I live in an area of Chicago called Edgewater, which is the second-northernmost neighborhood bordering Lake Michigan within city limits. Evanston, the city just north of Chicago, is technically not considered a suburb of the Second City, has a population of roughly 74,000, and is also home to Northwestern University. It is a beautiful college town with an overall feel steeped in arts, culture, eclecticism and intelligence.
I tend to gravitate toward slightly grittier environs than this by default, but Evanston is definitely not too posh for me to spend an afternoon exploring its downtown area or catching a first-run movie at its cineplex. My late father had been a college professor and, to some extent, there’s something about being in a collegiate area that feels at once familiar and comfortable, even if I was far from a straight-A student.
It was in Evanston that I had spotted our featured car off one of the main streets downtown, Davis Street, just east of that CTA Purple Line train station. This ’67 Pontiac GTO (The Great One became its own separate model starting in 1966) was moving in traffic when I first saw it on the street. Sometimes, I’m feeling more social, where I might try to go up to the car and its owner / driver and express my enthusiasm. Just as often, I’m content with avoiding any human interaction, taking some pictures, and being on my way. This particular Saturday was the latter kind of day.
As I watched from across the street as the driver carefully parallel-parked the GTO, I thought of the appropriateness of its being parked in close proximity to a GNC (General Nutrition Center) storefront. I used to purchase supplemental whey protein from GNC regularly (that is, before I discovered that the neighborhood location of a discount supermarket chain also sells a whey protein-blend powder for a fraction of the price). I will still make the occasional purchase at GNC, and I usually find their sales staff to be friendly and knowledgeable. This is helpful, as there is a plethora of different products on the shelves to visually sort through if you don’t know the exact location of whatever it is you’re looking for.
It also helps to go back the same store later, once you’ve made a purchase there. This helps to avoid going through the same round of initial questions at a different location, which can sometimes take me back to my days of being a scrawny teenager. “What exactly are you trying to do? Are you trying to burn fat? Bulk up? Then maybe you should try…” “No, thanks. I’m just looking for the whey protein… Ope!* Here it is. That will be all. Thanks!” I’m in my mid-forties. I’m not trying to do anything crazy like “bulk up” at the expense of my increasingly plaintive joints. I’m not throwing in the towel on physical fitness just yet, but all I basically want to do is to stay as healthy and fit as I can for as long as that’s possible.
I thought it was appropriate and cool that this ’67 iteration of what’s widely considered to be the first “muscle car”, the ’64 Pontiac GTO, pulled up in front of a store in a chain from which many muscleheads buy their supplements. When thinking about current performance cars and what makes them tick, I could think of many of them as “juicing” to some extent, with widespread use of turbocharging, electric current, etc. The future is here, and many high performance vehicles get the job done with the use of much complex technology, but in a much more environmentally responsible, efficient, and safer way than performance cars of yore. There’s something to be said, though, about the way the GTO did it all basically with just cubes and carbs… ahem, carburetors.
1967 Pontiac Tempest GTO brochure photos are courtesy of www.oldcarbrochures.com.
I remember liking that our featured car was a non-hardtop and had fixed window frames. For ’67, the GTO non-hardtop coupe was the least plentiful of the three models offered, with about 7,000 units sold against 65,000 hardtops and 9,500 convertibles. (Even the convertible outsold the posted GTO.) The base price of the ’67 hardtop started at a mere $64 more (2.2%) over that of the base GTO coupe ($2,935 vs. $2,871), and the hardtop weighed just five pounds more, at 3,430 pounds.
Standard power came from a 400-cubic inch V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, offering 335 horsepower. The high-output version of this same mill produced 360 horses. According to the editors of Consumer Guide, a coupe equipped with the H.O. powerplant was capable of doing 0-60 mph in 6.6 seconds, and the quarter mile in 14.7 seconds at 99 mph.
I am coming to make peace with the fact that modern performance cars will necessarily have to incorporate more complex forms of technology in order to be more ecologically responsible, and I find it incredible what engineers have been able to accomplish in the way of designing cars that do more with the use of less fossil fuel. At the same time, there’s a certain simplicity and honesty to the blunt-force, no-nonsense kind of muscularity and athleticism that this ’67 GTO represents that I can’t help but admire. Comparing the ‘roided-up action figures of today against those of my ’80s childhood, it seems an appropriate metaphor for the current crop of performance cars versus those of yesteryear.
Downtown Evanston, Illinois.
Saturday, March 10, 2018.
* “Ope” – an Upper Midwest-specific exclamation of surprise, or a split-second mea culpa.
