Van Seymore's GTO

This 1965 Pontiac GTO was delivered to my dad, Van Seymore, specifically for him to run in NHRA drag race competition. The car was delivered through the famous Royal Pontiac dealership by performance car salesman and personal friend Dick Jesse, with the idea of fielding a nondescript (but class-winning) B/Stock entrant with, unbeknownst to the casual observer, full factory sponsorship.

Built in September 1964 at the home plant in Pontiac, Michigan, the car was ordered with all the right go-fast content of the day: 389 Tri-power, close-ratio four-speed, 3.90 axle ratio, and metallic brake option. Sprinkling the order with eye-catching goodies like Rally I wheels, redline tires, an AM radio with reverb, backup lamps, and door-edge guards added to the GTO’s visual appeal without adding significant weight or power-robbing accessories.

One of my earliest memories is of bringing the GTO home. As fate would have it, my sister was born on Thursday of that same week. Instead of going to the hospital on Friday to visit Mom and Jenny, I rode shotgun as we went down to Royal to pick up the car. Mom still pretends to be mad about that, but we suspect she is really over it by now.

Conversion from bone-stock street car to state-of-the-art B/Stock factory racer started about 15 minutes after pulling into the garage. Dad took off the intake manifold and cylinder heads (dropping one on the radiator and denting it; the offending dent is still there), reworked the carbs, curved the distributor, shimmed the valve springs, and put it all back together with thin head gaskets and “new for 1965” intake gaskets. The first outing resulted in performance consistent with where the previous 1964 GTO left off—12.90's in the quarter—and before long the car was turning in class-winning lower to mid- 12-second e.t.’s.