Oh Grant !!!!!

[Charley Lillard]

Are you going to show us what you drug home ?

[olredalert]

----What he said, Grant!......Bill S

[grantprix]

Are you going to show us what you drug home ?

This all began back in March when I first learned of this GTO and I waited over 4 months to finally see it. On July 30th, I was finally able to see the car and meet the original owner "Rex" in the South Sacramento area where the car had remained since it was purchased new. Rex purchased the car at Lee Pontiac in Davis on Aug 30th of 1967. He had just got out of the service after being drafted two years prior and was looking for a '67 Chevelle or GTO. Being that late in the model year, there weren't many new '67s left, but he did find this particular GTO by making a phone call to the Pontiac dealer in Davis that had this one available and he bought it. Rex drove the car sparingly until 1986 when he simply parked it in his garage where it just sat and hadn't seen daylight until recently. The car has 35K original miles with "most" of its original paint (I have since found a few areas where there looks to have been some old paint work done), a beautiful original interior and its matching numbers drive-train. Rex installed the mag wheels, steering wheel and tach shortly after buying the car. The car itself is in great condition overall, but will need lots of work to get it running and back on the road again. I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel for its first drive in many years!

[m22mike]

Nice....:worship:

[GrumpyJeff]

Neat car !

[bergy]

WOW - I love that car - Congrats!

[MosportGreen66]

Beautiful survivor. Congrats!

[Xplantdad]

Very nice!:headbang:

[67since67]

Survivors like that are the best!! Congrats!!

[Steve Shauger]

Love these unknown survivors. Congratulations and look forward to hearing an update when you fire it up!:beers:

[L_e_e]

242 on the plate fits the car perfectly!!!

[muscle_collector]

was the guy very emotional when it left? got to feel really sorry for him. but im sure he realized he would rather know where it went than to die wandering what happened to it when he was gone???

great car.

[grantprix]

242 on the plate fits the car perfectly!!!

Hey, someone caught that! Also, Z for the Fremont Plant code.

[grantprix]

was the guy very emotional when it left? got to feel really sorry for him. but im sure he realized he would rather know where it went than to die wandering what happened to it when he was gone???

great car.

Not really, he was ready let it go and had no interest in investing time and money to get it back on the road. He never thought he would still have 52 years later, it just happened.

[grantprix]

Thanks for all of the nice comments! I'll try to post some more as bought photos later, I need to resize them all first to post them here.

[grantprix]

The pinstripe guy at Fremont that day was a little sloppy...

[grantprix]

Clean oil, good sign.

[grantprix]

Wheels, Tires (second set and have around 20K miles on them), the original wheels & caps (he painted the rim faces black at some point before the mags went on), the original inner air cleaner ring and T-3 sealed beams (looks like the driver's lower was replaced, no lines in the triangle).

[grantprix]

They are faint, but you can make out 223, Black and a large G.

[L_e_e]

WOW........Time Capsule. :beers:

[L78M22Rag]

Terrific score Grant! She doesn’t look like she’ll need much to get back on the road other than a good mechanical inspection & some maintenance items. Congrats.

May I ask what the backspace is on those Torq Thrust wheels, and are they 14x6? I’m trying to determine what size and backspace will fit in the wheel wells of my ‘67. Thanks!

[mockingbird812]

Wow Grant - GREAT score. Love it! Congrats!!!! All the smog stuff too!!! Nice time capsule in so many ways!!

[grantprix]

I first used a mild paint cleaner and then some liquid carnuba over that, came out really nice. For the chrome and stainless I used Quick-Glo fine polish together with fine Bronze Wool. Here's some new photos when I had it outside the other day. Need to work on the wheels next and see how well they'll clean up.

[grantprix]

I carefully removed the old Sun tach from the far right pod and installed a nice original "dummy plate" back in place, looks much better now. Was glad to see Rex took the time to wrap an old rag around the tach before installing it which prevented marring up the inside of that pod too bad. I also removed the crumbling upper dash insulation that was making a mess and then vacuumed everything real good. I just wiped down the interior for now, but still need to do the seats & panels with #40. I found the Soft Trim Broadcast sheet just lying on the floor after removing the rear seat bottom to vacuum under there. Also a piece of headliner material with a tag attached and a cut-off piece of rear window trim. There always seems to be a few assembly treasures under a back seat.

[bergy]

You're a great custodian of that car Grant!

[Niblet]

Nice find! Thanks for the pics,,gotta love the survivors!

[PeteLeathersac]

'

Cool updates also very fortunate for the car that it found you too!
:beers:
~ a Pete

.