I can’t see one of these without recalling the ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ takes with Larry Hagman parking in a no-parking zone in front of a NASA office building & running up the stairs, while giving an awkward salute to some extras.
I think the 67 may be the prettiest of the earlier cars, though I will profess myself as a hardtop guy. Finding that 2 door sedan version is a real score, though. I had no idea they sold that poorly – I just figured that all of them had donated their serial number tags to LeMans hardtops in nameless rural body shops all over the country.
I love the GNC angle you took here – this car is clearly staying fit as it gracefully ages.
Sorry Joe, but “ope” is not specific to Michigan alone:
http://www.startribune.com/sorry-but-why-do-minnesotans-say-ope-all-the-time/511630701/
I think the Star Trib even sells a shirt with “ope” on it.
Charlie, thank you for posting this! I’ll amend the text to read “Upper Midwest” instead of “Michigan”.
I wonder if I’d be able to count the times I inadvertently say “ope!” today. Hopefully, I’m not that big of a klutz.
Perhaps the best Pontiac of the 1960s, something which is no small accomplishment. Your thoughts about accomplishing what it does through sheer brute force is so appropriate. There’s something to be admired about a lack of complexity.
“ope” isn’t too bad, and not very controversial. I know of a person or two who will say “uck” in similar situations. It generally causes a double take by those nearby, wanting to make sure they heard it correctly.
My neighbor has a ’67 Tempest convertible, and he let me drive it around the neighborhood a couple months ago. The only non-stock change he made was to drop in a crate 350 to replace the original tired 326. It was a competent cruiser even today, at least on the mean suburban streets around here. I have photos and will write it up here one day, when my current crazy life settles down a little.
Pontiac really had their game on in the sixties, and the intermediates were the most shining example. Of the four GM divisions that carried the intermediate body, Pontiac was the only one that had a winner every year throughout the entire decade (Chevrolet came in at a close second). Buick and Olds’ intermediates were generally okay, too, but their attempts at looking more upmarket fell flat in at least one model cycle.
It’s worth noting that the high-output version of the GTO’s engine was the Tri-Power which only gave the best times when the three carburetors were in sync. In the much more common standard four-barrel version, the only musclecar slower on the street was the boat anchor Ford 390.
But it didn’t matter. Pontiac’s terrific styling and stellar marketing campaign kept the GTO atop the musclecar sales chart until 1969 when the bargain Road Runner took top honors (one of every four Plymouth intermediates sold that year was a Road Runner) and the Chevelle SS396 was number two, dropping the Goat all the way down to number three.
Road Runner sales were so good, in a somewhat prescient move, eventual Chrysler co-CEO John Riccardo once suggested expanding the Road Runner to be its own model line with Road Runner sedans and station wagons. Somewhat ironically, there eventually ‘was’ a quasi-Road Runner station wagon in the Volare/Aspen Sport Wagon.
The Tri-Power option (on both GTOs and full-size 389- or 421-equipped Pontiacs) was discontinued after the 1966 model year. Just too complex to be worth it, I guess; the 400 (as of ’67) with Ram Air did just fine.
If I recall correctly, the elimination of the Tri-Power option was the result of a direct order from GM’s 14th Floor. With the growing ruckus over vehicle safety, GM was trying to “reign in” its divisions to avoid attraction too much more government attention.
Given the sales success of the GTO (and the entire Pontiac Division), GM management obviously didn’t want to kill the “golden goose.” So it wasn’t going to order Pontiac to phase out the GTO. But it wanted to avoid making itself a target for legislators and activists.
I believe starting with the 1967 model year, GM management imposed a 10 to 1 weight to power rule in an attempt to placate the safety lobby that was criticizing the automakers for placing too much emphasis on performance at the expense of safety. So after 1966, the tri-power option on the GTO was
gone.
The hp ratings for the top GTO engine didn’t go down from 1966 to 1967; it was 360 in each case.
The reality is that the larger four barrel carbs that were becoming more common could readily outperform a tri-power set-up. Chevy’s L-88 427 with a single Holley four barrel easily made more power than a tri-power 427. If you look at all of the max hi-po engines during this era, they almost all had four barrel carbs.
The Pontiac tri-power setup was old; it went back to 1957. The ’67 GTO used a new Quadrajet carb that flow up to 750 cfm, whereas the previous Carter AFB maxed at about 550 cfm.
Another source claims that GM issued an edict that starting with 1967, only the Corvette could have multiple carbs. But it didn’t really matter, as the new big four barrels flowed just as much or more.
