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by Sean Mattingly. 1966 GTO Parking Lot Biggest GTO image collection anywhere! |
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by Sean Mattingly. 1966 GTO Parking Lot Biggest GTO image collection anywhere! |
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... PICTURE SET CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE CLICK-> 
  
Cadet Blue 1966 GTO hardtop, left side view.CLICK-> 
Terry and his Cadet Blue 1966 GTO hardtop.CLICK-> 
Cadet Blue 1966 GTO hardtop. Two views in one!CLICK-> 
Here's a shot of that 389ci engine in Terry's Cadet Blue 1966 GTO.CLICK-> 
Jim Costello snapped pictures of this blue 1966 Tempest Custom that is located in Northern Nebraska. You can tell a LOT about a car by studying a few photos of it. Let's see... This car shows some of the typical wear and tear that happens to cars at this age. It has a peeling vinyl top. That happens when the sun dries out the petroleums the once-stretchy vinyl is made of. After the vinyl curls up, water will get between the vinyl and the roof metal and make a rusty mess. This car has thin faded paint. The car was left outdoors in the sun a lot. Sometimes cars get buffed to make them shine. Overbuffing can lead to a thinner coating of paint, too thin to resist the weather elements. Looks like you can see right through to the primer on this car. If those leaves are left in a pile on the cowl vent area, this can cause bad rustout problems. The leaf pile will hold damaging moisture as the leaves decompose. The lower windshield area can rot through, exposing the floorboards to unwanted rainwater. Next "to go" will be the floor metal in front of the front seats. This car also shows the typical paint chips on the front. See the vertical metal between the grilles? Vertical metal on the front of cars will chip quite easily. Can this car be saved? Yes! The sheetmetal looks straight, the trim is all there. The car looks like it is sitting low in the front. Might need a set of wheels. Have jack will travel.CLICK-> 
1966 Tempest Custom from the rear. Looks like the side trim is screwed on in several places with external screws. This car was probably repainted in the 1970's by someone who removed all the trim and then lost the proper trim clips; thus, the screws. Looks like there is evidence of a previous sheetmetal repair here. See the lower fender? The metal has separated there. The lower piece may have been added as a patch to cover up some rust. That is a frequent rustout area. Another frequent rustout area is the metal under the lower windowglass moulding. The bad news in this photo is the pile of leaves. It will accelerate rustout by trapping moisture right on top of this vulnerable valley and hold it there. As bad as this photo might appear at first glance, there is good news. The parts are all there! A restorer would need some new trim pieces. The bumper could go to a re-chroming shop for an exchange or repair. No problem.CLICK-> 
We continue to study this 1966 Tempest Custom that is sitting around. While it has some minor battle scars, it is still fairly straight. The windowglass is all there, meaning there might only be minimal damage to the interior. By looking at that side trim, I'd guess it's the aftermarket type that was usually put onto boats and RV's with sheetmetal screws. This car is missing the driver's side mirror, an easy part to replace. Look how flat the paint is. That might be enamel that was applied in the 1980's. More good news: the car actually has a couple tires on this side and they are holding some air. The front end is not sitting very high in the air, so chances are good that it still has an engine in it! CLICK-> 
Let's fling open the door and peek inside this well-worn Tempest Custom. Smells musty in here. You know the "old car" smell, eh? It's got bucket seats and a console. The cloth seats don't look original. The steering wheel shows the typical cracks that come with age and exposure to sunlight. The top of the dash is cracked for sure. Loks like they may have put a cloth of some type on top of the cracked dash to hide it or slow it's deterioration. This photo shows more encouraging news: The transmission is probably still in place. See the shifter lever showing at the bottom right of the steering wheel? The console is missing the lid for the storage part of it. Chances are good this part got tossed into the backseat, or is stashed in the trunk. Teh other good thing in this photo is the presence of an original-style radio. That means that the dash wiring has probably not been hacked up.CLICK-> 
What else can we discern from staring at this set of Tempest photos? You can see the original blue color in the door jamb. The dark blue paint on the dash seems to match it. Look at the floor; probably got mice up under the dash. They like to eat that brown insulation and make a smelly mess of it. What's with that console? Looks like one out of a later year car? I'm not familiar with 1966 consoles at all. Maybe the console comes from the same car that donated the cloth seats? This is a better view of the radio too. Now I'm not so sure that the radio is an original style one. Needs a replacement dash pad. With the exception of the seats and console, the interior is fairly complete. The best thing I see in this photo is the keys. There are car keys hanging from the dash! That's a good indicator that there was an engine in this vehicle when it was parked in this spot long ago. Feel free to comment: How much money do you think you'd have to invest in parts to make this Tempest a show car? Or would you turn it into a GTO clone?CLICK-> 
Flames. This is courtesy of the website called Cars from Hell. Pretty wild look, eh?
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Barrier Blue 1966 GTO hardtop owned by Graham Lloyd from Stouffville Ontario, Canada. Graham tells us, "I have had this car since 1981. I bought it from the sister of the original owner. Originally it was used for drag racing only, and saw limited use since 1969. I restored it in the mid 1980's but it now is in need of a freshening up. It has the original engine with 3 deuces, close ratio 4 speed and 3.90 posi. No power steering or brakes. This is a radio delete car. Among the interesting stories, is that it was present at the second owner's wedding and 25 years later, we got a group shot of the car, myself and my bride, and the second owner and her husband all together at my wedding."CLICK-> 
Gray 1966 GTO project car owned by 15 year old Jonathan Taylor. His brother tells this story, "I used to own this car. I traded it for my 69 to my father. He then gave it to my little brother. It is sitting waiting for a restore. I got an engine for it out of a 69 Tempest that I paid $100 for."CLICK-> 
Here's a shot of the other side of Jonathan's 1966 GTO project.CLICK-> 
Burgundy 1966 GTO sport coupe owned by Kirk Meeker from Cranesville, Pennsylvania. Kirk comments, "I got the car about 10 years ago when my Dad passed away. My Dad bought the car from a local Pontiac dealer in Girard, Pa. The salesman that sold him the car in 1966 originaly bought the car for his son as a graduation present. A few weeks after having the car, the kid (Hossman) was picked up for drag racing and his Dad made him sell it. The funny thing is that my girlfriend's Dad is friends with Earl Hossman (the salesman). So few years ago Earl came to a car show I was at and we stafted talking. Earl took a picture of the car and sent it to his son in Phoenix Az. They were both suprised at how well the car was taken care of over the years. As of today 1-2-04 the car has 51,372 original miles on it. The car is all original including the paint. The lady in the picture is my Mom the 2nd owner along with my Dad."CLICK-> 
A closeup of the engine in this burgundy 1966 GTO sport coupe. |
  
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