After 40 years of upturned noses and the scorn of purists,
the Pontiac community finally recognizes the '73 GTO as a valuable member of
Poncho history. The truth be told, there is actually a lot to like about the one-year-only
Third-Generation Goat.
Rick thought his
'73 GTO's nose was bland, so he added '74 GTO parking lamps, mounted in a
custom, stainless- steel mesh grille that he fabricated himself. "It was a
throwback to the grille treatment used in '67," he says.
From an engineering standpoint, the '73 GTO is considered
superior to the previous generation. The march of technology made it safer, and
provided it with better handling and braking. The '73 GTO is rare-only 4,806 of
them were produced-and some truly unique examples exist. Ten there's the
mystique of the Super Duty 455, which was intended for this GTO, but was
blocked at the very last moment by party-poopers within Pontiac.
Our neighbor to the north, Rick Sturge of Campbellcroft,
Ontario, is a huge GTO fan. “My love of the breed was cast when I was 15 years
old and worked as a gas jockey at a service station,” he says. “The image of a
beautiful, long-legged blonde exiting the open door of a silver '67 GTO made an
impression on me that I still fondly remember.” When it came time to buy a GTO,
Rick happened upon a '73 that was in need of help. It wasn't exactly the silver
'67 of his youth. But it was the opportunity he was looking for. It captured
his imagination, and he was attracted to its rarity.
The cabin is
mostly original, save for carpeting, headliner, package shelf, and upholstery
on the bottom of the front seat. The black bench-seat interior with the Hurst
shifter coming out of the floor gives the GTO a no-nonsense look.
As it turned out, this GTO was even rarer than he guessed.
Originally a Regatta Blue 400/four-speed, it was one of just 187 Colonnade GTO
coupes with that powertrain combination. Beyond that, it was a modestly
optioned model with power steering and brakes, Custom Cushion steering wheel,
Rally gauge cluster, and Rally II wheels. The original 400 was long gone, and
between the frame rails was a '71 455 with a cracked block. Still it was a real
GTO, and it was his.
Rick got right to work on a frame-off restoration. The body
was more rusted than he anticipated, but he pressed on, replacing trunk metal,
the rear-seat floor pan, rear quarters, and even the cowl-vent area. “I learned
a lot about metal fabrication,” he says. “Not a lot of body panels are
available [for the '73 GTO], new or used”
The fact that the 455 D- port engine was not available with
a four-speed transmission didn't deter him from building this GTO the way he
wanted. He hired Butler Performance to build a '73 455 featuring a 0.030-inch
overbore, forged Ross pistons and Eagle H-beam rods, and a stock crank. Other
internal essentials included a Lunati Voodoo cam (227-/233- degrees duration
and 0.489- /0.504-inch lift) and Comp Cams roller-tip rockers. The compression
ratio checks in at 9.5:1.
With the original
400 long gone, Rick turned to Butler Performance to build him a
high-performance ’73 455. Internals include Ross forged pistons, Eagle H-beam
rods, and a Lunati Voodoo cam. It is topped with a stock-height Edelbrock
Performer intake and Quadrajet. Headers and a stainless exhaust round out the
combo.
The Pure-Pontiac build also features an Edelbrock Performer
intake with a reworked '73 Quadrajet built by Cliff Ruggles. The spent gasses
route through a set of no-name headers into a custom, 2.5-inch stainless- steel
exhaust system with MagnaFlow mufflers and reproduction exhaust tips from
Inline Tube.
