1967 Pontiac GTO: From Swamp Thing to Showstopper
This 1967 Pontiac GTO wasn’t always the head-turning classic it is today. When it arrived at V8 Speed & Resto Shop, it was a far cry from its former glory. Rusted and neglected, it more closely resembled a “swamp thing” than a muscle car. However, our team of experts wasn’t fazed by the challenge. We were determined to transform this relic into a showstopper!
A Complete Frame-Off Restoration
Our restoration process for this 1967 GTO was a complete teardown, or “frame-off” restoration. This meticulous approach ensures that no area of the car is overlooked. Here’s a closer look at some of the key improvements we made:
- Chassis Strengthening: The GTO’s chassis received a thorough inspection and repairs were made to the body mounts and other critical areas. We then applied a protective epoxy primer and industrial-grade paint finish.
- Suspension Upgrade: We replaced the original suspension system with a high-performance tubular setup from BMR Fabrication. This upgrade enhances handling and performance without sacrificing a comfortable ride.
- Bodywork and Paint: The GTO’s body was media blasted to remove rust and imperfections. Our fabrication team then replaced rusted panels, repaired the dashboard, and built a custom firewall. Once the body repairs were complete, the car was painted in its original Tyrol Blue with a stunning two-stage finish.
Taking the Interior Up a Notch
The interior of the GTO wasn’t spared our restoration magic. Our team reupholstered the bucket seats and refurbished the door panels, dashboard, headliner, and carpet. We also added some modern touches, like a new sound system from Custom Autosound and Dakota Digital gauges.
The Finishing Touches
The final step involved installing a Magnaflow stainless steel exhaust system to unleash the power of the Pontiac 400 V8 engine. New wheels and tires completed the transformation, giving the GTO a truly aggressive look.
A Near-Perfect Score and a Dream Realized
The culmination of our hard work was presenting the finished GTO to its owner at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals show in Chicago. The car was a huge hit, scoring a near-perfect 997 points in the Street Modified class!
Watch the complete build video and award-winning reveal in this video!
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COMPLETE 1967 PONTIAC GTO BUILD PHOTO GALLERY
Contact the V8 Speed & Resto Shop with all your Classic or Muscle Car needs today!
817 S. MAIN STREET – RED BUD, IL 62278
Author: @z06doc86
I know these videos are time consuming and you have a shop to run, but I sure love these longer and more detailed build videos like the early days of your channel. Thank you guys and gal so much!
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Author: @jameshutchins3396
Absolutely magnificent work. The video detailing start to finish is perfect. I can’t see how anyone could have any doubts about the quality of work done or available at your shop. Even going back to the old shop and early videos, your work ethic and quality has remained exemplary.
This is my favorite kind of build. Bless yall.
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Author: @gplipp6489
Absolutely amazing transformation!! Your team knocked it out of the park! Now, more please 😊
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Author: @NickedBlade
love the format of this video, the car it self is amazing! the two together is definitely a home run! great job!
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Author: @HeavyPedalGarage
This GTO is absolutely stunning! Great work and congrats on the score. That is super impressive!! Gotta say the narration and video editing is spot on as well. Always a pleasure to see the crew’s work and watch these videos.
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Author: @brody.4098
This is a beautiful restoration. You all did great work.
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Author: @131601
Beautiful restoration, gorgeous GTO. Outstanding craftsmanship you should be proud of your team !
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Author: @bobdc13
wow what a great job Kevin..This GTO looks better than new..Congrats to you and the crew….
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Author: @Perfer-gw6ir
I am a Pontiac nut. I love that car. I loved watching the restoration. The best part was unveiling and when their family showed up. That was great seeing the grandkids interacting with their grandparents. Well done people. Three cheers to V8 Speed. Loved it.
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Author: @andrewipp426
What a heartfelt video of seeing the transformation from the dragged from the lake to this beautiful piece of automotive history. As always your builds are replete with so many details and touches that you can see and many that you can’t! So well done!
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Author: @poman8772
Absolutely beautiful work guys! What a top notch team of craftsmen!!!! My favorite years of GTO’s
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Author: @bruceh92
As you mentioned Kevin, better “drivability” was the goal and if it meant an assortment of non stock parts and even Ford brake parts to get it done then so be it. This is what hot rodding is about and kudos for an amazing job on an iconic American classic. 👍
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Author: @earlsmithson4749
Hi Kevin, that is am absolutely beautiful restoration. Modern conveniences but still very original-Perfect! Thanks for sharing this experience with us as a 1967 GTO is always a fan favorite.
