 Always fashionable and functional,...  Always fashionable and functional, Pontiac's well-designed, new-for-'73interior looked living room comfy. While lacking power brakes and A/C,this GTO is still pretty cool with factory Black Morrokide bucket seats,sport steering wheel, and center console, let alone the Delco AM/FMstereo and eight-track sound system. Jim freshened up the option code"611" red accent carpet with a new one during the restoration. |
 The numbers "714" were Pontiac...  The numbers "714" were Pontiac code for the Rally gauge cluster. Jimshares, "The plating on the instrument bezel was faded and dull, so thesimulated wood was removed very carefully with adhesive cleaner. Thenthe bezel was plated. After masking the bezel, I painted the semi-glossblack, using another original bezel for reference, and reapplied thewood." |
All back together, the exterior was color sanded with 800- through 2,000-grit sandpaper. Jim hand-polished the emerging finish with DuPont 606S polishing compound and various Meguiar's products, such as No. 2 Fine-Cut Cleaner, No. 9 Swirl Remover, and No. 7 Sealer & Glaze. Finally seeing the fruits of his labor beginning to show, Jim topped it with Meguiar's Gold Class liquid.
Jim replaced the fuel lines and most other metal lines with new tubing from Inline Tube. New factory replacement HD springs and bushings set the body just right. Significant remaining original suspension, steering, and even brake components were either painted or left au natural, in accordance with Jim's pre-estoration reference notes.
Done
More for preventative maintenance than necessity, the mighty 400, barely broken in with 72,000 well-maintained miles, was spruced up. This engine left the factory with a Q-jet on a dual- plane cast-iron intake that was fitted with an EGR valve for the first time in 1973. The 4X heads sport 2.11/1.66 valves and the 066 cam specs are 273/282-degrees duration and .410/.414 lift. A single-point Delco distributor lights off the mixture and a cast crank, rods, and pistons work in a two-bolt iron block. Compression ratio is 8.1:1. Originally pumping out 230 net horsepower, Jim felt it was stout enough to warrant stock spec replacement parts like a new cam, lifters, valve springs/seals, timing chain, and of course, the gaskets. ]
Using his notes, Jim redid the surfaces of the 3.42Safe-T-Track rear and detailed the rest of the drivetrain, painstakingly reapplying the assembly line markings. New GM Spicer U-joints and transmission paint marks for the Turbo 400 were tossed in for the final touches.
Such meticulous attention to detail has paid off as theColonnade-style GTO continues to bring home its fair share of GTOAA (Concours Gold '95, '01, and '03) and POCI ('96 and '01) show wins. Most pleased, Jim says, "I got 491 points out of 500 this past summer, so I'm doing fairly well."
Jim Jr., ironically an auto worker for Ford Motors,proudly shares a few parting words on his Goat, "I like the way it drives and handles, and I like the color combination. It was my first new car and there are not many '73 GTOs--and it's a Pontiac. Thanks to my family and friends who put up with my obsession and helped me with advice and finding parts. Like any other project, this one is never finished." Though it may never be finished, it certainly is back to black, and a fine coat of black it is.