Bracken's 66 GTO

1966 2 Door POST GTO - Purchased 08/03/06

1998 LS1 Motor & 6 speed by Cleveland Pick-A-Part

1998 Trans Am dash gauge cluster / electric fans / radiator / condenser

Wiring harness by Speartech

In-tank electric fuel pump by Rock Valley

Front disc brakes / Suspension bushings / Body mounts by PST.

LS 1 Cross member adapter kit by Performance Year

Harmonic balancer by ATI

A/C pulley by Wheel-2-Wheel

Clutch slave cylinder bracket by Street & Performance

Air conditioner by Classic Auto Air

Sheet metal work by Marty Robbins

Paint by Crazy Pete @ Farmington Road Auto Body

Interior by Performance Year

Wheels by Plaza Tire Peoria , IL

2 1/2" Exhaust w/ Flowmaster by Ryan Skaggs @ Meineke

Driveshaft conversion by Vachon's Brake Service

MAF & Filter by Street & Performance

From old to new, and back to old again. I first saw a GTO in 1965 while I was in

Germany

in the Army, and I loved the idea of horsepower in a small car. I thought that the 1964's looked like a box, but by 1965 they were on the right track. In 1966 came the first GTO model I fell in love with. It had everything you could want, including a long sleek body, good weight transfer and horsepower. The taillights even looked good going down the road at night and I knew that I had to have one.

I got out of the Army in November of 1965, and stopped off in Columbus , Ohio with an Army buddy who lived there. Since I could not wait until I got back to Illinois , I bought, off the showroom floor, a new 1966 GTO Post 389 4 barrel with a 4 speed. It was burgundy with black interior.

I started to work at the GM Plant in Ohio and started to drag race the car at the local tracks. The need for speed has always been a part of my life. Since then I have owned four 1966 GTO's, one 1966 Lemans, and one 1964 GTO. Now I am working on my fifth 1966 GTO.

I purchased this one here in Illinois . It was in very bad shape and had no motor or transmission. I removed the body and sent it off to get the required body work done, while I started redoing the frame. I had it sandblasted and sprayed with epoxy primer, then painted it Eastwood classic black.

Now comes the good part as I was venturing into a whole new territory. I purchased a 1998 LS 1 with a 6 speed, along with the radiator, electric fans, condenser, dash, steering column, and wiring harness out of a Trans Am from Cleveland Pick-A-Part. I wanted to have the look of a 1966 GTO, but the modern technology of the new models. Well this all started on August 4, 2006 . Since then the following work was done in my garage. First, all new body mounts and bushings were installed. Then the front brakes were switched to disc brakes with all new stainless steel brake lines.

The gas tank was sent to Rock Valley to have an electric fuel pump and sensor installed. Now came all new stainless steel fuel lines both supply and return. Next it was time to install the LS 1 and 6 speed on the frame. The LS 1 cross member and motor mount kit was purchased form Performance Years. The location of the A/C compressor had to be moved forward to clear the cross member so part of it would not have to be gutted out. I machined two adapters to move it forward and then ran it off of the pulley which was mounted to the front of the ATI harmonic balancer. The serpentine pulley was supplied by Wheel-2-Wheel Performance located in Warren , MI . I wanted to minimize the alterations to the frame and body so if the car was ever to be restored to original state there would be minimal amounts of body sheet metal work required. It was now time to sit the body onto the frame and cut the firewall and transmission hump out to fit the new combination. The alterations were then made to make room for the radiator, fans, and condenser. The battery tray was moved to the right side because the power for the PCM, the starter and the electrical wiring is all on the right side of the LS 1 motor. For now, the basics were done.

It was now time to address the interior of the car. New carpet, upholstery, headliner, door panels, and special GTO seatbelts were installed. The real challenge was about to begin. I wanted to put the new instrument cluster from the 1998 Trans Am into the old dash panel and also install classic auto A/C and AM/FM radio. After many long hours and some trial and error, my mission was accomplished. It was worth every minute of it and the end result even surprised me.

It was time to send it to the paint shop. Crazy Pete at Farmington Road Auto body painted the car with a base coat/clear coat of burgundy metallic. It was now time to wet sand and buff out the paint which would be a long and tiring job. With that finished, it was time to put on the vinyl top. The car is now starting to look pretty good. We could now begin to put on all of the chrome trim, bumpers, tires and wheels. The new exhaust system and the Flowmaster mufflers, with their powerful sound were custom made by Ryan Skaggs at Meineke Muffler in Peoria , IL . Last but not least, I had to sort the old electrical wiring from the new, install the fuel injection engine wiring, and program the computer. All the wiring for the switches, wipers, lights, horn, and accessories had to be linked to the new dash. Boy, what a job! Well all is done and its time to start the car and test everything. The great news was that everything worked and I could hit the road for a test drive. My first trip was to Vachon's Brake Service to have the front end aligned and all was going well.

My 1966 Burgundy GTO is now road ready and the car performs better than I expected. At 70 MPH it turns only 1600 RPMs. I hope to get 22 to 25 MPG which I especially love when gas is $4.00/gallon. I have put over a hundred miles on the car and have had no problems thus far (knock on wood). Well that's my story and I am sticking with it.