[mockingbird812]

Cleaning up nicely. Thanks for the update and keep ‘em coming!! :eek2:

[muscle_collector]

now that's my kind of car. just cant beat an unrestored original. congrats and enjoy.

[napa68]

Lovely!

[dustinm]

What stunning colors and overall car.

[grantprix]

Looks like I may be able to save the original paint on the wheels that were sprayed over with black by the original owner. My friend suggested trying lacquer thinner and it worked quite well. I carefully removed a layer at a time and it all wiped off. I then used a paint cleaner and wax over that. They wont be perfect, but will remain original paint this way. Also cleaned up one of the worst caps, that came out nice too.

[SuperNovaSS]

Well done!

Jason

[grantprix]

Day off today and its raining here, good time to post some more photos. Started in on the engine a week or so ago. It looked really nasty initially after removing the original water pump, but there must have been just enough coolant in the system that all of the crud came off easily and didn't damage the timing cover or pump. The divider plates are toast, but those are easily replaced. It looked to have the original thermostat in it that reads "Delcostat". As I expected, the original aluminum/nylon tooth cam timing gear was still in place, but the nylon was completely gone! I've heard over the years that many of these Pontiac nylon gears failed under 20K miles and were done under warranty, but somehow this one kept running and never jumped time. And check out this "storage" decal that I found on the passenger cylinder head behind the smog pump bracket, never seen one of these before.

[grantprix]

All of the dates are pretty tight on this car even being a late '67 build. Most everything is E or F dates and just a few weeks before the build date of 06D.

[grantprix]

Took one wheel off to get photos of the back side. These old redline tires are from OK Tire, I remember those stores as a kid. They look to be reversable, white stripe on one side and red on the other... pretty cool!

[muscle_collector]

I have never seen that storage sticker what do you figure that was all about?

[njsteve]

If the nylon is gone, it is all currently located in the oil pump pickup, clogging it. That was usually the reason the engines were warrantied at 20,000 miles back in the day. Especially in the Northeast. I remember back in high school, the first cold day of the year, was always referred to as "Pontiac Extinction Day", when one good backfire would shatter the brittle nylon and send it all into the oil pan. If the owner kept trying to start it, all that cranking would just suck the pieces into the oil pump and the bearings would suffer as a result.

Are you planning on dropping the pan and flushing everything out?

(That would be a hint from a brother Pontiac-er)

[grantprix]

My friends and I have been discussing this very thing. I'm trying to not take apart more than I have to with this car, but I do understand the importance of making sure that pick up screen is not plugged. The engine appears to be very clean inside from what I've seen so far. Even the 30+ year old oil that was in it came out clean. I have flushed the oil pan twice with 6 qts of paint thinner, the first time I let it sit for five days to loosen any sludge or pieces of nylon that might be in there. I then drained it into a clean bucket and then strained it into another container and I got absolutely nothing other than darkened thinner. I did a second quick flush just to be sure and got the same result. With the drain plug out, you can see the outer portion of the screen just behind the hole and it looks clean as well. Most of the screen has a shroud over it which is very close to the screen itself and I really don't see how it would be possible for larger chunks of nylon to enter inside the covered portion of the screen. Another thing I did was run a wire tie (it would only fit in there flat between the screen and shroud) and ran across the entire screen and there were no obstructions while doing that either, just the sound of plastic running across a screen. And lastly, my friend took a close look with his borescope and saw nothing either. So, did all of that nylon get drained out with frequent oil changes? The warranty/POP booklet shows where Rex wrote down the first three oil changes which averaged 1100 miles per change. If he continued that pattern (or close to it) to 35K miles, that certainly would have helped. While the timing cover and valve covers are off, I will fill it with fresh oil and run the pump manually to make sure its working like it should and go from there. Crossing my fingers!

[mockingbird812]

I love your methodical cleanup and exploration of your goat. Keep us posted Grant!

[Stefano]

Very Kool, thanks for sharing.

[grantprix]

I finally found one piece of plastic from the old cam sprocket, it was lying in a recessed area in the upper part of the valley. It must have been thrown up there from a rod through one of the open holes along the camshaft I'm guessing? Weird!

[grantprix]

Check out this one intake port... has a hunk of slag right in the middle and the opening is partially blocked/unfinished. Not sure why my photos aren't loading right-side up?

[grantprix]

Got that intake port booger removed and lightly cleaned up the edges of the other ports. Did a little more engine degreasing and then started bolting the parts back on. Found an NOS Delcostat t-stat through eBay, tested and installed. Cleaned up the inner fenderwells, jambs and top of core support. Radiator re-cored, painted and back in place. All new coolant hoses and some other items back on.

