1967 GTO project thread

[Nicks67GTO]

Well its been a while since I updated anything on this so here goes.....

Iv'e stuck a new interior in the car. Im staying with a stock feel for the car. There's not a lot of custom stuff planned for the body or interior. I love the stock look of this stuff and to me it keeps the flavor of the 60's. Legendary supplied all of the plush parts and trim, door panels, headliner, visors, carpet, bolstered seats, trim parts etc. TMI built the console, and its a Grant steering wheel/kit. Other than the dash and the steering column and dash pad its all been gone through. Ill get to those this winter. I am 100% happy with the Legendary stuff. I got the TMI console through Matt's Classic Bowtie's and the Grant wheel through Summit. I'm extremely happy with all of it.

[Nicks67GTO]

I ordered some chassis stuff through SC&C. I decided a while back to go with their stage II kit after researching the heck out of this stuff. I also made the decision that I would buy stuff at leisure, bolt the parts on and see how they work as individuals. I started with The Hellwig Swaybars, Front and chassis mounted rear. They are very nice pieces and I cannot believe the difference they made over the old school WS6 bar/no rear bar I had on their previously. Its like driving a different vehicle just with these bars. Even if I was going to stick with a 100% stock resto I think I would stick these bars on. the front bar was very straight forward. The rear chassis mounted bar took about 2 hours maybe a bit more and had very easy directions. I'm very satisfied with these.

WS6 bar vs Helwig bar...



A few install shots...

[Nicks67GTO]

Iv'e also got a brand new 31 spline 9" trutrac that I picked up from a member here last week.



I am tired of the locker "being a locker" so its got to go. Iv'e also got Currectrac upper and lower RCA's coming in the mail. They should be here next week hopefully. Ill throw some pics up when I get them and install. That's all for now. Hopefully next time I update Ill have my new frame done, my trutrac installed with new 2.75 gears and the rest of the SC&C stage II stuff bought and ready to install. In the meanwhile i'm driving the wheels off this thing!

[Nicks67GTO]

If anyone is interested I have a much more detailed build thread going on the Performance Years board....here's a link

http://forums.performanceyears.com/f...d.php?t=615847

[PonchoJohn]

Love it, Nick!
The interior came out nice! Keep up the great work

[robbie9999]

M8 can you tell me the exact model of the grant steering wheel ? how much was it ? and what size ?

Rob

[Nicks67GTO]

M8 can you tell me the exact model of the grant steering wheel ? how much was it ? and what size ?

Rob

Grant 1178 wheel. 3162 Install kit. Buy the black billet 3 hole to 5 hole adapter. I got mine on ebay for $20. The rubber 3 hole to 5 hole adapter looks awful. Heres a link to the wheel. I also bought the Pontiac horn button.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gr...FUJlMgod61MAIw

[Nicks67GTO]

Well since the last update I got some new stuff in and the difference is dramatic....

-I pulled the old Detroit locker and 3.0 rear gear out of my 9" and stuck a trutrac in, I got from a member here, with a stock Ford 2.75 gear I got on ebay. Couple the 2.75 gear with the Richmond's 3.27 first and 1.24 4th gear and you have the equivilant of an M21 and 3.55's. Perfect for my low revving 455. Then shift into the 1:1 5th gear for a nice 2.75 final drive. 75 MPH is now under 2500rpm with the 28" tall rear tire. The change from locker to trutrac eliminated a lot of problems, including but not limited to an annoying howling noise, mystery driveline vibration, weird clutch chatter, violent chug around corners, random clanks, pops and bangs....i'm not sure why it was so bad. Iv'e had one before that wasn't that bad but regardless, I couldn't be happier with the new Trutrac.

-I also got my Currie Currectrac rear control arms in the mail finally. They took forever to show up but they're worth it. They are beautiful pieces and seem indestructable. The upper arms are monsters compared to my other QA1's. I was surprised by their beef. I got them installed and they are quiet, smooth and bind free unlike the boxed stockers I had. I have no wheel hop now and the ride seems smoother yet. Coupled with the Hellwig sway bars and Bilstiens and I can take some hard turns recreationally while keeping the car fairly level and reasonably controlled and I can also power slide around corners at will!

