When it came time to motivate the big car, Bill's first inclination was to go with a carbureted motor since that is what he knew, but he was swayed to try something new by the guys on the Web site. They told him of the wonders of the LSx based GM engines and how he could have less weight on the front of the car and great gas mileage too. Finally convinced, he contacted retired racer Gary Neff and machinist Mark Owens to help him assemble the right powerplant and make a few of the one-off parts needed to finish the GTO. Starting with a 6.0 Liter GM iron short-block (LQ9), with a set of stock aluminum heads they then topped it off with a MagnaCharger blower putting out about 6 pounds of boost. Street and Performance of Mena, Arkansas, was called on to provide many of the parts for the transplant. These included the pre-programmed PCM, wiring harness, brackets, pullies, radiator and all the other myriad items needed to make a modern engine function in a classic car. S&P even helped with several of the specialized brackets that had, up until Bill's car, never been made before. The blown Gen III engine exhales through a custom 2.5-inch stainless exhaust with 50 Series Flowmaster mufflers. Bill knew he would have a lot of road time in the car and since the closest road track is hundreds of miles away, he also realized that most of these miles would be spent cruising the rolling hills of Tennessee. It was this realization that led him to a GM 4L80E trans. Still wanting to have some fun rowing gears, he also decided to go with a Twist Machine paddle shifting system with a TCI T-Com controller. This decision also led him to being invited to display his GTO at SEMA. With that invitation accepted, the project was put into overdrive in an effort to get it all done before November.
For the interior, Bill located a set of power seats from a '01 Oldsmobile Aurora and had them covered in light gray leatherette. The vintage '65 GTO-styled stitching was carried over to the custom fabricated rear seats and all the headrests got embroidered with the distinctive logos. Wabbits of Cleveland, Texas, was tasked with making the one-of-a-kind carbon fiber interior pieces and they also integrated the Classic Instruments gauges so that the Goat's vital signs could be monitored. To keep the driver firmly in control, there is a Colorado Customs billet steering wheel with more custom carbon fiber along with a Hurst floor shifter. A Pioneer stereo provides plenty of road tunes and the factory A/C system helps Bill keep his cool. All in all, it works together to make for just the right mix of old and new.
Things got pretty frantic as Bill's date with SEMA drew ever closer. It was very important to him to have the GTO drive into the show under its own power, and besides, he really wanted to cruise his retro-modern goat down the famed Las Vegas strip. How close was it? As Bill tells the story, "The night before we left for SEMA was the first time we tried to start the car. With all the connections checked, we held our breath, hit the key, and what a relief-it started and ran smoothly. After some tuning help from Steve Chryssos at Twist Machine, we had the paddle-shifted tranny working great and we were ready to hit the trail for Vegas." The deadline was met and, although exhausted from the frantic wrenching and 2,500-mile trip out west, Bill could not be happier with his car. He is also quick to credit getting the car done on time to the tireless efforts of everyone involved, especially Gary and Mark. The crowds at SEMA seemed to like the convertible (since he got several offers to buy the car), but Bill wouldn't bite. Once back in his native Tennessee, Bill plans on doing some fine tuning on the engine and finishing up a few details that had to be hurried in order to make it to SEMA on time. With plans for a lot of road miles and a stint on next year's Power Tour, it's nice to know the GTO will end up where it belongs: on the road. In Bill's words, "My goal with this car has been to build a true driver, not a race car, not a track car, but a road car." We'd have to say he nailed it.