Whether a stock restoration, a weekend cruiser, or modified for maximum performance, the vehi­cle’s braking system is hands-down the most important system. When I brought my first Pontiac restoration project home many years ago, my dad said, “I don’t care how fast this car goes; it damn well better be able to stop.” With that, […]

Pontiac’s transmission offerings for 1964–1974 GTOs were similar to the transmissions offered in other Pontiac and GM models. Transmis­sions were sourced from Muncie, Saginaw, GM’s Hydra-Matic Division, and even Dearborn (Ford). In addi­tion to 3- and 4-speed manual trans­missions, Pontiac also offered 2- and 3-speed automatic transmissions. This Tech Tip is From the Full Book, […]

All 1964–1974 Pontiac GTOs used some version of what we now refer to as the “traditional” Pon­tiac V-8. It was produced from 1955 through 1979 and a modified version continued for another two years. By the time the GTO rolled around, the Pontiac V-8 had a decade of improvements under its belt and a special […]

When considering options for painting, you may end up with even more questions. If you had been undecided about the level of your res­toration, perhaps waffling between an upper-end, driver-quality car and a true concours-level effort, choosing the paint and exterior finishing will likely help sort that out. As with just about everything else, it […]

Good bodywork is the founda­tion of a quality paint job. You can’t have one without the other. How many times have you looked at a shiny, new paint job at a distance only to inspect it up close and find a visual nightmare of poor panel align­ment, waves, and sanding scratches? This is the result […]

When evaluating your particular car for restoration, be sure you have a realistic expectation of the project, your skill level, and your intended use. This assumes that your car will be restored as a weekend driver/ cruise night car and not necessarily for concours competition. Hence, you need to define the level of res­toration you’re […]