Green Power - 1966 Pontiac GTO

We stand at a precipice.

The tide is turning. The American consumer is getting clobbered by more information about more environmentally friendly cars than we've seen since the turn of the century--the last century, when steam cars were still a viable option. Volt, Leaf, Prius, Insight, Tesla, Fisker, hybrids, Ni-Cad, lithium-ion, fuel cells. To the untrained ear, it all sounds like @#&*--syllables, sounds, noises, nonsense. In the last decade, hoary old tropes about the stability of the gas-supply pipeline have combined with newer fears about holes in the sky and polar bears floating off toward tropical islands to create an atmosphere of impending doom; we turn to cutting-edge technology to quell our fears, to apply some pressure so that we may stop the bleeding (if not the bleating), and, ultimately, to feel better about ourselves. Green, it seems, is keen.

So be it. Here's our idea of a green car: a Tri-Power-fed, four-speed 1966 Pontiac GTO.

Hardee-har-har, you say. I get it. Nice color. Oh ho. (Peripherally, in Pontiac parlance, it's painted Palmetto, if you please.)

Look, we're just going along with the program. The pressure is on for us consumers to consume less, right? That means less raw material coming up out of the ground, less suckling at Mother Earth's ample bosom to drain her dry. And there is no reason why a Pontiac GTO--un-smogged, un-catalyzed and largely uncouth--can't fit the bill.

To wit: In its day, the GTO was a mid-size, still a new concept in the mid-'60s. Today, a '66 GTO is actually slightly longer than a brand-new Escalade--which, last we checked, is a truck. The scale and scope of our automotive world have changed around the GTO, which you'd think would make it something of a dinosaur. Yet in many ways, a GTO and an Escalade serve the same purpose: both machines will fit five people with little trouble. Both employ body-on-frame construction. (And today, a GTO this nice will probably run you new-Escalade money.) Yet the GTO is a comparative flyweight: It weighs an entire ton less than Caddy's big truck. Fewer raw materials, check.

As for those materials... the GTO is largely metal, with some glass and plastic bits (including the industry-first plastic grille, along with the Parchment-colored vinyl seating and roof), and steel is plentiful here in the U.S. Increasingly, plastic rivals metal in our new cars' makeup, inside and out. (So the new machine is made of lighter materials, and still weighs a ton more? Really?)

Plus, plastic is a petrochemical derivative. If weaning ourselves off oil is one of the goals of the green movement, and cars are increasingly comprised of plastic, doesn't this become self-defeating? And don't get us started on a Prius's batteries, which use Canadian-sourced nickel, which is then shipped across the Pacific to make batteries, then shipped again worldwide. What's all that transport back and forth worth, environmentally?

The man-hours add up. And even the manpower used to develop the GTO was more efficient. Consider: The Chevy Volt cost GM $750 million to develop--a bargain. (The fish-face '96 Ford Taurus [north of $3 billion in 1996 dollars--on a carryover platform!] and long-forgotten Ford Contour, [$6 billion in 1993 dollars!] were real eye-openers.) By comparison, the story of the GTO is legend: Five Pontiac bigwigs look at a '64 Tempest on a four-post lift and think, "Hey, we could wedge a 389 in there." They did, slapped on some badges and a hood scoop, and the result was sent down the assembly line. As new-car development goes, the GTO was done with pocket change. Cheap, and--with some 97,000 examples built in 1966--absurdly successful.

Taillamp treatment was unique to the '66 models.

The old machine trumps the new one in cradle-to-grave efficiency, in that even in use, the old machine takes less energy than the process of building a new one--and our feature car is not likely to see its grave anytime soon. As a bonus, those raw materials, dug out of the ground nearly half a century ago, have remained out of the ground. Recycling is all well and good, but even this takes energy to accomplish: All those machines dedicated to crushing cars into little steel cubes, hauling them to the smelter's, the fires burning hot enough to melt steel... The GTO, just sitting there, requires no additional energy to build up or break down.

Owner Brian Rhynas

Queen Creek, Arizona, resident Brian Rhynas probably wasn't considering such efficiencies as he sought this GTO--a quest that lasted for years. "My grandmother had a car similar to this one, and I've always loved the classic style of these GTOs. I'd spent the last half a dozen years going to a variety of car auctions, and I finally got what I wanted: It was the right year, a four-speed, Tri-Power... all of it."

