Students’ Restoration of ’67 Pontiac GTO Continues

Students’ Restoration of ’67 Pontiac GTO Continues

Students visit Spring Carlisle, All-GM Nationals with car

CARLISLE, PA – Since the last update, students at Dauphin County Technical School in Harrisburg, Pa., have made great headway in their restoration work on the 1967 Pontiac GTO project car. They’ve done so much to the car that they showed it off at the Carlisle (Pa.) Fairgrounds during the 27th annual Spring Carlisle (April 23-27). And that was such a success that the car will also be on display at the Carlisle All-GM Nationals, June 13-15.

The visit of the GTO and four of the six students who are working on it delighted many classic car enthusiasts at Spring Carlisle. Show patrons appreciated the project car, being completely restored by the students and sponsored by Carlisle Events and Ames Performance, which was displayed near the stage.

There was a steady stream of interest in the car, and many collectors discussed it with the students, some reminiscing about their own similar cars, others hoping to be able to purchase the GTO when it’s completed. Many of those who stopped to look at the car said they’d been reading about the project in magazines or online.

Students Andrew Sprucebank, Scott Dodge, Kelsey Thomas and Tom Cleary, all sophomores, were able to attend Spring Carlisle to show off their work, along with shop teacher Joe Macchioni. Nick Fachler, sophomore, and Jeremy Weyant, a junior, were unable to attend the event, but have done their share of work on the car. The six students usually work on the car between two and three hours each school day.

Once the students are finished with it, the car should be quite the collectible. The 1967 Pontiac GTO packs a 400-cubic-inch high-output engine with a four-speed transmission and high-performance options, making it a real collector car.

Some of the recent work completed on the car includes installing the rear taillight panel and front fenders, as well as the windshield and the dash. The pieces around the windows have been bent and the windows are ready to go in.

“Basically the car’s about all roughed out,” says Macchioni at Spring Carlisle. “We just have to finish it up. We’ve got about another month and a half (before the Carlisle All-GM Nationals). For the GM Nationals, the motor compartment will be done so the motor can be set in it.”

The one part of the car that the students are not working on themselves is the engine. Denny Knaub’s UCF Machine Shop in Carlisle, Pa., has completed rebuilding the GTO’s original high-performance engine. Now the engine is just waiting to be placed back into its home.

After this school year, the same six students will return to the auto shop in the fall, then as juniors and a senior, to finish the restoration. “Hopefully by the end of this school year, all the sheet metal work will be done, and it’ll just be a matter of testing it up, finishing the filler work and getting it ready to spray it,” Macchioni said.

Some of the most challenging work that the students have yet to do will be working around the rear window and installing the package tray in the trunk. However, other difficult items during the restoration have gone more smoothly than expected. “They thought the bottom of the windshield would be hard, and that went right in for them,” Macchioni said. “So they were pleased with the way that went together.”

At Spring Carlisle, Carlisle Events purchased a sand blast cabinet (approximate value $900) from TIP Tools of Canfield, Ohio, for Dauphin County Technical School’s auto shop.

“This is great,” Macchioni said of the gift. “It’s going to help with this project and with future projects.”
The project car was donated by the Carlisle Automotive Classrooms Foundation (CACF). CACF is a nonprofit organization founded by Carlisle Events in 2001 to help high school students get hands-on experience restoring classic vehicles. This year’s project car is co-sponsored by Steve Ames of Ames Performance, Marlborough, N.H.

The projected completion and sale of the GTO is Fall Carlisle (Oct. 1-5). To have the car done to a quality the students can take pride in, they may continue working on the car after Fall Carlisle if necessary.

Money from the sale will go directly into the Carlisle Automotive Classrooms Foundation so that other students may continue to benefit from hands-on car restoration. The foundation will also donate some of the proceeds to Dauphin County Tech. in the form of new equipment for the school’s auto shop.

Keep up with the students’ progress on Carlisle Events’ and Ames Performance’s Web sites, www.carsatcarlisle.com and www.amesperf.com. Visit the sites often to see how the work is coming along.

As Steve Ames, member of the Automotive Restoration Market Organization, says, “Remember, the youth of today are the future of the hobby – ‘Take a kid to a car show.’”

Carlisle Events, host of 10 collector car, truck and motorcycle events each year, attracted more than 518,000 people to the 82-acre fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pa., in 2002. Included in the annual schedule are two automotive swap meets and eight individual specialty shows featuring Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, motorcycles and imports. Founded in 1974 by friends Bill Miller and Chip Miller, the “Cars at Carlisle” shows have attracted automotive enthusiasts from around the world. See www.carsatcarlisle.com for information.
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