While Cadena doesn’t have current output figures on the
combo, he notes that a previous milder tune employing just 6 psi yielded 579
horses at the rear wheels. “It should be making well over 600 rwhp at this
point,” he says, and we’re inclined to agree.
The GTO’s T56 six-speed manual was deemed sufficiently
robust in factory form, though Cadena did add a McLeod RST twin disc clutch and
lightweight flywheel to improve both durability and revving speed. A Hurst
shifter features a ball-type handle that Cadena custom color-matched to the
exterior paint.
What late-model
Pontiac doesn’t look smashing with ROH wheels? Cadena’s features the Aussie
firm’s Drift R rollers, sized 18x8 inches up front and 18x9.5 inches in the
rear.
In marked contrast to the solid-axle F-bodies that went
before it, much of the GTO’s appeal is predicated on its sophisticated
independent suspension system, which was painstakingly tuned—first by Holden,
and later by Pontiac—to furnish both responsive handling and a supple ride.
With that in mind, Cadena kept modifications in this area to a minimum, adding
only a set of Eibach Sport line lowering springs to drop the ride height a jot
.
What late-model
Pontiac doesn’t look smashing with ROH wheels
But as good as the GTO’s underpinnings are in the curves,
they weren’t designed to be cudgeled at a drag strip, and certainly not by an
engine generating as much metal-mangling torque as Cadena’s. It’s no surprise,
then, that one of the factory axle shafts eventually let go under power,
necessitating an upgrade to G Force Engineering 1320 upgrade units and ARP stud
bolts. Additional rear end fortifications include a BMR Drag Bag kit, which
should help the car better plant its 275/35ZR18 rear Nittos when Cadena
depresses the loud pedal.
While Pontiac did its best to enliven the GTO’s anodyne
appearance in the car’s sophomore season, the company’s efforts were regarded
by many prospective buyers as being too little, too late. Interestingly, one of
the more popular customizing trends to emerge in years since has centered on
modifying the car to look more like its Antipodean antecedent, the Holden
Monaro CV8Z. Cadena’s take on this time-honored approach involved blending the
CV8Z’s signature badges, hood grille, and lighting arrays with distinctive
touches such as a Maverick Man carbon rear spoiler/diffuser combo and a set of
black ROH wheels..
The color-keyed
gauges and 200-mph speedometer are standard.
“I use the car every day, [and] the attention it gets is
amazing,” he says. Interior modifications are similarly restrained, primarily
involving carbon-look wrapping for the center console, IP surround, and other
hard-plastic bits. As with the rest of the car, Cadena performed the work
himself in his home garage. You might think that a car with such lofty performance
capabilities would spend much of its time on track, but Cadena assures us
that’s not the case. And while he has some additional power enhancing mods
planned for the future, for now he’s perfectly happy to enjoy the GTO during
everyday commuting and the occasional family road trip.“My kids love it,” he
notes. “They say it feels like a roller coaster.”
