The GTO Today

Cruising around is a pleasure these days, but wont turn down an opportunity to open those three deuces up!  

Cleaned up and tuned for fun! All three carbs have been rebuilt, hoses and fluids changed, new plugs and wires keep it running smooth.  I also replaced the old clogged radiator with a Clod Case aluminum unit to keep the 389 at steady temperature even on the hottest of days. 

New carpet, headliner, door panels and seat covers provide a comfortable and clean interior. Old school racing lap belts were installed as a nod to the cars past street racing life. This old goat will never slow down!

Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac dealership was outfitting brand new 1965 GTO's with 421's and a super tune that gave the car that much more of an edge on the street. 

The heart of the Royal Bobcat was the 421! I was lucky enough to find a early 1965 date code 421 block with a four bolt main. This will be the foundation of the build and will give the GTO all the power it needs to continue to be the "Great One". 

Royal customers who desired a true strip-ready car could have the Royal  mechanics prep their car to a full legal NHRA C/Stocker for an  additional $1150 (more than $9000 in the mid-1960s). This package  included completely disassembling the engine, then balancing and  blueprinting the rotating assembly and assembling it with racing  clearances. The heads were then blueprinted to maximum legal  specifications, and a set of Doug’s four-tube equal-length headers.

Royal Pontiac’s expertise and success was so respected that John  DeLorean made certain that all press cars released by Pontiac were Royal  Bobcat-prepped cars. The most renowned of these press cars was a  “ringer” 1964 GTO test car, prepped for a March 1964 Car and Driver article in which it went head-to-head with a Ferrari GTO. This car had a  Royal Pontiac-prepped 421-cubic-inch tri-power engine that out-ran the  Italian supercar in a 0–100 mph sprint.