[grantprix]

Sent my original filthy carb to Eric for a rebuild and repairs. It looks great and is on the way back to me now. While cleaning up the air cleaner I noticed that it still had the original FB-54 breather filter, but the element was long gone. I cleaned it up and installed a new element into it to keep it in place.

[grantprix]

I used paint thinner to clean up the distributor, wires and cap. Installed new points, condenser and rotor... hoping the original cap is still usable. Found one wire (cyl #7) that wasn't original. After some research, I discovered it was a Ford wire. Currently looking for a matching 2-Q-67 wire that I can replace it with. Cleaning the vacuum lines revealed the original stripe colors, all were light green except one was turquoise to the smog pump. They are very hard and stiff so I ordered replacement color striped hoses from Inline Tube.

[WILDCAT_65]

Wow wow wow!
Signet gold 67 4 Speed with old Torq Thrusts, and the whole car a survivor!
It doesn't get getter than this!
The old steering wheel is also very cool! Covico?
Looks a lot better than the newer ones from Grant.

I wanted to buy a gold 67 years ago. Nearly signed the deal, but the owner got weird and wanted more money, even we made a agreement before. I have a old pic if u want to see it. Was a switzerland model.

Congratulations to this obe of the most beautiful cars ever! 101 thumbs up!

I would buy it right away! ;)

[napa68]

I just love this car and the process you are documenting

[grantprix]

The old steering wheel is also very cool! Covico?
Looks a lot better than the newer ones from Grant.


I'm not sure, I didn't see any name on the wheel itself, but the 3 bolts that mount the wheel to the hub do have a "G" on them. Along with the wheels, he said that he installed it not long after buying the car new. Its in very nice shape.

[scuncio]

Amazing car, great thread! Just curious, do those torq thrusts rub on the front fender wheel openings when turning?

[grantprix]

Amazing car, great thread! Just curious, do those torq thrusts rub on the front fender wheel openings when turning?

Thanks! Well, I really cant answer that since I haven't driven the car with those wheels which are currently off of the car. I plan to run the original steel wheels with new rubber when I get to that point. I may run the torq-thrusts again down the road after I get them cleaned up and new tires, I do like how they look on the car.

[grantprix]

Just about ready to fire it up. I just got my restored and correct "768" stamp number/dated alternator from Ken Bruno installed. Primed the engine again yesterday while checking oil pressure with a manual gauge, got an instant and consistent reading of 62 lbs each time. Got the distributor dropped in and then pulled the plugs to blow out the Marvel Mystery oil that has been in there for months. The engine turned over smoothly with no odd noises. After testing the original spark plug wires, I decided to buy a new set of repro's. Half were within spec, half were not and the one #7 wire that had been replaced was dead. New ones should be here next week. Also got the new vacuum hoses ran today. Anyway, hope to have it running next weekend if all goes well!

[mockingbird812]

Looking good!:3gears:

[olredalert]

----Grant,,,I don't recognize the contraption on the right rear of the intake with all the green stripe vacume (sp) lines going to it. Is that California only, and what does it do?......Bill S

[grantprix]

----Grant,,,I don't recognize the contraption on the right rear of the intake with all the green stripe vacume (sp) lines going to it. Is that California only, and what does it do?......Bill S

Bill... that's correct, the '67 CA cars with manual trans and A.I.R. were the first to use this valve together with a dual port vacuum advance that both advances and retards timing. It was also used on '68s and some '69 applications. Not sure exactly how it functions, but I hope it all works!

[grantprix]

Bill... this is from my service manual and explains how the valve functions.

[olredalert]

----Wow, Grant! At least you had almost all of the smog stuff still on the car. The 67 California delivered 442 I bought years back now (not my Mass. delivered 67 W30) had roughly half to a bit less than half of the smog parts in the trunk when it was delivered. Me, wanting to do the right thing, started looking for the missing stuff. That turned out to be just about impossible. I had almost given up when that car got caught up in a shop fire I had (not my fault) and that ended the search...….Bill S

[grantprix]

Bill... yes, I was amazed to see it was all intact when I first saw the car. I just hope it all works as it should, good used or NOS parts for these systems are difficult to find. Sorry to hear about that CA 442. I don't recall you telling me that story before, what a shame.

[olredalert]

Bill... yes, I was amazed to see it was all intact when I first saw the car. I just hope it all works as it should, good used or NOS parts for these systems are difficult to find. Sorry to hear about that CA 442. I don't recall you telling me that story before, what a shame.