Locating and procuring the already-restored car should have been the kick-off point for miles of happy motoring, but there would be a bit of darkness to cope with first. "I flew home, and the shipping company called to tell me that it had an accident... they were loading another car and the emergency brake wasn't set on it, so it rolled back down the trailer. My car was at the end of a line of six or so cars, and it clipped the driver's side front fender and the bumper."

Naturally, the shipper took care of the damage, right? "They sent me a check to fix the car, but the body shop charged twice what I received! Needless to say, I haven't dealt with any of them since."

Once those repairs were completed, though, Brian didn't hesitate to get the GTO on the road to do what it was built to do. In fact, he takes it out regularly, whether it's for the occasional joyride, or to go to and from a local car show. And while cruising may not sound all that environmentally responsible, in Brian's case, there are always two people going to the same place in the GTO, so automatically, it's a carpool--two people in a 16-MPG car burns as much fuel as two people going to the same place, each driving a 32-MPG car, so we're going to consider that a form of efficiency.

The occasional urge to open things up (as we had an opportunity to do) is unavoidable in a machine like a GTO; the exhaust snarl, the slick move of the Hurst shifter, the deep-breathing triple carburetors--all beckon you to get on it now and again. That's not a particularly eco-friendly state, granted. Yet, at cruising speeds, only the GTO's center carburetor (a two-barrel carb, thank you) is active. Reduced fuel intake means reduced emissions. The four-speed is also a crucial ingredient here. Automatics are heavier and sap more of an engine's power than a manually shifted transmission. Plus, you (and not a vacuum line or solenoid) control the revs at which you shift.

Surely, Pontiac didn't think that it was saving the world when it built this particular '66 GTO--one of more than 19,000 1966 models equipped with Tri-Power. But America took notice. Not that fuel efficiency was on anyone's mind in those days: Rather, GTO celebrated becoming its own model line by showing its third distinctive new style in three years. Flared rear-quarter lines, louvered taillamps, an aggressively angled split grille, and more flowing C-pillars that disguised a tunneled rear window from some angles made the GTO look new from all angles, despite using the same chassis and powertrains as the previous season.

This particular machine was built in Fremont, California, and was sold through Lang-Webb Pontiac-Cadillac in Vallejo, California. According to the Pontiac Historic Services paperwork, it was a well-rounded piece: Besides the unusual Palmetto and Parchment color scheme, it sported factory Tri-Power, four-speed with console and a Saf-T-Track rear differential. (As a California car, AIR injection was a mandatory add-on--something else for the plus column in this green machine's resume.)

Inside, the original owner treated himself to power steering and brakes, as well as an electric clock, seatbelts, tinted windshield, and the pushbutton AM radio. There have also been a couple of changes, all of which happened before Brian owned the car: power windows and antenna were added, and the Deluxe wheelcovers were swapped out for a far-sexier set of Rally I styled-steel wheels with modern white-letter radials.

Take stock once inside, and you'll find your traditional blend of visibility (large windows close to your face, airy cabin) and sportiness--tach and round speedometer front and center, Hurst shifter poking up out of a ribbed console. In all-black interiors, the woodgrain finish around the instruments is a merciful break in the lack of color, but with Parchment seating areas and door panels, it looks slightly old-fashioned. Only the seat poking you in the shoulder blades registers on the grumble-meter.

Twist the key, and those cubes alight--700 RPM, chuggy, deep, and all-enveloping in the cabin. The clutch is smooth and easy, and even with just the two barrels working, you're easily wafted up to speed on the 389's ample torque. Punch it, open the outer four barrels, and the GTO jumps to, wailing in anger as the revs climb. We've driven a few GTO shifters that were terribly deliberate about their gear changes; you really had to put your back into it. Not here: There's smooth, easy action at hand, yet without feeling like you're stirring a bowl of your grandmother's oatmeal. The two-three shift felt a tad on the long side, but with nothing fighting you to get there, it makes the trip far easier.

So after convincing ourselves that a GTO with a 389-cu.in. engine and three carburetors could actually provide a responsible mode of transport--even after experiencing the rush of a good speed-shift--we wondered where Brian stood. Would he further explore the GTO's ecological friendliness? His stance was made clear with a simple reply:

"If I could do one thing to change this car ... I'd probably have it painted red."

So much for being green.

