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My Little Red GTO
by Rick Guagliardo
I acquired a love of the
automobile at any early age. I grew up in the 50's and I can still recognize and
name almost all the cars from that era. As a kid my dad, brother and I went to
many car shows in Milwaukee. I can still remember many of the hot rods from
those shows.
I received my driver's license on
my 16th birthday. I used the family ‘56 Ford station wagon for the test. The
car had a 312 cubic inch solid lifter Thunderbird engine, 3 on the tree and 411
gears. Dad let me use the vehicle occasionally. He complained that the tires
were wearing out too fast (I loved to do burn outs). He was getting suspicious
about my driving and started writing down the mileage. He also told me not to
drive over 15 miles each time I borrowed it. I quickly learned how to disconnect
the speedometer.
My dad's next car was a 1957
Pontiac Star Chief two-door hardtop. This was my first experience with Pontiac.
This was a great car definitely an attention getter. A year latter I totaled the
car and ended up in the middle of the highway on a rural Wisconsin road at 3:00
AM. Fortunately there wasn't much traffic and I didn't get run over. A picture
of the vehicle accident made the Milwaukee Journal the next day with a caption
about the importance of having safety belts (this car never came with safety
belts).
I finally got permission to buy a
car at seventeen. I purchased a 1955 Pontiac 2 door hardtop two-tone brown and
cream with leather interior. The car had okay performance but I couldn't get the
tires to spin without revving it in neutral first and then dropping the
gearshift to low. My friends thought this was pretty cool until I broke the
universal joint making a neutral drop when leaving a Bobs Big Boy restaurant. I
didn't show my face at the restaurant for a long time after that. I sold the car
six months later after breaking one of the A arms going over a curb that was
hidden by snow.
During my last year at Wauwatosa
West High School I saw my first GTO. The car was red with red interior and had
three carburetors. I knew that someday I would own a GTO. Seven years ago I
found a used 1964 GTO convertible. The car was un-restored and fairly clean with
some minor rust in the trunk. The body was straight but in need of paint. The
interior was in fair condition. The motor was a stock 389 with two-speed
automatic transmission. With a little haggling I bought the car. For the next 8
months this was my daily commuter until the engine started overheating. I
finally stopped driving it and parked it my driveway for the next two years. My
wife wanted me to sell the car since it was taking up space. Time for a
restoration. My son and I pulled the engine and transmission out. The car was
sent to my buddy Gary (408-227-1878) to strip the paint, repair any dings and
paint the car.
Wade, at Toupals in San Jose,
completed the upholstery (408-259-8210). I came across a rebuilt 455 short block
and purchased used 96 heads from Ed at the Goat Farm (408 295-7611). The heads
were rebuilt at Smedings Performance in Sacramento (916-638-0899). The tri-power
was purchased at a swap meet at a good guys show. Ed from the goat farm helped
me with excellent advice and parts needed to complete the project. My good
friend JR Riley built the turbo 400 with switch pitch from a Cadillac. The car
is painted PPG Hot Red with red interior and white convertible top. Pulley belts
were continually coming off during rapid acceleration so I installed a
serpentine belt and pulley system purchased from the March Company. The car is
running slightly hot and could use an upgraded radiator (next project).
Amy and I have enjoyed our
association with the Golden Gate Goats club and look forward to participating in
upcoming events.
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