List of Readers' Rides

Sean McConnell's 1973 Pontiac GTO



Here's Sean McConnell's 1973 GTO, Canadian built, VIN#2F37T31513461.

Says Sean

"I have yet to see another '73 on the road or in a show or in a field OR ANYWHERE (except in pictures). I have owned this car for 16 years (since I was 19). When I bought it, it was a slightly aging show car. unfortunately, it was a CUSTOMIZED show car complete with a total velour interior, mural paint job, etched glass (every piece including the rear view mirrors), and a sun-roof was installed, as was a 454 chevy engine. At the time, I thought this was just the coolest car around. I promply took a loan out for $1,500 and threw in a '66 Comet Caliente Convertible (428, 4-speed). Sure I was just another teenager who got ripped off by a used car dealer (he even used the "I've got another guy on the way with money" line). But there was something about the test drive that only another '73 Goat owner would understand. It handled incredibly well. It felt like a Ferrari compared to that Comet I was driving and it was way faster! The FEEL of the car was intoxicating to me and I new I had to have it! But the Chevy engine didn't last long under my extremely heavy foot. I rebuilt it for total preformance and it was way fast, but I couldn't afford the gas so I sold if to a friend of the guy who customized it a few years earlier. End of story?
NOT!
Over ten years passed. I now had no cool cars. I just divorced so I had very little money. I was riding my bike on the other side of town when I spotted my old GTO sitting on the side of the road for sale. I couldn't believe it. I had sold it to a guy in a different city (about an hour away) 10 YEARS AGO and now, here it was. Apparently the guy I sold it too got married, promply needed money, and sold it cheap to some Chevy guy who wanted it for the engine. He dumped the Goat out on the curb for sale. $800.00 later, it sat in my driveway. Fortunately, the body was in very good shape and all the GTO options were intact. The interior had been returned to a nice clean black
REALLY miss all that velour! ;)
So now I was free to install a motor of my choice. Through a twist of luck I happened upon a '65 GTO 389 tri-power unit. Now I had one unique Goat!I got rid of the "Big-N-Littles" that the guy had installed and brought the car back down on N50-16's all the way around. Now the car drives exactly as I remember it 16 years ago.

As a bonus, I ran a GM vintage report on it and found that there were only 231 units built at the Oshawa plant for sale in Canada (This is the rarest year of all the Goats). Mine has bucket seats, 3 spd. auto, console, 8,000 RPM tach (working), 160 MPH speedo, front and rear verticle chrome bumper guards (rare), 3.23 10 bolt posi (still original), and of course, that all too cool, GTO handling package! I have bought this car twice and am now old enough to know that I should never sell it again. So I am looking for literature that might help me totally rebuild both the car and/or the engine. I need a detailed explanation of how to set up the tri-power (linkage and all). It has 6X heads. Is there a better head to look for?
(no obvious jokes thanks!)."

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