1966 Pontiac GTO - Resto Recon

The bellhousing must have seen some serious abuse as it was welded in a few places. Aside from missing the clutch rubber insulator cover, inside we found a burnt clutch disc, worn pressure plate, and a wasted pilot bushing and throw-out bearing. All were all replaced with new parts and the flywheel was resurfaced. The bellhousing was replaced as well.

Surprise! The trans mount was completely oil soaked. This is another sure-fire way to end up with driveline problems so it too was replaced.

Back in the engine compartment you can see that the fenderwell is missing the splash shields that keep water from entering at the wheelwells. Also, simple bolts cover up the wire loom hold-down holes and the hold-downs are missing.

The presence of another "Help" line ground strap, butchered wiring, black painted hood hinges, hood springs, master cylinder, cover and bracket are all evidence of a "restoration in a can" approach, which is typical when a Pontiac like this goes up for sale. Also, the horn relay is incorrect.

Here is the upper A-frame as delivered. When we removed them, they were damaged so they were replaced. Notice the shock absorber grommets have been overtightened and all fasteners and washers are black, which is incorrect.

Here is the engine back in its rightful home with the correct valve covers installed as are the correct air cleaner elements and the bracket to hold the PCV hose. The incorrect carb studs remain and the carbs have not been replated due to budget constraints.

We replaced the alternator with a Delco rebuilt and added the red cap, correct fasteners, and a GM fan belt. The negative battery cable got a star washer. The correctly plated valve cover bolts were on back order (we opted for the chrome replacements) and so was the second alternator bracket so it's not shown.

Up front on the passenger side, we see the newly installed correct lower coolant hose and ground strap. The suspension finishes are natural steel (replicated with paint) for the stabilizer bar, 30 percent gloss on the frame and fenderwells and a fade from natural to black on the tie-rod end.

From the lower passenger side we see the correct iridite plating on the control arm washer and zinc on the nut. However, notice that the control arms are the '67 and later style with a stud and nut as opposed to the correct '66 replacement with a bolt-another concession made for budget reasons. The splash shield is also in place with the correct staples and the correct oil pressure sending unit is shown, as is the correct look filter.

We could see the scar that the factory grease pencil left in the firewall and decided to duplicate the "217." The 2 is short for GTO and the 17 is for the hardtop. Our voltage regulator was re-painted to the original 60 percent gloss black and the firewall is 30 percent gloss black.

A correctly iridite-plated master cylinder cap was installed as were correct zinc-plated shoulder nuts but the cylinder is still black (it should be cast gray and the brake line should be natural) and the hood hinges remain black (they should be zinc phosphate plated). Also the incorrect horn relay remains. The washer reservoir was replaced but it's still not correct. Notice however, the correct wire straps for the positive battery cable on the fenderwell. The washer hose is in the wrong place right now because the clip to hold it at the top of the cowl was on order when the photos were taken.

From this view you can see the correct heater and coolant hoses and assorted factory informational decals. It's not the original battery but at least it's a Delco battery. Proper spring ring cables are in place (but not the battery hold down) as is a correct radiator cap. A new engine wiring harness and the loom holder (which should be engine color) were added at the top of the valve cover. The second part of the throttle cable was left natural and the bracket was painted engine color. A Tri-Power yellow throttle return spring replaced the hardware store spring and 1-Q-66 dated plug wires were installed along with new fasteners.Next time we will take a long look at the body and interior. Remember we were on a budget and the GTO will not get everything it needs to be a gold-standard Goat. But the overall results will be very pleasing so watch as our puppy-mill car with a few dollars becomes a beautiful '66 GTO worthy of any show or cruise.