Already enjoyed for 30 years; now ready for the next 30+

Some car owners are very hands on with their restorations. They like to follow every process and every step along the way. They are always available to answer questions and make decisions as needed to be sure that everything turns out just like they want it. And when the restoration is completed they will be there to inspect and then test drive the car before it is delivered. Some, if they live within a reasonable distance, will even drive it home.

That’s all fabulous of course as customer involvement and feedback is important but for some that’s just not possible.

Ed Brennan, owner of this ’67 GTO, works in the import/export business and spends a lot of time traveling, especially in Asia, so traveling to MCR’s location was just not an option for him. That meant that he had to rely on MCR’s on-boarding process to communicate his desires for his car totally remotely. Once that was accomplished, the car was shipped to the shop for the work to begin.

Ed grew up going to the racetrack with his dad so his love of fast cars started early. He owned a variety of muscle cars over the years but eventually he went looking for a low mileage original. In 1996 he found this ’67 GTO convertible at Midwest Car Exchange in Illinois with about sixty thousand miles. The car was all original and ran and looked very good. Ed enjoyed it with his family for nearly thirty years until he found MCR online and made arrangements to ship it there for a full Platinum level restoration.

When it arrived it looked better than most – almost like it didn’t need to be chemically stripped. But MCR has seen this sort of thing before and it was dipped anyway. Turns out it hadn’t been restored before but it was suffering from some period collision repair that very much needed to be corrected. The sheet metal was still better than most but it was the hidden frame damage that could have been the most cause for concern.

Ed desired a full factory restoration but with a caveat. While the car is first going to be shipped to upstate New York, the car is expected to eventually end up in Hawaii and is there anything MCR could do to protect the car from the salty air environment that it would encounter there?

Of course there is. MCR powder coated many parts that require a high level of protection. While not necessarily perfectly factory correct, powder coating is very good at preventing corrosion. The inside of the doors, rocker panels and other such locations were coated with rust preventative products to prevent the car from rusting from the inside out again. Also, stainless steel fasteners were used wherever possible and anti-seize lubricant was used, again where appropriate, to prevent bolts from rusting in place. One particularly sensitive area, the exhaust pipes, were ceramic coated a factory looking color to keep them looking like new.

Salty air is in many ways worse than the road salt used in the northern states as it never stops, you can’t really avoid it and it gets into everywhere. Knowing this at the beginning, MCR was able to take these extra steps to insure that Ed’s GTO will stay looking awesome.

Since Ed’s GTO is a full numbers matching original, every effort was made to restore and retain as many of the original parts as was reasonably possible.

The Tyrol Blue Metallic paint pairs perfectly with the Ivory White convertible top. Note that the Redline tires match the original Firestone Wide Ovals but these are a radial design providing the classic look with modern tire performance and ride quality.
This is the classic Pontiac look with the split grill, stacked headlights and the wide track look.
These cars were unique from the rear as well with their quad slit taillights, large chrome bumper and dual chrome exhaust tips. The GTO emblems were a bit subtle but still unmistakable. Check out the small vertical slots in the bumper where the jack is set in to change a tire.
Nothing but blue and chrome. The turn signals had amber bulbs behind the clear lenses. There are no less than six GTO emblems on the outside of this car
The hood scoop is non-functional but hood mounted tack definitely is.
No, the Hurst shifter didn’t really make this GTO faster but it did significantly add to the cool factor.
Mounting the tach out on the hood was the 60’s version of a heads up display. It not only worked but it looked really great doing it.
The Pontiac 400 was factory rated at 335 HP and 415 pounds of torque and was rebuilt to factory specs. All of the original accessories were preserved. The carb, starter, alternator, power steering pump, radiator and even the water pump are all the rebuilt factory originals that came with the car. Same for the Muncie 4-speed and the 3.23 10-bolt rear.
The interior features a generous amount of wood grain finish but the highlight is the genuine Hurst shifter. Note the Hurst Equipped badge on the side of the console. Like many cars of this era, especially the convertibles, there is no A/C on this one. The factory seat color is called Parchment and it goes perfectly with the Ivory convertible top
The trunks on these cars are massive by today’s standards. This one is fully finished with the factory splatter paint, mat and a full sized spare. Remember when rotating the tires utilized the spare? Does anyone know how to use that bumper jack anymore?
Didn’t look bad for a 55 year old car when it arrived at MCR. It was obviously well cared for over the decades but there was still hidden damage that needed to be addressed.
These are full frame cars of course rather than many back then that were built with unibody construction. You can imagine what could happen to the rest of the body if this were to give way under a hard load. This damage was fully repaired and then steps were taken to insure that it can’t rust from the inside out again.
These are full frame cars of course rather than many back then that were built with unibody construction. You can imagine what could happen to the rest of the body if this were to give way under a hard load. This damage was fully repaired and then steps were taken to insure that it can’t rust from the inside out again.