----Most of the time I try to forget the fire as I lost two cars and my Suburban, all with no insurance (just no fire and theft on the Subby). Learned quite a lesson that day...….Bill S

[Mallard]

Great looking car. My sister's 2nd ex-husband has (or had, not sure if he still does) the same colour gold '67 goat. His was two tone with a black non-vinyl roof, with power steering and no power brakes, red line tires with hub caps. He bought it from someone in the state of Washington but I don't believe it had the AIR pump on it though. I haven't seen the car in nearly 20 years but he seldom drove it and back then it was mint so I presume it still is.

[grantprix]

Great looking car. My sister's 2nd ex-husband has (or had, not sure if he still does) the same colour gold '67 goat. His was two tone with a black non-vinyl roof, with power steering and no power brakes, red line tires with hub caps. He bought it from someone in the state of Washington but I don't believe it had the AIR pump on it though. I haven't seen the car in nearly 20 years but he seldom drove it and back then it was mint so I presume it still is.

Thank you! Sounds like a fantastic car! Two tone cars are really cool. Most likely didn't have the smog stuff coming from WA state. Hopefully it remains in the same condition.

[grantprix]

Got the new plug wires installed Friday, put some gas in it and turned the key. It fired right up, but took a little bit to clear up and stay running. Once the engine was tuned and carb mixture screws set, it smoothed right out.

Here's a short video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x7ADI2Nlfc

[grantprix]

Started on the brakes a few weeks ago. Original Delco shoes and wheel cylinders still in place. Shoes look good with plenty of meat left. Drum surfaces look great too. Sent out master and wheel cylinders to Karps for sleeving & rebuild. Found a pair of NOS felt wheel seals on eBay. Hope to have it back together in a couple of weeks for the maiden voyage!

[napa68]

Any updates Grant? Love the car and the process!

Tim

[grantprix]

Thanks, Tim... Not much new to report, still waiting on the brake cylinders to be finished and returned to me. I did get the remaining three original wheels stripped of the black spray paint and cleaned up for new tires. I purchased four new repro Goodyear F70-14 Speedway Redlines to match my original spare and had them mounted up the other day. Here's a few more photos.

[grantprix]

Yesterday, I completed the brake system, put the original wheels on and went for a little drive. Car drove very nice, tight and solid like a low mileage car should be. The original heater core started leaking (no surprise there) so I will be addressing that next. Then a Gardner exhaust system to get it back to stock appearance and sound. Getting closer!

[mockingbird812]

What a precious gem!!!!!!! Luuuccckkkkkeeeeee!!!!:drool:

[Xplantdad]

What a precious gem!!!!!!! Luuuccckkkkkeeeeee!!!!:drool:


X2 Wow, what a beauty!:beers:

[napa68]

I'm in love!

[scuncio]

Looks great! Really nice.

[markinnaples]

Boy, that's a nice '67...

[grantprix]

Last weekend I tackled the exhaust system. Also changed the rear axle and trans oil in addition to a quick prep & painting of the rear axle to cover up the old gold paint that was applied by the original owner. Looks and sounds much better. Here's one "before" photo, some new photos and a short clip of it running... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izvZ9bZyXFY

Grant

[big gear head]

Yeah, that's much better.

[mockingbird812]

Real nice!!! :headbang:

[Charley Lillard]

By now you guys have figured out that Grant is kind of a neat nik when it comes to his cars....

[Mr70]

Felix Unger move over.

[napa68]

Wow!

[grantprix]

Just a quick update... removed the original heater core last weekend to have rebuilt, should be ready to install by next weekend. Always a challenge breaking the seal between the box and the firewall insulation pad the first time out, took my time and was careful not to tear the pad. The core itself was very clean, but had a small leak right in the center on one side. Date code of 67 F, right in line with the rest of the car's parts.

[napa68]

Anything new?

[olredalert]

----Grant,,,At this point it must be just like the day this GTO was driven off the dealer lot. Hope to possibly see it at MACAN sometime!......Bill S

[grantprix]

Anything new?

Not much new to report since doing heater core. Just been tinkering with a few little things since then. Been too damn hot here to do much of anything for the last month or more. Looking forward to the cooler fall weather!

[grantprix]

----Grant,,,At this point it must be just like the day this GTO was driven off the dealer lot. Hope to possibly see it at MACAN sometime!......Bill S

Bill... not quite, but it looks pretty good overall for an Old Goat and a year later.

[grantprix]

Took some new engine photos after going for a drive last weekend. Also, two shots of the restored master cylinder by Karps. I requested a satin black finish for the master cylinder body, I like how it turned out.

