Just bought this for myself on the occasion of my 45th birthday (the feast of Saint Monica): a 1966 Pontiac 2+2 421.
Old friends will remember my first Pontiac, a 1970 GTO Judge (clone). Fun for a teenager. The 2+2 is based off the Catalina (though it was a separate model in 1966), and was considered the "big brother" of the GTO.
I bought this particular 2+2 on ebay from a collector in North Carolina. The owner had an amazing collection of 1966 Pontiacs and had wanted to restore this one as well. But it came about that he needed to sell it, and I was the one to benefit from his well-trained eye for good, restoreable Pontiacs.
If I had been racing and modding cars in the early 1970's (I didn't get started till 1982), this would be the Pontiac for me. An early owner did exactly what any hot-rodder would have done with a late-model car: heads and cam, intake and carb, exhaust, racing differential, and big tires out back. This car came to me minus the diff and tires. It's apparent that it was raced in the mid-1970's, including a JAZ fuel cell, drag bags, and gauges.
The body is in good shape, with only minor rust and missing some trim. The interior needs cleaning, but the seats, door panels, and carpet are restoreable. The dash pad and rear deck need replacing. But the dash is exquisite, with just minor touches needed. All in all, a lot of detailing needs to be done, but no major cutting or replacing.
And the motor? Oh my goodness. The factory YH Code 421 Block has Ram Air II heads, an aluminum intake, a Carter 4v carburetor, and HEI. And a cam. A big cam. It's the first thing you notice. The whole car shakes from side to side. At idle, it's as if a Tiger were tapping its fingers slowly, waiting to pounce.
My tentative goal is to restore it not to day 1, factory floor condition, but to the height of its glory days: what any young racer in the 1970's would have done to it to take to your local 1/8th mile strip spending the weekends pounding the pavement.
So watch out, Dalton! Padre's got a new toy!