Owner's View

Back where I grew up in Michigan, in high school and for a while after, I had a '67 Camaro that I was making payments on. One month after it was paid off, it was stolen out of my driveway. And so this GTO was my first real muscle car since I was 19--I'm 45 now, and I'm finally at a time in my life when I can get back into it and enjoy it.

-- Brian Rhynas

CLUB SCENE

GTO Association of America

www.gtoaa.org

Dues: $35/year • Membership: 4,000

Pontiac-Oakland Club International

P.O. Box 68

Maple Plain, Minnesota 55359

877-368-3454

www.poci.org

Dues: $35/year • Membership: 8,800

PROS

+ Tri-Power four-speed

+ Uncommon color

+ A paragon of environmental enlightenment

CONS

- Purists may sniff at its alterations

- All-drum brakes an eye-opener

- It's not easy being green

1966 PONTIAC GTO SPECIFICATIONS

Price

Base price -- $2,971

Price as profiled -- $3,660.96

Options on car profiled -- Four-speed manual, $182.98; Tri-Power, $112.51; pushbutton radio, $60.65; seat belts, $10.46; electric clock, $18.82; deluxe wheel discs, $16.73; console, $46.79; Wonder-Touch power steering, $94.10; Wonder-Touch power brakes, $41.30; tinted windshield, $19.35; Air Injection exhaust control, $44.44; PCV, $5.23; Saf-T-Track differential, $36.60

Engine

Type -- Pontiac OHV V-8, cast-iron block and cylinder heads

Displacement -- 389 cubic inches

Bore x Stroke -- 4.09 x 3.75 inches

Compression ratio -- 10.75:1

Horsepower @ RPM -- 360 @ 5,200

Torque @ RPM -- 424-lbs.ft. @ 3,600

Valvetrain -- Hydraulic valve lifters

Main bearings -- 5

Fuel system -- Three Rochester two-barrel carburetors, mechanical pump

Lubrication system -- Pressure, gear-type pump

Electrical system -- 12-volt

Exhaust system -- Dual exhaust

Transmission

Type -- Hurst-shifted Muncie M-20 four-speed manual

Ratios:

1st -- 2.52:1

2nd -- 1.88:1

3rd -- 1.46:1

4th -- 1.00:1

Reverse -- 2.59:1

Differential

Type -- GM B-O-P 10-bolt housing with Saf-T-Track limited-slip differential

Ratio -- 3.55:1

Steering

Type -- Saginaw recirculating ball, power assist

Ratio -- 17.5:1

Turns, lock-to-lock -- 4.2

Brakes

Type -- Hydraulic, four-wheel drum, power assist

Front -- 9.50 x 2.50-inch drum

Rear -- 9.50 x 2.00-inch drum

Chassis & Body

Construction -- Perimeter frame with torque boxes

Body style -- Two-door hardtop

Layout -- Front engine, rear-wheel drive

Suspension

Front -- Independent, unequal-length A-arms; coil springs; telescoping shock absorbers

Rear -- Upper and lower control arms; coil springs; telescoping shock absorbers

Wheels & Tires

Wheels -- "Rally I" styled-steel disc

Front -- 14 x 6 inches (Currently 14 x 7 inches)

Rear -- 14 x 6 inches (Currently 14 x 7 inches)

Tires -- Uniroyal Tiger Paw, nylon construction (Currently BFGoodrich Radial T/A)

Front -- 14 x 7.75 inches (Currently 225/70R14)

Rear -- 14 x 7.75 inches (Currently 225/70R14)

Weights & Measures

Wheelbase -- 115 inches

Overall length -- 206.4 inches

Overall width -- 74.4 inches

Overall height -- 54.2 inches

Front track -- 58 inches

Rear track -- 59 inches

Curb weight -- 3,676 pounds

Capacities

Crankcase -- 6 quarts

Cooling system -- 20 quarts

Fuel tank -- 21.5 gallons

Transmission -- 3.75 quarts

Rear axle -- 3.75 pints

Calculated Data

Bhp per cu.in. -- 0.925

Weight per bhp -- 10.21 pounds

Weight per cu.in. -- 9.45 pounds

Production

Pontiac produced 96,946 GTOs in 1966.

A total of 19,045 received the Tri-Power 389 engine.

Performance*

Acceleration:

0-60 MPH -- 6.5 seconds

1/4-mile ET -- 14.1 seconds @ 105 MPH Top speed -- N/A

*Source: Car and Driver, March 1966