My 68 GTO Build

[Code Red]

I'm copying from a thread I have on another forum.

started tearing the car apart to get it ready to have the frame fixed and get the engine rebuilt

found some new rust areas and thinking I may just buy new inner fenders

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this is the new core support thats waiting to go in

 

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pulled the driver side fender well off

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OMGNOFRONTEND!!!!!!!

well finished pulling the rest of the front end off

You can see some of the frame damage a bit better and next week the car will go to the shop to get it fixed and aligned right.

Also drivetrain will come out this weekend so I can take the motor to a shop to get rebuilt

 

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No more engine, trans, or driveshaft

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well over the weekend loaded the engine up in my truck and dropped it off at a shop for a rebuild and then today pressure washed the front frame looks a wee bit better but sould still use some work may just blast it a bit and then coat it

 

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These may make your stomach hurt

CANCER!!!! plus bondo

 

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GTO went bye bye


well for a little while

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Old and busted next to new hotness

lol

old vs new core support although the new is actually for a 70

 

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GTO is back

I'm fairly happy with the repair and they said they will pull the frame again once the front end is back on if there is still an issue and ended up being cheaper than the quote

Through some black primer on real quick to cover up the bar metal

Also got my cam and lifters yesterday and dropped them off at the engine shop today. They said to stop back by tomorrow and they should have the engine apart for some pics

 

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stopped by the shop today to get some pics of the motor

over all they said it was in good shape and had rebuilt before

bearing were in good shape and they said the cylinders were in good shape so they may just hone them

the cam however has been wiped but i got a new cam to go in it anyways

tomorrow the block gets hot tanked

 

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well my brother decided to do some work on the firewall while I was out of town

not to shabby of a start

 

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checked on the motor today

well they tried honing it but had issues so they decided to bore it out more

it was 40 over now its 60 over

the block is in the cast gray color right now but will be painted pontiac metallic blue

 

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My brother and I got some work done on the GTO today and found of course more rust spots but they dont look to bad

 

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did some more sanding got rid of most of the old seam sealer around the wiper motor area

also gave the brake booster a shot of paint

 

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Head Pics my brother took these and sent them to me

they look pretty good except for the crack

You can see the crack in these pics

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Stopped by the shop and there was a mess up with the order they only got one in but the other will be in monday

 

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They rolled the block into their assembly room today

block should be painted by saturday and assembly should start on monday, so if all goes well engine should be home next weekend

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well its blue and starting to get assembled

 

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almost there

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Major Update

well some bad news

1. Crack pulley is cracked and has to be replaced (there is supposed to be a ring in which the bolts are tighten down on but it was missing so the previous person did in on the pulley and cracked it) upgrading to billet

2. Valley Pan rusted up a bit and has holes will be ordering a new one

http://www.jbp-pontiac.com/images/MISC/valleyPan.JPG

3. Flywheel has cracks might be ok to use for now but will start a search

4. My old Edlebrock PB4 intake WILL NOT FIT the new Edlebrock Performer RPM heads grr so ordered a new Preformer RPM Intake

Pics

Me with the engine

 

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mmmm headers Doug's Headers to be exact. Picked them up at Summit Racing while I was up there this past weekend

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brought the headers by the shop for a test fit and also checked out the new intake manifold

still waiting on the valley pan and crank pulley

old water pump piece

you can see the crack in the pulley

valley pan speaks for itself

455 the shop is building for another customer

 

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stopped in to check on my brothers 305 block the shop is cleanign up for him and I decided to bring one of my new valve covers in to see how it looks

lets just say I huge a huge boner after seeing it hehe

also the shops Roadrunner with a new Super Charged Hemi they fabbed up their own manifold for the supercharger to sit on.

 

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"FINALLY" got my valley pan and crank pulley I can't blame butler they were waiting on the manufacturer to ship the valley pans

dropping them off tomorrow shop said it will be a couple days due to other engines taking mine it is place while waiting

 

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engine is home ;-)

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Well A buddy came over yesterday and welded up my holes for me on the firewall.

today I went out and ground the welds down and applied a coat of duraglas giving it some time to cure before I go back out and grind it down for a coat of rage

 

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Middle part of the firewall is pretty much where I want it still need to feather out some other areas and give it a paint job for now

but not sure if I should go Satin black or gloss black if I go gloss I'm sure most of the bodywork will show

so the before

After

couple more shots of the motor

I really need a new air cleaner setup any suggestions? any cast aluminum ones out there to match the rest of the motor?

