1968 Pontiac Gto earns Best in show at MusclePalooza XXIX
1968 Pontiac Gto earns Best in show at MusclePalooza XXIXWhen GTO collector Paul Menin found this ’68 hardtop in Connecticut in the early ’90s, “It was in a million pieces, with many of them missing — including the engine,” he recalls. The car was part of a large parts haul, and Paul reasoned that its fourspeed and transplanted 12-bolt Posi rear-end would generate cashflow to finance other projects.
Once he got the car home, however, Paul noticed that the hood was set up for Ram Air, which prompted him to order PHS
documentation. From it, he learned that he’d purchased a rare D-port 400 Ram Air GTO. He then checked the transmission
and found it to be the original M-21 close-ratio box. Thus, the Goat graduated from parts car to high-priority project.
Its resurrection also incorporated a 400 upgraded with Round-Port Ram Air II heads and Royal Bobcat components. Paul
enjoyed his Ram Air GTO for years before trading it to friend and fellow collector Dean Kelly around 2011. Dean had the
chassis restored again, added a Royal Bobcat paint scheme he’d seen in a vintage car magazine, Ram Air emblems, an 8-track,
a correctly coded 4.33 Safe-T-Track rear-end, and more. He also had the front wheelwells painted to resemble red plastic.
Dean later sold the GTO to a third party, and Paul just recently bought it back. He has since been prepping his Pontiac for
shows and street duty, and he even drove the Goat to Musclepalooza — about a two-hour round trip. The attention to detail
paid to this GTO’s build and preservation earned it Best in Show at Musclepalooza XXIX, and there will be a full feature to
follow in a future issue of HMM
Thomas A. DeMauro
source: Hemmings muscle macHines
Prestige Automobile
Once he got the car home, however, Paul noticed that the hood was set up for Ram Air, which prompted him to order PHS
documentation. From it, he learned that he’d purchased a rare D-port 400 Ram Air GTO. He then checked the transmission
and found it to be the original M-21 close-ratio box. Thus, the Goat graduated from parts car to high-priority project.
Its resurrection also incorporated a 400 upgraded with Round-Port Ram Air II heads and Royal Bobcat components. Paul
enjoyed his Ram Air GTO for years before trading it to friend and fellow collector Dean Kelly around 2011. Dean had the
chassis restored again, added a Royal Bobcat paint scheme he’d seen in a vintage car magazine, Ram Air emblems, an 8-track,
a correctly coded 4.33 Safe-T-Track rear-end, and more. He also had the front wheelwells painted to resemble red plastic.
Dean later sold the GTO to a third party, and Paul just recently bought it back. He has since been prepping his Pontiac for
shows and street duty, and he even drove the Goat to Musclepalooza — about a two-hour round trip. The attention to detail
paid to this GTO’s build and preservation earned it Best in Show at Musclepalooza XXIX, and there will be a full feature to
follow in a future issue of HMM
Thomas A. DeMauro
source: Hemmings muscle macHines
Prestige Automobile
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