When Corey was asked about the history of his Dad’s 1966 Pontiac GTO, he replied, “It’s the classic story of a guy was going through a divorce and needed to get rid of it. He was actually a friend of my Dad’s from high school and he said he had this old car. We went over and looked at it and sure enough it was a GTO.”
In real estate, it’s location, location, location. When it comes to getting a good deal on a classic car, hot rod, or street rod, it’s all about timing. Keith was in the right place at the right time.
“He took six hundred bucks for it”, Corey exclaimed. The seller informed Keith that he could never get the 1966 Pontiac GTO running, but that didn’t discourage Keith and his son Corey from taking it home and begin wrenching on it.
“Finally we got it started one day”, Corey continued. “From there it was pretty much an endless amount of hours. It was in a pretty decent condition. None of the body panels were messed up except around the window trim on the back and your usual floor pan rust here and there. We spent about a year every weekend and every moment we could on it.” Taking this American muscle car icon beyond anything than nearly original wasn’t the plan, at first anyway. Corey explained, “When we started doing it, my Dad wanted to do it for a daily driver. He wasn’t really heavy into Pontiacs, and said, ‘I’m going to build this car, drive it every day, and sell it down the road.’ Well the more we got into it, the more he fell in love with it, and then kind of went into more extensive body work.”
Corey recalls when the GTO was a little milder than it is today. “The car was pretty much running and going. We had a set of Torque Thrusts on it and it sat up like a Gasser. We decided we wanted to paint it. We went crazy one weekend. We actually went to Louisville for the Street Rod Nationals and found a set of wheels we loved. We got rid of the Torque Thrusts and put a set of Boyd Wheels on it and from there it became a part of our lives and we love it.”
All of the work was done at home by Keith and Corey except spraying the paint. “We did all the fabrication, the body work, the motor work, the chassis work, the suspension, all the interior of course that was hand made by my dad”, Corey proudly stated.
“The body is original. We deleted some chrome around the fender wells and the trim around the drip well is gone. Other than that it is pretty much stock as to how a GTO would look”, Corey noted.
The Pontiac has a full Air Ride Pro E Suspension kit installed on it. Under the GTO hood is a small block Chevrolet engine linked to M21 4-speed manual transmission that is hooked up to a GM 10 bolt rear end. This time tested combination hasn’t caused any trouble.
“It’s been doing good as it is and we’re enjoying it”, Corey said with a grin. “We have the local cruise in Manassas where we go at the Burger King. We go up there every Saturday night. Usually Friday nights in Sterling, Virginia there’s a cruise-in at Chick-Fil-A we go to. We go to shows, it doesn’t matter if there is fifty cars or five thousand cars, just going to a car shows is fun and we enjoy the sport together as a family.”
Parked next to Keith’s 1966 Pontiac GTO was a 1948 Chevrolet Fleetline Aero Sedan belonging to Harold, Corey’s Grandfather. Corey has his own project under way. A real steel 1934 Ford that was nearly completed by family members before the garage caught fire and burned, leaving a charred shell. Corey’s hopes of rebuilding the ’34 to one day park along side his Grandfather’s 1948 Chevy and his Father’s 1966 Pontiac is coming closer to fruition.
“Shooting for next year” Corey calculated. ”Would love to make it to York. I don’t know if it will be painted, but it will be toghether and going. I’ve spent every single day since I brought the car home working on it. Hopefully soon, I’m excited.”
Classics Feature – 1966 Pontiac GTO – Keith resides in Manassas, Virginia. Pictures were taken August 29, 2009 at Richmond Raceway Complex during the NSRA National Street Rod Association 5th Richmond Nationals in Richmond, Virginia.
