A Kirkey aluminum driver seat...
A Kirkey aluminum driver seat is the best-and only-seat in this house. Don says it keeps him perfectly positioned at high-lap speeds.
To put the power to the pavement, Don installed a Spec Stage 2 clutch, mated to a Hays steel billet flywheel, and a Muncie M22 with custom road race gears, a severe-duty case, and a tailshaft from Autogear. A Denny's 3.5-inch aluminum driveshaft connects to a Speedway Engineering Grand National Ford 9-inch rear with 2.75:1 gears.
Rolling Stock And Brakes
This road racer conquers the track with CCW 17x12.5 wheels wrapped in Kuhmo ECSTA V710 335/35-17 racing radials. When it finally comes time to stop his high-speed GTO, Don does so safely with front-mounted Wilwood GT-III calipers with brake recirculators, 13-inch Coleman rotors and Performance Friction 93 compound brake pads. The rear is equally capable with Wilwood Forged Billet Superlite calipers and Coleman 12-inch rotors.
Racing
Don competes under the name Ultimate Warrior Racing (www.gtoroadracer.com) in driving events that allow people to take their high-performance vehicle to professional racetracks to see what it's made of. It's broken down into three categories, based upon driving experience: Expert, Intermediate and Novice. The object is to go as fast as possible, but do it safely and smartly. Don competes in both the Intermediate and Expert Class and reports a top speed of 155 mph on the track and 185 mph on the chassis dyno. Among the tracks he has tamed are Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen, and Virginia International Speedway.
Here's a view that competitors...
Here's a view that competitors never get to see. The front and rear suspensions are custom and the floorpans are fabricated sheetmetal. Don says 50 percent of the work into the GTO can be seen from this photograph alone.
Conclusion
This is one GTO race car that's primarily owner-built and an anomaly in the Pontiac hobby. "I wanted to build a better GTO than Pontiac ever could...and I did. It took me seven years to build it and about 95 percent of the car I did myself," Don continues. "Only the body paint and the engine build were outsourced."
According to this amateur Pontiac racer, the satisfaction of his GTO was not only its build, but a future spin on the ultimate track. "I would like to drive the car on the Nurburgring in Germany, but if that never happens, a closer reality would be the 92-mile Silver State Classic open-road race. In the meantime, I'll continue enjoying my GTO at the tracks listed in this story and the soon-to-be road race course in New Jersey."
| ’64 GTO ROAD RACING SPECS |
| Year/Model | '64 GTO coupe |
| Race Weight With Driver | 3,450 lbs |
| Curb Weight | 3,250 lbs |
| Fuel Level When Weighed | 1/2-tank |
| Fuel | 100-octane |
| Engine | 455 '70 YH |
| Cubic Inches Before/After | 455/440 |
| Engine Built By | Ken's Machine Shop built the short-block, |
| owner assembled the rest of the motor |
| Power Adder | None |
| Induction System |
| Air Cleaner | Custom SLP Blackwing |
| Carburetor | Holley, 830-cfm |
| Jets | No. 89-90 |
| Spacer Plate | Summit Phenolic |
| Intake Manifold | Edelbrock Victor carb flange |
| machined 1/2-in to make room for spacers; machined at a |
| 3-degree angle to level carb 0 degrees to chassis |