My '67 GTX Project in Southern CA.

[Bob Lynch]

Just a little story about my '67 GTX and some photos to follow along with a year and a half project to fix it up and get it where it is now.
The previous owner wasn't the best at wrenching or anything else, and I had a tall order in front of me, but it was all there, and it just needed some help.
I was searching for a while for this year and model, but was coming up short, and pricey most of the time.
Kept searching and finally saw a for sale ad from a classic car dealer in MI and kept a watch on it for a while.
I didn't want a car from back east, but after they sent me some PIC's of the car and tags, I decoded the VIN, and figured out the car was a real deal GTX.
It was also built in the Los Angeles plant here in CA, hardly any rust on it, and all the underside, fender wells and panels are great looking !!
The car stayed here for most of it's life, and was bought and shipped to MI about 10 years ago by the PO, he only drove it in the summer.
I decided to look at the car, so I flew back to MI, just outside of Detroit..in Jan 2022...15 degrees out, and I'm not a big fan of that plane de-ice **** either !!
I'd never driven in weather that cold, I thought the rental car wouldn't start !
I don't even own a heavy coat, don't need one.
Finally got to MI on a Thursday, test drove it on Friday, bought it on the spot, had it shipped to CA and a month later was driving it !!
I've done a lot to it since then, here is the journey:


In the MI dealership, looking at it, test drive.
Don't like that white interior, but love the center console and it's in pretty decent shape.
Engine needs a lot of help, everything was leaking, wrong, bad, or trouble from the start.
More to follow...

 

[mr. b]

that’s a good looking GTX nice find

 

[copper67sat]

Nice GTX.

 

[t.flatt]

Really sweet ride, man! Hope the surprises you found weren't to terrible.

 

[junior340]

Thats a great looking car. Congratulations

 

[67 GTX]

Great looking car!

 

[Don Frelier]

I love the pearl white interior.
Maybe not the best with the red though.

 

[Belvedere408]

Sweet GTX, I like the white interior myself.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

White really pops with the Red exterior... Only bad thing about white interior is keeping it clean.... You need to learn about Mr Clean Magic Erasers.. I might know a little about white interiors...

 

[gtx6970]

Very, Very nice.
Ive always used Wesleys Bleach white on white interiors

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Very, Very nice.
Ive always used Wesleys Bleach white on white interiors

I have in the past, next time try a Magic Eraser.....

 

[ckessel]

Howdy from the central coast. Nice score.

 

[Bob Lynch]

Started to fix it up:
Radiator was the wrong one, no fan shroud and small fan, car was overheating.
I got a new radiator and replaced the whole cooling system, water pump, hoses, added fan shroud, clutch fan and thermostat.
Too many vacuum leaks, so had to track it all down.
Took off the manifold and decided to glass bead it, I like the look.
The valley pan was leaking and not sealed good, replaced it, and sealed it up, vacuum tested and all good now.
Every wire I touched cracked, so I replaced the wiring harnesses, big job but took my time and did it right.
Added the @Crackedback headlight relay system while I was at it and if you don't have that, get it, my headlights are really bright now.
New MSD all-in distributor, wires and spark plugs.
Added air-oil separator, coolant overflow tank, fuel filter and new fuel lines with AN Fittings all around.
Started to rebuild the carb, but the throttle shafts and holes were too worn out and the carb was leaking gas, not good.
The PO did not run the dual snorkel air cleaner because it was too tall with the Edelbrock manifold.
I decided to suck it up and get a new Holley 750 with Mancini drop down base, and the dual snorkel fits perfect now, well worth it.
Only one small adjustment to the idle mix screws and no hesitations or stuttering right out of the box.
I had the air cleaner powder coated too.
See ya.

 

[ckessel]

Did you get the valley pan that has the heat riser ports blocked off? Very helpful with vapor lock issues.

 

[Bob Lynch]

Did you get the valley pan that has the heat riser ports blocked off? Very helpful with vapor lock issues.

