To keep the red Morrokide from welding to his skin while driving in the heat of the day, Doug installed a knee-knocker-style aftermarket A/C system. A vintage, aluminum Edelbrock intake was bolted on, along with the company's 600-cfm carb to simplify the induction system, and an MSD Pro-Billet distributor and a 6AL box, which is hidden under the seat, ensures reliable spark. Stock log-style exhaust manifolds gave way to a set of Ram Air units to feed the 2.25-inch duals with twin mufflers and factory splitters.
Finally, a Tremec TKO five-speed trans from Hanlon Motorsports in St. Peters, Pennsylvania, and a Centerforce Dual-Friction clutch replaced the factory four-speed, providing a lower First gear as well as an Overdrive gear to turn lower rpm on the highway. "Now the GTO is fun to drive anywhere," Doug says. With a set of Weld Wheels that, at a glance, look like '60s vintage Halibrands, and blackwall radial rubber, the GTO took on the attitude of mild modified from back in the day.
The Son's '64 Gto - Tim appreciates his dad's '64s, but in his younger days, he was more into late-model performers. "I bought a '96 Cobra Mustang, then a Saleen Mustang," he explains. "I modified them and raced at the local dragstrip regularly."
With all the attention that was paid to Doug's '64 however, Tim soon decided that he too would like to build a '64 GTO but with a few more modern amenities. In what Doug describes as "a weak moment," he offered Tim his other '64 GTO, which had been awaiting a resto since 1992.
Doug bought this one out of Chicago and learned a valuable lesson about "sight-unseen" purchases. He and Jackie limped it home from the Windy City making frequent stops at auto parts stores as the headliner rained decomposing material down on them with each passing truck. They made it all the way to Georgia without a breakdown. Then 17-year-old Tim, excited to check out his dad's new Goat, hopped in for a spin down the street and instantly blew a head gasket! At the time, he had no idea that same GTO would be his 12 years later.
"I started that Pontiac on January 1, 2004," Tim tells HPP. "Dad gave it to me to build a drag car for the GTO Nats. January 2, I was outside sandblasting the frame, and dad realized we weren't building a drag car. In seven months, the GTO went from frame-off to finished. We made it to the GTO Nats with less than a mile on it. We were bolting on headlight bezels and grilles as it was loaded on the trailer."
Beginning with a '70 455 engine, the block was machined as needed and bored 0.030 over. The stock crank was refurbished, and aftermarket forged-steel rods were employed with JE forged flat-top pistons. While the oil pan is stock, a high-volume oil pump ensures the crude gets to where it's needed.
An Edelbrock hydraulic cam featuring 231/240-degrees duration at 0.050 and 0.516/0.516 lift was installed to complement the company's aluminum heads. A set of 1.65-ratio roller rockers and Comp Cams pushrods move 2.11/1.66 stainless valves in the 87cc chambers. Compression is approximately 9.5:1.
A Performer RPM intake is bolted to the heads and is fed air and fuel by an Edelbrock 800-cfm Thunder Series AVS carb, which draws atmosphere through a K&N air cleaner and fuel through a high-volume mechanical pump.
An MSD Pro-Billet distributor, coil, and 8.5mm wires deliver spark to the plugs, and Doug's 1.875-inch headers exhaust the 462 into 2.5-inch mandrel-bent pipes with an x-style crossover and a pair of Spin Tech mufflers.
 ... an Alpine AM/FM CD head...  ... an Alpine AM/FM CD head unit that is hidden in the glovebox. Two MB Quart midrange speakers are tucked in the air vents, and two more are mounted on the package shelf with a pair of high-range tweeters. |
 The stereo's output is boosted...  The stereo's output is boosted by JL 500/1 and 300/4 amps mounted in the trunk under a custom cover. A pair of JL W-7 8-inch subwoofers are also in the trunk behind custom grillework. |
 This GTO was in restoration...  This GTO was in restoration from 1984 to 2000. Its bumpers were rechromed in the early '80s. Those wheels that look like the Halibrands of the '60s are actually Weld Wheels measuring 15x7.5, shod with 215/65R15 Dayton blackwall radials all around. |

Air Ride Suspension |
 Except for the knee-knocker...  Except for the knee-knocker A/C, the interior of Doug's GTO is all stock-restored in red Morrokide, also by Lamar Stevens Upholstery. Doug fabricated a bracket for the Tremec five-speed to properly locate the stock shifter handle in a '65 GTO console. |