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Author: @nelsgholmberg
TOTALLY AWESOME. Hats off to your team. What a transformation. Love it.
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Author: @bluesman7475
Very nice restoration. I love the color. Absolutely top quality work. Being my old school self, I would have had to go with a tripower instead of fuel injection, because its cool.
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Author: @m87orion
Kevin, you’re a legend mate. Keep up the good content with yous and your crew. Been watching for years. ✌️
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Author: @primozkrajcar4144
Beautifull beatuifull car! Awesome work from the team! Some crazy amount of work went into this project so kudos to the team! Great work!
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Author: @hailstorm1986
Absolutely amazing GTO transformation!! 😇
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Author: @2ndborn186
Beautiful, stunning car!!! You would think the owners would be more excited about it though. Oh well. Excellent work guys!!
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Author: @joeymccullough2716
Wow, what awesome car! You guys never cease to amaze.
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Author: @hespie1
Great car and such detailed restoration. Love your work.
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Author: @davestelling
I’ve never seen a full restoration like this, and man – I sure enjoyed watching!
Thanks…
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Author: @wayneforbes7671
Nicely done folks! A prime candidate for such a significant restoration.
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Author: @travislightfoot8075
I fell in love with this car when I was 15. This is a beautiful job well done perfect restoration!!
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Author: @marinablueGS
Words fail to adequately describe how beautiful this car is…..as you said, it’s better than it was on the showroom floor.
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Author: @Finnegan6674
What a beautiful car. Thank you and the owner for restoring this wonderful car. I’m going to have to look at the pictures of the journey this GTO went through. Were you able to source the proper oval antenna for the car? I have never seen a repop for them. Again thank you for sharing this with us.
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Author: @jamesaustin4044
Gorgeous car! Great work guys!
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Author: @kenh9097
That is an amazing job! Good for you & your crew Kevin!!
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Author: @johnrichard9015
Love the build aspect! Great vid, great build! Thanks for taking us along!👍
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Author: @rickbrant4285
My dad had this exact car except his had blue vinyl seats as well. It was a stunning car.
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Author: @dennishartford1429
What an amazing build ! Thank you for sharing this.
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Author: @tacocin
Absolutely beautiful! Amazing job!
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Author: @vortexgen1
Great looking GTO and in a beautiful blue.
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Author: @easyjerryl69
Kevin, You and your employees do a Great/Awesome job restoring cars. Ive been watching your channel for a long time. I have a 1966 lemans convertible I want to restore. Hopefully in about 7 more years when I retire I can afford to restore it. I live kinda close to you ! Dupo IL. Mine came out of the same pond though ! LOL !
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Author: @charlesdalton985
You could use that car to check the alignment of a laser it’s so straight! Was not surprised by the score at all. One question – did the owner keep any of the original parts? It hardly matters, just curious. Thanks for sharing, your team should be proud. ~ Chuck
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Author: @sside8
What a beautiful restoration! What was the cost to do this?
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Author: @raulgarciajr916
Talk about a professional restoration. Jesus. That’s some amazing work. Great job guys.
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Author: @davidtuck9599
Great build as usual guys !
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Author: @blackcoffeegarage
Ohhhhh that blue… what a tank! Great resto, top notch work (but you know that!)
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Author: @bruceh92
Beautiful GTO guys, congrats 👍
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Author: @billyjoejimbob56
First rate restoration and an excellent video production. For my tastes, your resto-mod “recipe” is just the right amount of “mod”… Suspension, disc brakes, fuel injection, vintage aire… but the look is still near perfect period original. Two questions: Did you and owner consider adding a 4L80E overdrive trans, and why was it not included? And, the tire and wheel combo looks great, clearly bigger than stock but perfectly suited to the car. What was your wheel source, size, and tire size?
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Author: @bobbyboothe8964
Fantastic car. Love the colors
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Author: @frankszymkowski7780
Your shop is getting better and better. Damn damn damn good
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Author: @daleandrews3552
Boy, now THAT is a complete frame-off restoration, the way is SHOULD be done. Some have said that in these type complete restorations, the car ends up being as good as new. I can now see where that might be true. I mean if everything that’s worn is either reconditioned, sand blasted and repainted or replaced, how could one go wrong?
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Author: @garymatthews1280
Beautiful work!!
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Author: @robertmceuen3630
997 out of 1000? Looks PERFECT to me. Beautiful. Well done. I’m 70, so 1967 autos are in my wheelhouse. I had a 67 Olds 442.
