Am buildin' a restomod '67 GS 400 out here in Hawaii. In mid-2009 I stumbled upon a one-owner convertible that spent its entire life in Honolulu Hawaii. To you guys with interstate highways that means this car's never been more than 40 miles from home. It is almost rust free, having spent the last 12 years in a garage without being driven (the original owner felt she was too old to drive it). It has 118,000 miles on it. It's a loaded one too, and it has the build sheet to confirm the options tucked behind the left rear interior trim panel. It was pretty heavily optioned to, as it has PS, PB, PW, tilt, factory air, power top, console, tach (still works too), Turbo 400, posi rear, etc. It was painted a couple years before I got it. I drove it for a year or so before it blew a head gasket. Since 2009, I rebuilt the suspension with Hotchkis springs, sway bars and Edelbrock IAS shocks. I added 3.55 gears to the posi and an AGR Restocruiser vari-ratio steering box. It now has 17" Torque Thrust II's with Nitto 555s (245/45 front, 275/40 rear). To stop it I installed a Baer Track-4 system with 13" rotors front and rear. Jim Weise at Trishield Performance is building me a mild but stout 470 CI motor and matching Turbo 400 suited for the cam and rear gears. Should have it back on the road in a month or two. Here's some "before and after pix". More later ...
Interior Pix. Only 1 small hole had to be fixed on the floor pans. After sanding, I painted it with Rustoleum and added Dynamat under the carpet padding, followed by new OPG red carpeting. Thanx to OPG I was able to get most of the interior vinyl replaced. I had to weld the springs in the front seats in a couple places but it worked out really well. I was also able to match the red paint in order to repaint the dash, steering column, and door/side panel trim. Billet Specialties supplied the steering wheel and pedals, while Autometer Muscle car gauges fit the same theme for the interior. Top bows were in good shape so I just scuffed them out and shot them in satin black. The top was replaced in 2005. Power window mechanics just needed to be cleaned and lubed. Usual junk inside the door panels but no major rust so I just cleaned them out and painted the insides before putting the trim pieces on. I rebuilt and upholstered the console in the same material as the seats. Original console tach and floor shifter work great. Updated kick panels from OPG worked ok as the originals were warped and damaged beyond repair. I added a Secret Audio system under the front passenger seat so I wouldn't have to hack the dash up. It works fine but I like to hear the engine most of the time anyway.
Good point Scott. That's why Jim Weise is only building me a 450 HP motor and not any more ... We've got a couple freeways where you can get on it. The state closed the only dragstrip on the island a couple years ago, but there a huge push from all the car enthusiasts here to build a new one. Plus there's a couple autocross places here as well.
Looks great. I love the red interior. Would you mind telling what the front arm rests are for? They sort of look like 66 Olds Cutlass parts to me. Mike
They were the armrests in the car when I bought it. From the imprints and color behind the armrests on the original door panels, they were probably original, or replaced a loooooong time ago. hat also explains why I had a hard time finding new armrest pads ...
