First hot car I ever saw was a midnight blue 65 Chevelle, SS with a 4 speed. I was hooked.
I have had many cars and always tried to trade up! Sold a wonderful 46 Chevy truck and thought about buying a 65 at the GoodGuys car show in Ft Worth. Went to the show and saw a red 65, but it just didn’t look right. Saw an ad for a fathom blue 67 GTO north of Dallas. I thought what the heck, I was in the area. Called the guy, stopped by and made an offer. Following week went back north to pick it up. I live 50miles SW of Houston. Got it home and the work started. It had a brand new paint job. The first time I drove it, I thought, ‘man this is lame from what I remember as a kid!’
It was numbers matching with a fresh motor in it, but it had a Holley installed instead of the Quadrajet found on the original GTO. I found an original Quadrajet, had it overhauled and rejetted and installed, but it made little difference! The car had a HEI distributor installed, so I took it to Willie Mclemore to have it recurved for the car. A mechanic installed it and still LAME.
Then out of the sky, paint bubbled up on the rear fenders, over time it started peeling everywhere! Talk about depressed!
After many stumbles, and I was to the point of selling my GTO for lack of performance and then add the problem with the paint, BIG TIME. I was so ticked with all the problems and a lame performing car! The car never had any performance day one, so add insult to injury!
Luckily, fate has a way of working things out! I heard about Allen Bills in Houston and I was told he was great with Quadrajets and was a wiz with GTO’s. Took it to him as a last ditch effort and he changed the jetting, but said it still was not right! Checked the compression and like I told him it was a fresh engine. Said it was perfect. Then pulled the valve covers off and all was well there! Last thing he thought about, just by accident, was tracing the plug wires. The dummies that installed the engine in the 67 wired it like a Chevelle. Two wires were out of order! I have been driving the car on 6 cylinders!!! Hell I had to hold the brake, give it all the gas I could….to get just a little bit of scratch! Not what I remember when I was a kid in the 60’s!!! Also had two other mechanics look at the car and they found nothing!!!!
Alan switched the wires and WHAM! He said you won’t believe it!!!! But then I still had the paint issue! He said he knew someone that patched his 56 paint job up and did a great job! Took the 67 to him and he said he had to strip all the paint off and start over! I was resolved to sell the damn car and take my losses. I told him I wanted to drive it once! Pulled it out, went down the road and floored it. The front end raised up and all hell broke loose! Was I happy….HELL YEAH!
The good news is, I had the car repainted the car the color I wanted and Isaac did an amazing job and is detail oriented on so many minor things! I told him it will probably be my last car and I want it fixed up to go to my Grandkids!
It is the dream muscle car I wanted, but it has been a looong, EXPENSIVE journey getting there!
