1967 Pontiac GTO - Pro, Pro, Pro Your Goat

Though installing the EFI onto the traditional Pontiac block was straightforward, tuning the EFI to properly feed the turbos was left to a pro. "Tuning had some challenges and that's one area not to be experimented with by amateurs," Fiala said. "I've been in the engine-building business 22 years, and even I brought in a tuning professional to make sure the complexity of the twin-turbo setup was dialed-in perfectly. For the task, Fiala used Travis Quillen of Quillen Motorsports Engineering. Additional tuning on the chassis-dyno was performed by Brian Ebert of HiTech Motorsport.

Transmission Accomplished
This GTO is equipped with a heavily-modified Bowler 4L85-E four-speed automatic transmission. "We chose this specific GM transmission because it will handle over 1,000 horsepower," Hudson said. "We also chose a Bowler billet 2,500-stall, 10-inch lock-up torque converter, which the company recommended to us."

Bolting the modern GM automatic transmission to the IA II block was made easier by the fact that the block "has Pontiac and Chevy bolt patterns, which allowed the Chevy bellhousing on the transmission to bolt right up," Hudson said.

But what if you have a factory Pontiac block? What will you need for your block to mate to a 4L85-E? See how to do it in our 4L85-E SuperMatic install in this issue.

With a non-stock drivetrain, a custom driveshaft had to be fabricated. "After measuring the length from the output shaft of the transmission to the yoke of the differential, we had a local shop build us a 5-inch-diameter aluminum driveshaft, which came balanced.

Project Tip: It's always important to have even your stock driveshaft properly balanced," Hudson stressed. "It's cheap insurance against tearing out a pinion bearing, and it will prevent vibrations at high-speeds."

How did MCR get the 4L85-E to communicate with the vehicle? "FAST makes a transmission controller which is GM compatible, and interfaces with the FAST EFI computer," Hudson said.

Project Tip: "There's a lesson for HPP readers when they're buying transmissions that come with controllers. When we bought the 4L85-E, it came with its own controller, and it was incompatible with our engine's ECU, which prevented our speedometer and traction control from operating. We then had to buy a FAST transmission controller, to ensure seamless compatibility. The best bet is to buy one made from the same manufacturer who makes your engine controller."

Body And Paint
Hutchen's GTO required sheetmetal replacement, which is common to '60s-era GTOs. "The rear quarters had been replaced once before and done poorly, so we cut them out and welded in reproduction ones sourced from Ames, and installed new front fenders. Details of the sheetmetal firewall, floor, inner wheelwells, and trunk can be found in the Feb. '10 issue of HPP.

Project Tip: According to Hudson, the metalwork encompassed more than 1,300 hours of labor. Though it is unlikely your project will need anywhere near this much metal fabrication, there is a rule of thumb to be learned. "Unless your car is extremely rare or very special to you, or you have unlimited funds, use the 75 percent rule," Hudson advises. "If you have to replace more than 75 percent of the metal on your car, it's probably not worth building it in the long run. You may be better off finding a different project, or a rust-free body to start with."

After the GTO was e-coated, a process in which the vehicle body was dipped into an electrically-charged tank to adhere the primer to the metal, MCR's body and paint department put the shell on a rotisserie and the e-coat was scuffed," Chris Arendt, MCR's body shop manager, explained. "Our men applied Duraglass to rough out the welded seams to prevent moisture from accumulating, followed by PPG DP epoxy primers, then Marson Platinum Plus lightweight filler to finish the weld seams and correct the sheetmetal imperfections.