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Rob's 1966 Restoration

29K views 83 replies 24 participants last post by  4rd4fun 
#1 ·
Hi,
I just recently joined the forum to help with the restoration of my 1966 GTO. So far I have found the site to be a great tool and I decided that I would give back with a running log of my restoration. I did this with a previous resto and found it helpful to me and for others. A little background, I have had lots of different muscle cars but have been predominantly a mopar guy. The other car I did was a 70 Road Runner. That said when I graduated high school my car was a white 1966 Gto and I have allways wanted to own another. A few years back I saw one in a garage near my house. I talked to the guy and offered to buy it (note it was a white 4spd just like my high school car). Great guy and he considered my offer but his wife really wanted him to keep the car and get it going again. A few weeks back I happened to ride by and see the care sitting outside which was odd as it was allways kept in the garage. I shot him an email and asked if maybe he would reconsider as the weather was going to take a toll on the car. He returned my email stating he might consider as he had wrecked his other car and needed to repair it. Along with that he had also injured his hand. Making it unlikley he would get to the car anytime soon. So there is the long story, now I have a car to restore. I'll post some pictures when I get them downloaded. Thanks to those of you that have already posted great info to help me get started.
Rob
 
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#13 ·
Take a look at Wilwood. My 69 was an original front disc car, but I went with a Wilwood system on all 4 wheels. The car has been up and running since 2011, went on the full Power Tour in 2013, and the brake system has been trouble free.

Bear
 
#17 ·
I too have a 1966 GTO & in need of a full blown resto. I've been a member here on the forum for quite some time for the same reasons as yourself. I'll be following your thread very closely trying to learn what I can. I'm at, well have been at the same point for a long time. I have the original 389 & trans out of the car & that's where I had to stop for several reasons, some personal but mostly the money issue. This morning I just decided #*#*it, it's going to start to get done & finding your thread was great. I'm still stuck between a resto-mod & just a basic resto. My history with the car is on here somewhere, but in a nutshell, I can never sell the car. It must stay in the family. Still don't know where I'm going to get the cash I'll need but I'm getting my act together as of now. Good luck with your build & I'll be hanging around picking up what I can.
 
#22 ·
I delivered the rolling chassis to the shop on Friday so it can be reunited with the body. I'll post some pictures when I get it back home. I was hoping to take it right to the shop doing the final body and paint but his shop is at capacity at the moment. I'll just keep going with the restoration of components.
 
#23 ·
Looks great. I see that you added the rear sway bar - good choice. However, might I suggest that you add the upper/lower control arm braces. This will tie the 2 together and eliminate frame flex if you "use" the power of the engine. I like/used the UMI brand on my 1968 Lemans that I am rebuilding. This has been covered before on the forum's. 1964-1967 GM A-Body Control Arm Reinforcements/Frame Braces [4029] - $129.99 : UMI Performance, Inc. It is a bolt-in with all the parts you need - very easy. These arms have a slight bend to them to clear the floor pan as some brands can hit and you might have to do a little floor adjusting with the hammer. They are also adjustable so this makes it real easy to get your bolts lined up as frames/mounts are not always perfect.

Here is a lesser expensive version, and a copy of what the factory offered on the 4-speed cars, but they have no adjustments should you have any frame issues and they are not as heavy-duty as the UMI pieces. They don't need any additional bolts like the UMI set as they are flat stock and you would use your existing control arm bolts. There is nothing wrong with these and they are certainly better than no braces. https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964-72-gto/fp199#prettyPhoto

Just a suggestion. :thumbsup:
 
#24 ·
Thanks Jim,
I'll take all the suggestions you have. The car is actually a four speed just haven't got the new floor cut yet. It has the factory reinforcements but I'm going to have a closer look at those UMI parts. I have used their stuff before and it's great.

Thanks, Rob
 
#25 ·
She is mated back to the frame. Here are a few pictures. All metal now, rust is completely gone. Unfortunately I had to bring it back home instead of right to the painter. He is booked up, I'll start detailing components and wait my turn. He does beautiful work so it's worth the wait.





 

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