1968 Pontiac GTO

Convertible

455

Automatic

242678P205919

Clear

1968 PONTIAC GTO CONVERTIBLE Rare! What makes this car so rare? 9,980 GTO convertibles were built in 1968 but they only made 461 HO convertibles with auto trans. They made 761 HO convertibles with manual trans. 1 of 461 thins out the herds quite a bit and those numbers are documented by Pontiac Historical Services. Not to mention this vehicle is 44 years old and in this great of shape. Take a look for yourself... For a detailed view of the documents, please visit: https://sites.google.com/site/1968gtoproduction/ Vehicle History This was an early production '68 GTO convertible (Motor Trends Car of the Year for 1968). VIN plates are correct for '68 GTO (24267car...not a clone!) I have clear title. Car came from factory in Solar Red with Red interior and white rag top, His/Hers Hurst shifter, A/C, Rally II wheels. Original engine (400cu) is no longer with the car but I bought the car with a 455cu engine that will be included with this auction along with a rebuilt Turbo 400 Transmission. I am also including the original High Output Heads that have stayed with the vehicle. What made this car a bit unusual is that John Delorean (Head of Pontiac Motor Division at the time) introduced the GTO with the new rubber endura bumper and even clubbed the nose of a GTO in a TV commercial to show new insurance bumper standards Pontiac had achieved. What was happening behind the scenes is Pontiac could not get paint to adhere to endura bumpers and they offered as an option the chrome Lemans bumper to customers that wanted it until issue could be resolved. Records indicate that they released only about 2000 cars before they got paint issues straightened out. In 1968, only 9,980 convertibles and 77,704 hardtops were produced total. This is one of those few cars! My intention with car was to still go back and install a "hidden headlights" endura bumper but keep the chrome one for prosperity as long as I owned the car. Reason For Selling I'm an old car enthusiast...had a least one for many moons. After I retired from military, I had the world by the horns (new job opportunities, etc.) but I wound up having cardiomegaly (enlarged heart/heart failure--Class IV, End Stage. Suffice it say, I can't continue to do the work on cars that I and my son have enjoyed and I'm just looking for one last Hooray with my wife and our four kids. Frame While engine was out of car we had frame and underside of body sand blasted. (This car was a survivor as frame and underbody had been treated to rubberized undercoating early in its life.) After cleaning frame we etched it with metal prep primer and POR15d the firewall, frame, inner fenders, and radiator support. It turned out beautiful! Pics, when I can find them will document the prep. (Note: We did not sand blast the body panels as we did not want to warp any metal.) We ordered (Year One) and installed new heavy duty coil springs fore and aft, installed new gas shocks, and new lower ball joints. We installed a new 4 core radiator but have not replaced the A/C condenser core yet. Car has drum brakes but I will be including a disc setup for an upgrade (will have to be refurbished but it correct hardware for the vehicle). The original radiator support has been completely refurbished and coated with POR-15 (looks brand new!). We felt it was very important to spend the time/money in keeping the original components with the vehicle. Interior Car arrived with most interior components recently redone. Seats had been re-padded with new foam and I believe new springs (just like fresh from the factory or like Al Knock would do) and have fairly new covers...no holes or rips. Carpets appear new...fresh color, no stains or wear. Door panels are in good shape. . .no rips, holes, and covering fits nice and smooth. Car came with new dash pad (Not installed yet). Body Floor pans, rockers and truck pans appear good. Minimal rust was discovered at top left and right front window posts. . .about the size of a quarter. Looks like convertible top front bow may not have been as tight as it should have been. Also, there are two quarter size rust areas on metal part of dash from when the top did not seal. Dash pad will probably cover but I wanted to fix prior to installing new dash pad. I have one dime size hole on left side of cowl that is normally covered by fender. This is where leaves or trash clogged cowl drain below windshield and a few leaves retained moisture. Right front floor pan only has a few tiny pin holes. These rust issues I've mentioned are extremely minimal and easily repaired. For a vehicle that is 44 years old, I am very impressed of the overall condition. Front fenders - when the car arrived with two lower patch panels pop-riveted on but never welded. This is where GTO plates are located on aft lower front quarters. Rest of front fenders are good and clean. Had not intended to replace fenders. . .just correctly weld on lower panels. Rear fenders: look to be in pretty decent shape but have not DA'd them. There is one place on a lower rear fender that does not appear very well blocked out and may have some mud. Again, the rest of the fenders appear very smooth and without damage or issues. The gentleman I purchased the car from also included a new front lower valence panel as the other one had a small dent. (Old one is easily repairable and both will be included.) Convertible top - currently has a white top that is in good shape with a fairly clear rear window. There are no tears or signs of deterioration that are visible. It is evident that the top was recently installed before I had purchased the vehicle. All bows appear to be in good shape along with tack strips. Some new rubber moldings were used around the top. Door rubber moldings were going to be replaced once car was repainted. Engine We decided to use the 455 that came with the car and sent it to professional machine shop (Tuckers). Had block and heads magnufluxed for cracks (no cracks) ...The shop then hot tanked block - CC bore at 76cc's. Turned crank, std rods, mains .020 undersized. Engine has flat top pistons: planned engine build with 9.5:1 compression to ensure streetable. Special ordered new bearings, rings, gaskets, neoprene seal, HP timing gear, and oil pump. Installed new cam (COMP Extreme Energy CAM CL51-223-4). Ground valves, installed new valve seats, and valve guides. Installed new fuel pump, water pump and starter. Painted block with correct PLA 227 Engine enamel (Pontiac steel blue), blasted intake manifold. Installed Holley 750 Cfm w/choke carburetor followed by new Accel wires and HEI Accel distributor. We bought and installed new ceramic coated Hooker headers. Engine was put back on the frame, mounted, and wired up. Car started up in just a couple of attempts after pre-oiling via the distributor. This car is a potential street beast. (Note: Have not installed new exhaust but was going to go with 2 1/2" Flowmaster.) Transmission Trans is a turbo 400. Car shifted good when we got car so we left well enough alone. Trans has a TCI Stage II shift kit. We felt like performance would be enhanced by installing a Hays heavy duty, 168 tooth flywheel, and Saturday Night Special Stall Converter. New seals (front/back) were installed. For additional pictures, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/pontiac68gtoconvertible/ Please call (270) 293-4059 if you have any questions. Additional pics are available upon request. Happy Bidding!