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Author: @maxfastest
Very nice Uber expensive build,
But now it’s too nice to drive it !
Pure garage queen
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Author: @rankinmg1
Great video!!
Awesome automobile, 67 best year for gto!
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Author: @northpointaxe6167
If I had even half the budget and half the specialty tools used on this project I could do some amazing stuff with my galaxies.
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Author: @michelmendoza1769
This restoration borders on miraculous!
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Author: @brians9534
Remarkable and great to watch. Thank you!
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Author: @frankszymkowski7780
Wow, what a nice job 👍🏻👍🏻
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Author: @slurpee27
I purposely have t watched this video because of how much I like the 67 GTOs.
My parents drove me home in a 4 speed 360HP Montego Cream car in ‘68.
I was right not to watch it …I am so jealous of this owner…
You guys do beautiful work .
Everything is so tastefully done …
I hate everyone 😂 : )
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Author: @tom4139
amazing attention to detail. Thanks for sharing!
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Author: @tomrobards7753
You guys did one fine job
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Author: @scooterdoughmas3012
very nice love a Pontiac 60 -72 the 67 is a dream car for sure thanks fo sharing😁🤩
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Author: @tomrobards7753
One of the best looking gto ever made that and the 1969
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Author: @freepatriot6313
Wow…. I was 10 yrs old and my dad drove up in his brand new ’67 GTO…. blue with black vinyl top. His was a shade darker blue if I remember correctly… although it was close to this color. It had the red striped tires and 400ci w/ auto and hurst shifter. He let me drive it…. sitting on his lap. Lots of memories. That thing would set you way back in the seat when he floored it. My dad was a Border Patrolman stationed in Comstock Texas. Just north of Del Rio Texas back then. Thanks!
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Author: @johnallardyce5159
Incredible restoration…….beeeeeeeautiful!!!
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Author: @b2ja03
What was the frame sprayed with primer/paint? Also were the vent windows restored or repops how was the quality? Thanks
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Author: @joyceseaver9350
You have got a GIFT my friend ! AMAZING work ! God Bless ….
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Author: @joe-hp4nk
Wow, the new owners were so excited they couldn’t control themselves.
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Author: @ScarlettFire341
Nice Looker & Presentation – and so someday it will end up at Mecum or Barrett Jackson – and the +- $200,000 they spent will change hands – one millionaire to another – I didn’t realize how good we had it when we could buy a used one, less that 10 years old, for less than $1000 – so goes life
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Author: @josephpacchetti5997
Love the 67 Oldsmobile, Thanks my friend. 👊 😎
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Author: @toomanyhobbies2011
Beautiful rodstoration. I had a ’66 with Tri-Power that didn’t stop, turn or start very well. What a wonderful car you created, with all the “charm” of a ’67 Goat that acts modern. Very surprised the engine wasn’t rebuilt.
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Author: @musashinagatsubo9574
After all the other expenses, I’d have put a stroker kit in the engine.
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Author: @acts2211
Wow. Great job
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Author: @stuckinmygarage6220
Kudos! Breathless
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Author: @THROTTLEPOWER
Nice!!!!!!! 👍👍
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Author: @wayne.rassman2389
Oh what. A great job on restoration and production….
Where are you located?
Now who owns it?
And. How much? For the restore?
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Author: @Zelaznogsiul-63
If I had the money, I’ll send you my car in a heart beat, but since I am a poor guy I have to do some of the work myself. It won’t look as good as the cars that you do but it will be nice. I am working on a 1980 trans am pace car with the 301 turbo that no one likes but I am going to keep it. Great video.
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Author: @charleshendrix232
67 GTO- prettiest muscle car ever. Period
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Author: @TazR6
Beautiful.
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Author: @andymudhoney
Spectacular
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Author: @clifford4081
Interesting of the trunk lid was the only piece that was saved, And ironically the only piece they don’t make any more of? But they still make fenders and floor pans??
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Author: @frankjgornickjr3676
It’d be nice to know how much was spent I’m restoring the car ?
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Author: @markvironda
Very cool
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Author: @rustyrobinson8027
Nice
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Author: @paul1x1
997 what took 3 points away i cant see it
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Author: @ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm
nice job done well – great choice and elegant = big job resto = thank you – top team .
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Author: @stude1953
Hate the vinyl top! That ruined the whole car. Was laughing I can imagine the little kids scratching the car looking at it.
