'68 GTO Cloning

[studda]

This is the first time I've ever posted a build/customization thread so here goes. I bought this car (craigslist photos attached) when I was in Iraq over three years ago. I sent the money via PayPal to my brother and had him drive all the way from an hour southwest of St. Louis to Indiana to pick this car up for me (I trusted him to decide whether it was worth buying) . It has a 400 Pontiac bored .030 over to make it a 406 with a RAIII (Ram Air III) cam, Edelbrock Torker intake (yes, it's a single plane Torker I with a high power band), and a 650 Edelbrock carb. It had a very worn out, sloppy 2.56 rear end when my brother picked it up. The paint job is a good 10 footer. Anything closer, you can notice chips and dings, making it a good driver. More to come.

Mods: Can I change the title to '68 GTO Cloning? I have owned several '69 GTOs and it was a habit.

[Bishops Trucks]

Nice looking car and thank you for your service. As far as I know, you can not change any info that is on the title. Of all the various clones I have seen, just the car is the clone. The title is an official document and can't be altered in any way.

[tommys72]

I believe he's talking about the title of the thread. .. nice car man

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by studda

Mods: Can I change the title to '68 GTO Cloning? I have owned several '69 GTOs and it was a habit.

Done.

LockDoc

[studda]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

Done.

LockDoc

Thank you. And yes, I was talking about the title of the thread. It may look and sound just like a GTO when I'm done but it'll never have a GTO vin.

[studda]

I bought some Doug's headers for it but have never installed them yet. I'm waiting to buy exhaust (probably Pypes Violator with an X-pipe). I also bought new door locks because, as you can see in the previous pics, the drivers side was missing and it was just a hole. I rebuilt the worn out rear end with a Richmond 3.90 ring and pinion and put an Auburn locker in it, so it's a locked axle (gets scary coming out of a stop light). I spent almost $1000 rebuilding the rear. I wish now that I had gotten a Detroit locker instead because they are rebuildable and the Auburn lockers aren't. Here's a couple pics after I got it home and worked on it a little. I also replaced the terrible looking black mirrors with some chrome ones that I got from O'Reilly's for about $20. Looks WAY better. I bought some new tires for it too. It had old fiberglass belted tires on it that were bald when I got it. It has an oil leak, as you can see in the pictures.

[Bishops Trucks]

Originally Posted by tommys72

I believe he's talking about the title of the thread. .. nice car man

Sorry, was having a blonde moment.

[studda]

Originally Posted by Bishops Trucks

Sorry, was having a blonde moment.

No big deal. We all have those from time to time.

[71maligreen]

nice ride i like it and the slots go well with it!!!

[studda]

Originally Posted by 71maligreen

nice ride i like it and the slots go well with it!!!

Thank you. Now, it doesn't have slots on the front. It was originally a four wheel drum brakes car and I bought a complete front drilled and slotted power disc conversion complete with lines, master cylinder, spidles, bearings, and everything needed from summit racing. They were around $700 but were well worth the investment. I had to put 15's on the front as the old slots were 14's in the front and 15's in the back. I still have the rear slots but the front has Cragars until I buy two 15 inch slots for the front.

[studda]

My fiancée got me all the badges to clone the car for my birthday. The large "GTO" emblem is actually for a '67 GTO. When Pontiac introduced the rubber "Endura" bumper on the '68 GTO, they had problems with the paint so they made some of the early ones with the same chrome bumper as the '68 LeMans (lucky for me). They reused the badges from the '67, which fit perfectly in the LeMans grill (again, lucky for me). After the paint ordeal was sorted out, they offered the chrome bumper as the "Endura Delete" option, making the car cheaper and lighter. I have all the badges but don't have the "GTO" sticker that goes on the rear quarter panel. It's kind of deceiving that the badges say "6.5 LITRE" when, in fact, the 400 is a 6.6. They are a carryover from when the GTO's standard engine was the 389. Here is a picture of the $200+ brand new badges. Clockwise from top right:
-Door panel emblems
-400 Rocker emblems
-Trunk emblem
-'67 GTO Grill emblem
-Front fender emblems

[studda]

Here's a nice one that kind of captures the look I'm going for minus the chrome wheels. I'll have WAY less money in mine though. This one has the functional factory ram air though too and is a super clean, real GTO.
http://classiccars.com/listings/view...michigan-48170

[Bob 68327]

Cars looking great !!

[1Bad 37]

Kool! In for more!

[studda]

Thanks guys. I'll post some update pics soon.

[studda]

Got the hood painted and need to get the badges on, paint the grill, and get the quarter panel stickers, then I'm done. I still need some slots for the front (not pictured, as I had to ditch the 14" slots on front) and the quarter panel decals and I'm done.