I bought the valley pan from 440 Source and I'm not sure if the heat riser ports were blocked off.
440 Source is closed for vacation now and the website is down, so I can't see a picture of it.
No vapor lock issues with the old set-up, so I didn't think about that.
Thanks for the info.

 

[ckessel]

When we lived in Ramona, NE San Diego county, my Coronet had vapor lock issues when the 440 was in it. I did put the blocked off unit in plus a heat shield under the carb. Holley 850dp. Another contributing factor, besides the junk pump fuel everyone is stuck with that has a lower boiling point, was my TTI 3" tailpipes were close to the tank. After a 30 minute or so drive when I put the car back in the garage I thought I heard gurgling in the tank. It was the fuel boiling in the tank. Not good. One of many issues being remedied on the project as I progress through it.
Current pump swill boils at less than 150*. Its much hotter under the hood.

 

[Bob Lynch]

Never forget the day the Fed-Ex driver rolled the dolly up my driveway with all those boxes on it and my SST Tremec TKX 5-Speed kit !
I was like a kid on XMAS morning with a new bike, I had about 12 beers to celebrate !

Finally going to grab some gears in this thing.

5-Speed installed with new headers from Summit, driveshaft from Drivelines, Inc. down the street from me, and exhaust system with Dynomax mufflers.
PO had "Dumps" just past the mufflers, and it was loud in the car, very irritating. Nice and quiet now, (I did Kilmat) with a perfect muscle car tone out the back.
Added a new Powermaster starter too, easier when everything was out.

Interior next up.

 

[Bob Lynch]

Let's start the interior, took it all out and the white has to go:
Found a nice mouse house under the back seat.

My neighbor had his '56 VW Bug interior done by a guy 45 minutes from me and it looks great.
I asked him if he would do mine, he said yes. We loaded up a truck and took everything to his house.
I had all the bucket seat back components wrinkle black powder coated while he had my seats, door panels and back panels.

Time to get that carpet out and clean up the inside.

Kilmat going in.

Kenwood 6x9 5-Ways installed for some tunes, power amp mounted with magnets in the trunk and Alpine deck for the dash.

Carpet next up.

 

[Bob Lynch]

Kilmat finished, time to install the new carpet.
Wanted to keep the center console with the 5-speed in there, so I needed to modify a couple things and make some custom brackets for the new top plate to fit right.
Came out great, very happy with it.

Had to modify the rubber boot around the shift rod, it was hitting the top plate on the underside.
I cut the top portion off and the front side to make it shorter, then I had my interior guy make me
a custom boot to go over the top of everything to seal it from the heat going in the cab.

The console will cover this up, and no hot air in the cab now from the tranny or exhaust and it's made out of really thick and flexible boat seat fabric.
He does boat interiors too !!

Rear carpet going in.

Front piece in, needed to cut around the tunnel for 5-speed.

Center console in, the new mounting brackets underneath worked great, nice and sturdy.

Waiting for the phone call to pick up my seats !!

 

[Bob Lynch]

Seats are ready to go in now.
Old white seats, door panels and armrests:

New seats are in and carpet is finished, door panels, front and back armrests with bases and new sill plates too.
Found a little dash camera and rear view camera kit on Amazon and installed them using magnets, works great and picture quality is really good.

An excellent job by my interior guy, high quality work.
Seat material is durable but soft and the double red stitching adds a little contrast too, and the seats are firm but comfortable.
I've been on some long rides with no problems.

By the time I figured out all the pricing from Legendary Interiors and others, the cost was real high.
I got the whole thing made from scratch for way less than that and I didn't have to try and assemble it myself.
I've never done interior or upholstery work, so I was a little nervous about how to do it and get it right.
I probably could've figured it out but it might not have looked as good, I like turn key sometimes, just easier for me at my age if the price is right.

The car is so fun to drive now with the 5-Speed and I'm getting way better gas mileage.
Not that it matters with these old cars, but in Taxifornia it does matter !!
I feel like I'm in high school again.

More PIC's soon.