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Author: @garyv2196
It’s basically not the same car.imo
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Author: @briansimmons7141
First-time viewer. Extraordinary car, extraordinary craftsmanship, and extraordinary video. I believe this is the best automotive video I have ever seen. Super photography, great narration, and superior music. Thank you, thank you, thank you for using some other than the stereotypical louder-than-the-narration-mediocre-screaming-electric-guitar that is generally inflicted on viewers. Truly a professional video.
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Author: @USCG.Brennan
I’ve been restoring “Muscle Cars” since the mid ’70s and from experience I appreciate all your hard work and care in what you do.
I call this kind of thing “rolling art” and it truly is!! I’m currently restoring a ’69 Mustang Fastback for it’s original lady owner who’s daddy purchased it
for her back in ’69 from Pasadena Ford. It’s all stock and number’s matching in Aztec Turqouise with stock black bucket seat interior, 351, AT, PS and PB.
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Author: @SoundwaveX7
You guys did an excellent job bringing this 67 GTO back to its former glory again and giving it new life again. 🙂
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Author: @williams3631
I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much attention to detail presented in a restoration video. I’m extremely impressed. You guys do amazing work !
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Author: @georgemallory797
This car has a special place in my heart. I was born in 1967. When I was little, my mom had two cars in a row with a similar color. First, she had a 1964 Chevrolet Corvair convertible. Next, she had a beautiful 1966 Pontiac Bonneville coupe in a silvery blue. Her next car was a green, 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. The Bonneville was a 389, I believe, and the Grand Prix was the same engine as that GTO…a big block 400 that would roast the rear tires off the wheels. I guess I have always been a Pontiac guy.
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Author: @371francis
Stunning workmanship! Just stunning. Congratulatiions to all involved in such a great project.
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Author: @Primus54
That blue metallic color was absolutely my favorite on the GM mid-size muscle cars of the mid-60s. Looked absolutely stunning when offset by the “perfunctory” Cragar S/S 5-spoke chrome aftermarket wheels.
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Author: @ruebenlaumer3663
This has to be the absolute best redo I’ve ever seen 100 % total craftsmanship very great job guys and gals thank you ❤
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Author: @ronschwolsky1626
Phenomenal job! As much as I love these fabulous restorations (on worthy cars, such as this), I’m not sure the expense could be justified without some serious sentimental value. That being said, I’m sure many, many people will be asking to buy this car!
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Author: @MichaelLawrence-rc3cj
Absolutely totally Beautiful ! The workmanship , the people communication , the family, this is so American at its best !
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Author: @derekantill3721
Magnificent restoration, and how you gave the car some improvements to make it handle better than new. ❤
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Author: @scotthibbard5746
My dad was a GM factory rep for Pontiac Motor Division for 26 years. We had a ’67 GTO the spitting image of that car. Beautiful restoration you guys did. My dad has a ’66 and a ’70 GTO now.
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Author: @allantaylor3288
Awesome. Another great project completed by you guys yet again. They didn’t look this good from the factory Beautiful GTO😍
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Author: @darrellkidd5177
Absolutely beautiful car, and amazing restoration job. The black vinyl top looks really good, and I know it was on there originally, but it was a shame to cover up such a spectacular paint job on the roof.
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Author: @thefettfan3994
A pure work of art! Congratulations to every “Craftsman” involved in this labour of love project!!!
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Author: @dominickserignese8837
You guys are true Craftsman! Amazing job! I love seeing the before-and-after pics as well as the step-by-step pics.
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Author: @ynb3a9y4life
You guys build something that made an entire family happy ….. Just made me tear up a little 🥲…
A Job well done guys 👏👏👏👏👏
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Author: @autocurioso3142
Wasnt having good day but this video made it better. Great video, its like immersing yourself into this dream experience of restoring your own muscle car
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Author: @gregkistner1955
You fellas did an extremely great job on this car! Hats off to all involved!
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Author: @Snowtruckdriver
Very nice program presentation here. I was fortunate to have owned a 67 GTO with a 400 and four speed. The difference in mine was that it was a convertable. It was the same color as this one with a black interior. One of the most pleasurable cars I ever owned.
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Author: @abcdef-qk6jf
I think when a vehicle needs that amount of replacements – you did a great job. Doing a little restomod to keep it driveable and fun to drive. Keeping it subtle to retain the soul.
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Author: @granddad-mv5ef
First, ’67 is my personal favorite GTO. The entire production is the best I have ever seen, starring of course, the restoration. Much has changed in the automotive paint world since I left it 35 years ago. The suppl