[muscle_collector]

curious why does it have that air cleaner instead of the pancake one?

[grantprix]

CA cars with A.I.R. got this style.

[mockingbird812]

Looks GREAT! Nice detail! :3gears::3gears::3gears:

[grantprix]

Rex, the original owner of the GTO came up for a visit last Saturday. He was pleased with what I had done to the car. We went for a little drive, for Rex it was the first time in 34 years since he had seen it running. I offered for him to drive it back to the house, but he declined and was happy just to ride along. I did get a quick photo of him behind the wheel after we got back. It was a great day!

[grantprix]

The old steering wheel is also very cool! Covico?
Looks a lot better than the newer ones from Grant.


I forgot to post this before, but after looking online for months I finally figured out what brand steering wheel was on the car when I bought it. It's an Ansen "Apache" model, plain design without the fingergrip on the back side. I first found an identical wheel on the HAMB site that still had its decal in place and then I found an old 1968 Ansen catalog page with this wheel in it. Pretty cool.

[60sStuff]

Mr. Baber,

I need to apologize, as I never did a post on this thread of your bitchin ‘67 Survivor.

Shame on me.

We communicated almost everyday during its resurrection and it was exciting to watch you bring it back.

I’ve poured over all the photos in this thread and read all the great compliments, as well deserved.

Plus I have a folder dedicated to this low mile GTO with about 700+ photos.

I also visited you, the ‘67 and Rex back on Nov. 7th. Seeing it in person and going for a ride was a Thrill.

I dig that A.I.R. (Smog).

Just want to say thanks for “doing it the correct way” and it belongs in your possession.

Regards, Chris.

[grantprix]

Thank you, Buddy!

No need to apologize, you've been more than gracious with your comments on the other thread at the PY Forums.

And thank you for your knowledge & guidance with the '67, I've learned a lot about these cars with your help.

Looking forward to "my turn" soon to see your GTO's and all of your cool 60sStuff!

Grant

[grantprix]

I received a letter from Rex the other day, the original owner of my GTO. Enclosed was this little license plate tag that he had found in a drawer. Pretty cool!! I researched the history on these and found this... http://www.davnews.com/

Grant

[olredalert]

----Very cool, Grant!.....Bill S

[69M22Z]

I received a letter from Rex the other day, the original owner of my GTO. Enclosed was this little license plate tag that he had found in a drawer. Pretty cool!! I researched the history on these and found this... http://www.davnews.com/

Grant

Yes. Cool article

[60sStuff]

Happy Anniversary Grant!

It looks about 2 years since you struck “Signet Gold”.

That mini license plate was a neat surprise in the mail.

Cheers! 🍺

C.

[grantprix]

Happy Anniversary Grant!

It looks about 2 years since you struck “Signet Gold”.

That mini license plate was a neat surprise in the mail.

Cheers! 🍺

C.

Yes Sir, two years to the day today!

Thanks, Buddy!

[grantprix]

I decided to search for a correct era tire display stand from "OK Tires" to go with one of the old Torq Thrust wheels that came on the GTO when I bought it. After searching for a while, I finally found an example online in an old B&W photo and then just waited for the right one to pop up on eBay. I just got it last Saturday and put it all together, pretty cool!

Grant

[60sStuff]

Man, I love those Torq-Thrust wheels!

and the tire.

and the display stand.

and that ‘67.

oh and that license plate frame.

All Survivors.

[scuncio]

There’s nothing like the look of original finish TTs. Awesome!

[ScottG]

Sweet Survivor GTO !

[mockingbird812]

Yowzaaa! That is a nice display…..and of course the Goat is outstanding!!!:3gears::3gears::3gears:

[grantprix]

I noticed the other day that the wheel weight on my original spare was marked with "OEM". Does that mean it's original or is that an old brand name? 🤔

[Formula455SD]

Just an update. I am now the current caretaker of the GTO. Here is an updated picture. I just reinstalled the Torque Thrusts with a set of Wide Oval radials.

250815

[carnut4life]

That's quite a stable of cars you've managed to put together Joe, congratulations!!!

[napa68]

I wish I would have known this car was available. Seemed like a really innocent and pure car. Congrats on the purchase!

[Formula455SD]

I wish I would have known this car was available. Seemed like a really innocent and pure car. Congrats on the purchase!

Thanks. The car is irreplaceable.

Grant wanted the car to stay here in California. Too many California cars have left the state. Its getting hard to find a nice untouched California car here in California. Most of the stuff around here has been modded or restored.... or is a ragged out POS.