1967 Pontiac GTO - School Days

Since the last update, students at Dauphin County Technical School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, have made great headway in their restoration work on the '67 Pontiac GTO project car. They've done so much to the Goat that they decided to show it off at the Carlisle (Pennsylvania) Fairgrounds during the 27th annual Spring Carlisle (April 23-27).

The visit of the GTO and four of the six students who are working on it delighted many classic car enthusiasts. Show patrons appreciated the project car, which was displayed near the stage, being completely restored by the students and sponsored by Carlisle Events and Ames Performance.

There was a steady stream of conversation regarding the Pontiac, and many collectors discussed it with the students, some reminiscing about their own similar cars, others hoping to be able to purchase the GTO when it's completed. Many of those who stopped to look said they'd been reading about the project in HIGH PERFORMANCE PONTIAC magazine.

Students Andrew Sprucebank, Scott Dodge, Kelsey Thomas, and Tom Cleary, all sophomores, were able to attend Spring Carlisle to show off their work, along with shop teacher, Joe Macchioni. Nick Fachler, sophomore, and Jeremy Weyant, a junior, were unable to attend the event, but have done their share of work on the '67. The students usually work on the project between 2 and 3 hours each school day.

Once they are finished with it, the musclecar should be quite valuable. As you know, if you have been following its progress, the '67 Pontiac GTO packs a 400 H.O. engine with a four-speed transmission and high-performance options, making it a real collector car.

Some of the recent work completed includes installing the rear taillight panel and front fenders, as well as the dash. The channels around the windows have been reworked and the glass is ready to go in. "Basically the GTO's about all roughed out," says Macchioni. "We just have to finish it up. We've got about another month and a half [before the Carlisle All-GM Nationals]. For the GM Nationals, the engine compartment will be done so the motor can be set in it."

The one part of the car that the students are not working on themselves is the engine. Denny Knaub's UCF Machine Shop in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has completed the rebuilding of the GTO's original 360-horse engine to stock specs inside and has detailed it on the outside. Now the engine is just waiting to be placed back into its home.

After this school year, the same six students will return to the auto shop in the fall, then as juniors and a senior, to finish the restoration. "Hopefully by the end of this school year, all the sheetmetal work will be done, and it'll just be a matter of finishing with the filler and getting it ready for paint" Macchioni said.

Some of the most challenging work that the students have yet to do will be welding around the rear window area and installing the package tray. However, other difficult items during the restoration have gone more smoothly than expected. "They thought the bottom of the windshield channel would be hard, and that went right in for them," Macchioni said. "So they were pleased with the way that went together."

Although the students have been working on the GTO since October 2002, they're still excited about it. "I'm not tired of [the project] yet," said Cleary. "I still enjoy it." Macchioni said that "every day the kids are learning something new. They ask good questions. No one is complaining about working on the Pontiac yet. All of them are still eager to work on it."

Weyant worked on the left quarter panel of the Pontiac. "That was an enormous amount of work," said Steve Ames. The quarter panel had been improperly put in place in the past, and Weyant had to "work his ass off on that," Steve said. "He did not get discouraged. After he got done with the left quarter panel, he asked Joe if he could do the one on the right, because now, he'd figured it out. That's great. That's exactly what we want to see from these kids.

"All of them are doing well," Ames added. "Joe and the students are approaching this very, very well, and are going in the right direction. ...It's everything that I hoped it would be."

Other Pontiac hobbyists are also getting excited about the project. Macchioni said that some people who read about the GTO restoration have called him at the school, others have sent e-mails, and one man even visited the school to see it. "They're just really enthused about the project and the students working on it."

Although they love the process of restoring the Pontiac, the students also can't wait until the project is completed. "I just want it to be finished," Weyant said. Dodge and Thomas look forward to painting the GTO, and Thomas said she'd like to take it to the drag races.

The students plan to use the experience they're gaining in the real world as well. "It's helping us," Thomas stated. "I still want to work with cars," Sprucebank said. But if he doesn't have that opportunity, he realizes that "the skill I got from this shop I could use in iron work or something." Cleary agreed: "I could go in precision metals or something like that."

At Spring Carlisle, Carlisle Events purchased a sand blast cabinet (approximate value $900) from TIP Tools of Canfield, Ohio, for Dauphin County Technical School's auto shop.

As you may have read, the project car was donated by the Carlisle Automotive Classrooms Foundation (CACF). CACF is a nonprofit organization founded by Carlisle Events in 2001 to help high school students get hands-on experience restoring classic vehicles. This year's project car is co-sponsored by Steve Ames of Ames Performance of Marlborough, New Hampshire.

The work-in-progress has a projected completion date of early October and sale of the GTO is scheduled for Fall Carlisle (October 1-5).

Money from the sale will go directly into the Carlisle Automotive Classrooms Foundation so that other students may continue to benefit from hands-on car restoration. The foundation will also donate some of the proceeds to Dauphin County Tech in the form of new equipment for the school's auto shop.

Keep up with the students' progress on Carlisle Events' and Ames Performance's Web sites, www.carsatcarlisle.com and www.amesperf.com. Visit the sites often to see how the work is coming along and to become better acquainted with the students.

As Steve Ames, member of the Automotive Restoration Market Organization, says, "Remember, the youth of today are the future of the hobby--take a kid to a car show."