So the Misses wanted a convertible . . .

[OnPoint]

I'm a bit of a Corvette junkie, and my Misses isn't really into cars, but she enjoys ours and puts up with my hobby with zero complaints. Several years ago, with us having 3 kids at home, she mentioned we should get a vert . . . with a back seat so all of us could go cruising together.

So one day, I backed into the driveway with this, and went in the house and said, "Hey honey, come check out your convertible" That has been the only time she ever looked at a car, and then glanced at me with a look suggesting I'd lost my mind. LOL

[Ssscooter66]

I'll be following this to see what her convertible looks like when it finished, just make sure she doesn't see all the receipts because then she'll KNOW your cRaZy ....

[MsBadWolf]

Not sure what I'm looking at. Maybe a GM intermediate of '68 or '69. 69 GTO perhaps?

[OnPoint]

18 months later she was ready to cruise. '68 GTO convertible brought back to life. Had all the pieces. The pic of in on the trailer, you can't see them, but the hood was strapped to the trailer under the car. The front clip, fenders and doors were in the back of the truck. All the chrome and stainless pieces. It was all there. Just needed restored and put back together.

Misses and I and the kids have had a ball with it.

[MsBadWolf]

Very nice. Congrats.

[OnPoint]

Thanks. It's a fun rig. A little thirsty (she likes her fuel), but that's ok.

[MsBadWolf]

I used to hang around with a couple die hard brothers (& musicians) that both had GTO's. I mostly stayed with Camaro's, Cuda's, Challengers. The GTO's were fun cars for certain.

[OnPoint]

I used to hang around with a couple die hard brothers (& musicians) that both had GTO's. I mostly stayed with Camaro's, Cuda's, Challengers. The GTO's were fun cars for certain.

Yeah, the Pontiac 400 is a great engine - very gutsy. Lots of low end torque - although it does run out of breath a bit past 5500 rpm. But she'll jump off the line with that torque.

[OnPoint]

I'll be following this to see what her convertible looks like when it finished, just make sure she doesn't see all the receipts because then she'll KNOW your cRaZy ....

Yeah - she never saw the receipts.

[John]

Great job in finding the one car she would like (well after the 18 months of your hard work)! Congratulations.

We bought a ‘56 Chevy that was a barn find, needed a ton of work, paid $1,956, and then restored it (great working with my 8 year old daughter hand sanding this and that, polishing out all the stainless trim and much more). It was a fun family car once done. However, while it was loved for five years, getting our first Corvette, both going daughters to college, resulted in the Chevy getting almost no use — so it went away. Last I saw of it, it was one of the featured cars in the Woodward Dream Cruise a couple of years ago. Many miles from the PNW were it all started.

Car restoration can be a great family bonding activity (or not in certain families). My wonderful wife loves the act of getting in a fast car, driving at spirited speeds down curvy country road, and also going long road trips. I am consequently one lucky boy!

Great job OnPoint in your restoring and keeping your ‘68 GTO convertible. A very, very special car you have!

[Ssscooter66]

OnPoint,
""Just needed restored and needed put back together " you make it sounds so easy , I could use some help .... ?

[OnPoint]

OnPoint,
""Just needed restored and needed put back together " you make it sounds so easy , I could use some help .... ?

I certainly can't take credit for all of it. I had a good bit of help with it. One of the lessons I learned is the value of folks who hold special knowledge about a specific marque/model. My Dad restored GTOs for years and years - I probably saw him do 25 of them, and helped him on a couple (well, I probably actually only got in the way, and drank more of the beer). He'd had the car for a long time, and had documented all the pieces. His main focus was 64-65s, so he hadn't gotten around to finishing the '68. The guy who helped set up the engine is a go-to Pontiac engine guy. He knew things you don't find "in the books".

I bought this car from Pops as we was dying from cancer and selling his businesses and car collection to get things in order for Mom. He was stalling selling it as he was worried somebody wouldn't appreciate was it was and hack it up, since it wasn't one of his finished show cars. I told him we'd get it put together and keep it in the family - after all, the Misses wanted a vert with a back seat! That made his day. Tried to get it done so he could see it, but he passed away about the time it rolled into the paint booth. I think he would have liked it.

It's the first time I've ever done a full frame-off project. Having done one, if we ever do another, that's one of the very first things I'm going to chart out. I.e. who has best knowledge on this make/model re powertrain, trim, interior, etc. Having access to that info is priceless. I lucked into the info on this one. Next one won't be luck - it'll be planned in from the get-go.

I miss Pops - but my wife and I think of him every time we go cruising in this rig.

[Ssscooter66]

I couldn't think over a better story, glad you shared it with us ! I was usually in the garage when my dad was working on cars, it was just something I always liked to do . It's seems so different these day when he stops over & he's usually watching me . The time we spent together is something I'll never forget ....

Thanks dad !

[John]

Great and very touching sharing story with us OnPoint. Thank you. I also envy what and Ssscooter66 had/have, for my Dad was anti cars. If I heard it once from him, I heard it 1,000 times, “son, a car is nothing more than a tool to get you from point A to point B.”

So being the typical rebellious teenager I was, I got another job, bought my own car, a ‘59 Bonneville, 389 with tri-power, his was a ‘62 Rambler Classic with not one option, and irritated him even more. We did however get it together a couple of decades later when I grew up and he calmed down.

However, it was the ‘63 split window that started my happy insanity.

[MsBadWolf]

My father sort of liked cars. He had a good tolerance for all of my fast cars I bought when I was a kid. Unfortunately they were all used at that point and had already been run much too hard. He left us May 2012, mom left in October of the same year. I still have both of his vehicles, very nice, never in salt or snow 73 Dodge Club Cab 9k gvw pick up (under 60k)and the '96 Impala SS (under 34k). He always told me he hated Corvettes. Mom got to go for a bunch of rides in mine and she liked it quite a bit. If dad were still here I'd still be hearing it from him. He never knew when to give it a break. That GTO is such a beauty, something to be proud of and share with family and friends for a long time.