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Picture #2. Check out the Maryland license plate. Photo (c) by Steve Kilmer. CLICK->
Picture #3. Timothy Sickle saw these photos and commented thusly: "I noticed some pics of a guy's car who is in my club, the Royal GTOs. The owner's name is Robert Phillips. It has 10.00 chalked on the windshield. I saw the car run at our local drag strip, and it seemed to be smoking going through the traps. In talks with Robert when he returned to the pits, he calmly explained that it spun the tires going into high gear!!
Now, THAT'S Pontiac excitement!" Photo (c) by Steve Kilmer. CLICK->
Picture #4. The guys in the background of this photo are looking at the yellow car. Could they be admiring the UltimateGTO.com logo I drew on there? Photo (c) by Steve Kilmer. CLICK->
Vance Morgan from Arkansas sends us this 1968 GTO hardtop. These photos were taken soon after he got the car in 1998. A friend gave him the car who told him to "pay for it later". Nice deal, huh? This first picture has the car on the tow dolly, fresh from a trek from Jackson, Tennessee. If Vance can get this project car finished, he'll take it to charity car shows and drag races. CLICK->
1968 GTO from Vance Morgan. Picture #2 after a wash. Vance fills us in on the condition of the car. "Well the old car was not in too bad a shape. It had been sitting for a while and there was no transmission in it at all. There had been an automatic to 4-speed conversion done but it was botched. After I got the car home I washed it down. I finally got the hood open. Man
there were already a bunch of speed goodies on it. Edelbrock, Holley,
Headers, HEI conversion." CLICK->
1968 GTO from Vance Morgan. Picture #3 rear view. CLICK->
1968 GTO, picture #3. Vance cracks open the hood of his "new" car to reveal a pretty complete engine. If I remember right, he was in need of a transmission and driveshaft for this car. I shipped him a used driveshaft in a wooden crate. You might want to email him and see what else he needs for the car. CLICK->
1968 GTO, picture #5. I have never seen a dash pad quite like this one. It looks like someone may have recovered the moulded dashpad with stitched vinyl. Vance says, "The interior was really nice except for the funky carpet. This car had been Verdoro Green at one time but is now white. I found the build sheet when I dropped the fuel tank. I also found a reverb unit up under the dash." CLICK->
The 6th picture shows Vance's kids, Harry & Dustin Roberson. See the logos on their shirts? They both have a type of Muscular Dystrophy. It's called Duchenne's Disease. Most kids with this disease have a really hard time in their teenage years due to muscle problems. The cells cause the muscles to slowly die until they can't move anymore. Research is being conducted to find out why this happens to some people's genes, always in boys. Vance says to make donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Association if you can. You can email Vance at dvanmorgan@comcast.net if you want. Wouldn't it be great if we could help Vance finish restoring his GTO? In 2005, Vance said "Harry and Dustin are holding their own as far as their Muscular Dystrophy, but it is getting late in their life so things are looking a little grim. But we have to keep the faith. They want to see me drive the GTO so that is important to them as well as me." Then in 2007, Vance gives an update on the situation with the car and the kids, "My wife got sick while in Arizona for a meeting back in January. Turns out she has congestive heart failure and is in stage 4, which is the worst. She is in the hospital for the fourth time and the last time, the bill was $135,000. Now I have three sick people to care for and I can't work because of all the sickness around here. But I am trying to hang on to the GTO. Then again, I'm trying to hang on to the house and everything else!" CLICK->
Picture #7, Dustin sitting in the front seat. The rightside photo shows the rear of Vance's white 1968 GTO. Vance has had several setbacks in his quest to finish the car since 1998. He says, "I had to build a house for my kids. They both have Muscular Dystrophy and are in wheelchairs, so we needed a house modified for them to get around in. So this put a serious dent in my car project. I also got laid off twice and that didn't help much either. I am keeping the faith so just keep me and the family in your prayers. We will make it somehow." CLICK->
Picture #8, a bunch more shots of Vance's white 1968 GTO. Vance says, "I originally painted the motor and was going to find a transmission to
install. I was going to be motoring in no time. I saw that this was not
going to be the case. The driveshaft was broken along with other missing
parts. I also found that there was rear quarter panel rust due to four
inches of dirt in the fender areas around the trunk. The front fenders had
been put on with metric bolts and even wood screws!" CLICK->
You've probably seen this image a lot. It is probably the most "famous" GTO picture. Pontiac used it in magazine ads and brochures. It has been used on the cover of a restoration book. This photo was sent in by Larry Rawlings from Texas. He snapped it from his 1968 Breakaway Poster which was available from Pontiac for (I think) 50 cents, way back when. CLICK->
Yellow 1968 LeMans hardtop owned by Mark G. He picked it up for $1,500 from an old lady that knew nothing about it. This is Mark's project. It has a 400ci engine from a 1969 GTO under the hood. You can see where the chrome "LeMans" emblem was. Look at the red arrowhead marker light near the back bumper. You can see the many holes where the individual "L e M a n s" letters were originally drilled. CLICK->
Mark has his 1968 LeMans in primer. He plans to make it a Black on Black GTO replica. The rear emblem holes have been filled. CLICK->
Alan Dewey shows us his 1968 GTO before picture. He got the car from the original owner in February 1998. The car had been sitting for 12 years. PICTURE SET CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ...
Here's a comment from a recent visitor...
Says Chris Hastings - "The most comprehensive and best organized automotive site I've seen bar none. Lucky us its subject is our beloved GTO! Can't thank you enough Sean, you're AWESOME!"
