Having opened and operated his own shop, Stan's Performance, since 1973, with the aid of several good friends, he disassembled the GTO to the point of having the body put on a rotisserie in the summer of 2002. Doug Aken's Mount Morris Auto Body Custom and Restoration used six coats of Spies Hecker primer, two acrylic urethane 3688 etching primer coats for metal "bite," two Vario 8590 for primer bonding, and two spray polyester 3508. Then four coats of base paint were applied and wet-sanded with 1,000-grit sandpaper before three coats of clear were sprayed and wet-sanded with 1,200 and 1,500 grit.

In-house, Stan disassembled the chassis, before sending it to Doug for POR-15 and POR-15 Chassis Black (for the satin black GM look) protection underneath. Properly refreshed stock A-arms and spindles were installed along with urethane bushings, a 1 1/4-inch T/A-style front stabilizer bar, a '70 GTO rear bar, Delco gas shocks, and Moog springs.

Plenty stout from the factory and well-maintained over the years, the 400 H.O. wanted for very little. A very basic rebuild was in order with a set of new Clevite 77 bearings, Sealed-Power piston rings, and Crane "068" flat tappet camshaft (212-/228-degrees duration at .050 and 408/.407 lift).

Aside from obvious timing chain and performance valve job, everything else in the code 16 heads and code WS block was left stock. Yes, the distributor is stock down to the points, but a Q-jet tweaking and AC Delco wires and Rapid Fire plugs got this mighty 400 up and running as strong as ever.

Stan used a TA Performance mandrel-bent 2.5-inch exhaust system (factory size is 2.25-inch) utilizing Walker Turbo mufflers and Buick GS-style exhaust tips to give the GTO its mean growl without frying the chrome finish on the rear bumper.

A stock-size 10.5-inch clutch and flywheel were put in along with the factory Hurst-assisted M20 wide-ratio Muncie tranny. Out back the 10-bolt, 3.55 Safe-T-Track factory gears were still good, and with a set of new bearings, they were left to their own devices. "I wanted to keep it as original as possible," was Stan's motto.

The real magic for Ubben occurred in August 2003 upon the day of the restoration's completion. Without the presence of butterflies in the stomach, Stan had quite a different feeling when he drove his newly restored GTO. "When I picked up the body shop owner and we took her out for a spin, it was the best and most fun moment of the entire restoration."

Few Pontiacs can get so much attention out of a fresh restoration. However, this beauty has garnered both the '04 Tri-Power Pontiac at Cordova and Ames Performance Pontiac Nats at Norwalk First In Class wins. At the Norwalk event, this stunning GTO caught our editor's eye and snagged the HPP Editor's Choice Award, as well.

Style, color, performance, and handling were the words that owner, Stan Ubben, readily uses to describe what he loves most about this beauty. "The color and the more powerful motor...plus it didn't have the options like A/C, which I didn't want on a musclecar anyway. I was a musclecar freak then, and I am one today." Make that one very fortunate musclecar freak!

About The Restoration
The restoration of Stan Ubben's GTO was certainly a labor of love considering the fact that he is the original owner and has strong emotional ties to this Pontiac. As a result, great care was taken to make his GTO even better than new in some areas. Here are a few photos of the resto process.