-I ordered up my SPC front upper and lower A arms, aluminum adjusters, tall nascar ball joints and progressive jounce bumpers from SC&C 2 weeks ago. I got the coil springs Marc spec'd for all 4 corners as well. They should hopefully be here in another week or two but i'm not holding my breath. I'm going to hold off on shocks until I can make up my mind between ridetech HQ's and the Varishocks. Ill run my Bilstiens for a while then upgrade this spring

-Next up is my frame. Mine is a scrambled mess according to the frame shop. Apparently after the accident it was in 25+ years ago, it was butchered by some clown that didn't know what he was doing. Awesome!! My spare is a rust free Montana piece I picked up from a local buddy about a year ago. Anyhow I wan't to have it checked out to make sure its straight before I box, powdercoat, it and stuff it under the car. I'm thinking about doing the "ABC type" of minitub mod to the frame while its out and before I powdercoat it just in case i get the itch to add the minitubs to the car when i buy 18's next year.

Anyhow i cant post pics from this POS computer i'm on, so i'm going to post the text and throw some pics up in a little bit when i get a chance....

Allright its been 3 hours and now that i'm home and on a computer made in the last decade ill post some pics. One thing is for sure.... its a bitch trying to get pics of chassis parts installed with a smartphone.

Yukon 3rd member with the new Trutrac and 2.75 gears





New Currectrac RCA's...



Installed...





QA1 arms are nice! Currie arms are huge??!!



Hopefully next time ill have something to report about the frame progress and some nice SPC stuff laying around to show off!

[Nicks67GTO]

Well ive had some cool stuff show up on my doorstep the last few days.....


SPC Upper A arms with the screw in Howe Nascar style balljoints, CM crossshafts and aluminum adjusters.....





SPC Lower A arms with the Howe balljoints...






SPC coil springs....

[Nicks67GTO]

Question for anyone reading along....what should I use for body mounts? I was told the energy suspension poly pieces don't fit very well, solid aluminum pieces are loud and rough, and rubber stuff deteriorates quickly??

Any suggestions?

[robbie9999]

go with the original rubber, I have gone with the poly before the ride is horrible and the sweaking is beyond annoying, original rubber will not go on you unless your road racing on a daily basis

my 2 cents ...

[67goatman455]

Here is what i used to make sure my frame was straight. And guess what, it was bent in the center, which i knew. Why?....because your supposed to brace the frame rails before you box them. Whoops.

[Nicks67GTO]

Here is what i used to make sure my frame was straight. And guess what, it was bent in the center, which i knew. Why?....because your supposed to brace the frame rails before you box them. Whoops.

Mine seems off a little bit when I measure the body mount X's and it has a weird wrinkle in the front horn on the drivers side. I want to get that taken care of or confirmed ok before I start boxing and possibly narrowing. Thanks for the heads up on bracing the frame if i cut!

[Nicks67GTO]

Is it possible to make a cool looking exhaust with a side exit in front of the rear tire on a 67? I hate my tailpipes. They are in the way and kind of ugly

[67goatman455]

well for that answer your just going to have to watch my build thread :D i'm doing so, but im not sure how far into the body i will go. Ill be looking for a good size diameter pipe to notch the frame out some.

[67Tempest]

http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/...an/GTO0042.jpg

[Nicks67GTO]

Well my frame is still in the shop and the guys over there keep pushing me off. Its kind of annoying but they are being honest about me being second fiddle... so I guess I can give that to them. In the meanwhile Ive selected my wheels and brakes. I decided to go with TRSD signature series brakes. I got them through Matts Classic Bowties here. The fronts are a 2002 Shelby Mustang caliper and the rotors are 13" C4 Vette, 28mm thick. Brackets hubs and hardware seem to be very nicely built. They are pretty nice pieces and my first impression is very good, especially for the price. Im going to hold off on the rears until im 100% sure they will fit with my rear axle narrowed 3/4" on each side. Heres a couple shots of the front brakes....

[Roger Poirier]

I really have a lot of high praise for you and your purchasing prowess. The project is coming along well. Just make sure you do your homework so you don't have to purchase twice. This hobby is expense enough.

[LSXZ28]

Here's why my car budget got cut. I wouldn't have it any other way....

I have 2 of them, that's why my car budget is non-existent... like you, I wouldn't have it any other way!

[LSXZ28]

Car looks great by the way! Any plans for different wheels/tires?