 

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painted the firewall last night

its a semi gloss I'm not real happy with it but it will do for now and looks better than it did when I pulled the engine

Eventaully the engine will come back out and the body off the frame and then at that point I'll coat the frame with POR 15 and paint the engine bay satin black

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getting ready to put the engine in tomorrow

sanded and painted the drive shaft

 

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drivetrain goes in tomorrow picked up a new Hayes Billet steel flywheel last weekend while at the summit truckfest

 

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got my jegs starter that weve had for years finally mounted and lined up right.

did a test fit of the engine first without the trans to check for clearance of the starter so I didn't have to put it on from under the car.

tried to put the engine and trans in the car and then remembered the headers lol well ran into a bit of a snag but will probably wait till next weekend to finish up getting everything lined up and headers put in.

My 4 yr old niece

Starter

Teaser with just the engine no trans and no headers in in the car.

 

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some work

chopped the top off of the core support (its for a 70 and the 68s dont need the top piece

fitting the exhaust but have some issues with the drivers side hitting the crossmember

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well got a bit of work done today

we worked on getting the clutch zbar all hooked up which is ghetto rigged at the moment waiting on some new parts to come in and need a return spring which I have to order monday grr.

mounted the inner fenders mounted the fan shroud, and did a test fitment with the passenger fender OMG almost a car again course i need to address some issues with the fender since it has had body work apparently before and I need to bend the fender lip to clear the inner fender, no biggie.

 

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just dropped off the GTO at the shop to get he exhaust welded up, a transmission plug replaced, and to get the engine fired up for the first time

 

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finishing up some work before driving it over to the gto nationals

going to fix the bumper and realign the passenger hood hinge

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ummmmm whats wrong with this picture?

 

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Thats it for tonight. I'll post the body shop pics tomorrow.

We did end up getting new control arms since the rusted were a bit holy lol

 

[TollKeeper]

Your teasing me here. Pontiac is my favorite brand.. and that is gonna be beautiful!

 

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Here are the pics from going to the body shop

before dropping it off

 

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Visited the GTO, they did cut out around the key hole of the trunk an patched it, They are going to do the same on the doors and rockers. You can see the original color of the car on the doors lol, also the different fillers than have been used on the car over the years.

 

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Not much paint left on the car

lots of filler on the endura bumper

the old fiberglass valance we had on the car before finding an original

original we found

the original color

 

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Getting some awesome progress on the car

 

[TollKeeper]

Looks like they went overboard on the body putty there a bit on the previous repairs.!!

 

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they are really getting into it now, they pulled the front and rear glass, and pulled the drivers door off. They are about to pull the passenger door as well. I am very impressed how the bumper has turned out along with the fitment in the front. My dad mentioned to me after we left the last time they went down there to check on the car the shop mentioned something about using the car as a display vehicle for a nationals show in Norwalk Ohio. Might have to get some more info on this.

 

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She is in the booth getting primed and blocked

Hood needed little more work

doors getting some additional work

Brought the original hood home, probably hang it on the wall in the garage

 

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Car is getting some color, woo hoo about damn time, too bad its not ready for the woodward dream cruise

 

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looking really good now ;-)

 

[gmcman]

Oh my.....that's going to be a beaut!

I love all GTO's and really dig the front of the 68. If I ever come across a 68' with a 428 I may donate a body part, 67 being my favorite.

Can't wait to take it for a spin I mean see some finished pics.

 

[Code Red]

Oh my.....that's going to be a beaut!

I love all GTO's and really dig the front of the 68. If I ever come across a 68' with a 428 I may donate a body part, 67 being my favorite.

Can't wait to take it for a spin I mean see some finished pics.

well that'll never happen. 68's came with a 400, in 69 it was a 400 or a 455 in the Judge

 

[gmcman]

well that'll never happen. 68's came with a 400, in 69 it was a 400 or a 455 in the Judge

I'm almost positive you could order or purchase a larger than 400 inch motor from the dealer, 428's weren't offered from the factory but some cars had them installed.