+1 It’s also the reason today most classic engine builders utilize a single carb, despite wide aftermarket availability of multi-carb manifolds at their disposal.
To me the ’67 hardtop was the prettiest of all GTOs.
Too bad they used GM’s Quadrajunk. To me that was the only real weakness straight out of the factory. On the good side the ’67 no longer had the “sure to fail early” nylon cam gear.
IMHO the AFB was a far superior carb in a real world environment.
On the bright side, rebuilding the quads put a lot of bread on the table.
Great write up.
The 64-67 A-bodies are some of my favorite designs from the General. I find them taut, elegant, and purposeful. This Tempest GTO is certainly in my top 5, but if I had a wayback machine, I’d buy a 64 or 65 Chevelle Sedan Delivery.
What’s funny is that I find the 64-65 Chevelle line to be the least attractive of every A body of that 4 year generation, no matter what the Division. It was one of the few times that the Oldsmobile of the year was far more attractive than the Chevrolet.
How cool were ‘Americans’ way back when.
As a kid our local Opel dealer sometimes had beasts like this in his showroom, which was crowded with Opel Kadetts, Rekords and the odd Commodore.
I can remember sitting in a bright red ‘American’ once in his showroom and looking through the windshield, where I discovered there were some gauges hidden in the hood, still don’t know what brand it was but my friends and I agreed on one thing : there were no cooler cars then an American sportscar.
And those chrome ‘sportswheels’, American cars were out of this world!
The dealer sometimes even gave us brochures I remember I had a Pontiac brochure from that era, that was out of this world as well!
Beautiful car, and nice angle with the GNC tie-in. I’m a ’67 model myself, and while I’ve always been partial to the ’68 Lemans/GTO (a ’68 Lemans hardtop coupe was the first car I can remember in my household), the ’67 is admittedly a “purer”, more muscular, less refined looking car all around.
Oddly, I like this particular car for being a pillared coupe. The chrome window frames against the black paint give it a very distinctive profile. There’s a somber maturity about this car that would be sorely lacking if it was just another brightly painted hardtop or convertible. And weirdly, one of the reasons I’ve always favored the ’68 was the hidden wipers. (And the “arrowhead” side marker lights. Petty, I know.) But on this car against the stark black background of the body, and in combination with the extra bling that the window frames add, those unsheathed wipers don’t sully the lines of the car at all.
As for GNC, I carried their frequent customer bonus card (or whatever they call it) for years and was one of those guys who’d go in and get suckered into all kinds of supplements and capsules and potions, all of which did much to empty my wallet and little of anything else. As a single 40 year old a dozen years ago I was a prime target for their rather aggressive promotional machine. In my 50’s, not so much. Whole Foods and Sprouts have excellent selections of the few supplements that are really worth taking, and a halfway decent diet goes a long way. I work in the same industry as our author, and it’s a constant struggle to keep active and fit with a rather sedentary work life, but age and (supposed) maturity have taught me that snake oil is no substitute for substance and fortitude.
Vitamins are a total and complete waste of money. Eating a healthy diet including plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit will supply all the vitamins one requires.
Agreed. Supplements and vitamins (unless specifically recommended by a doctor/nutritionist) are a ripoff. CR has warned repeatedly that their value is suspect at best, and that there are no standards whatsoever about their quality and actual content. Buyer beware.
I stopped taking either vitamins or supplements years ago. A proper diet includes as many vitamins as the body can actually use. Why would our bodies want huge doses of something that it was never evolved to utilize properly? And there’s risks in these large doses.
That is sharp looking machine. I like the wheels too. The first post war “muscle car” was the 1955 Chrysler 300, NOT the GTO.
WRONG a big car with a big engine was NOT a muscle car, an INTERMEDIATE with a big engine was, ergo the GTO (option) was THE FIRST
Using that criteria, the 1957 Rambler Rebel was the first muscle car. It was an intermediate-size car with the biggest available engine. There was only one engine offered for the Rebel.
It was also marketed and sold as a special model, complete with unique exterior trim.
Or the 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk with the with the Packard 352 under its long, shapely hood.
As much as I love the 352 Hawk, I think of it as the first personal luxury car, ahead of the four-seater ’58 T-Bird, which coincidentally had a 352 as well.
The first muscle cars were obviously hopped-up versions of intermediates, while the Hawk had its own design, and the Chrysler 300 was a big car. I think the ’57 Rebel gets the nod.
According to a road test by Speed Age magazine, the 56 Golden Hawk beat the Chrysler 300B, the Thunderbird and the Corvette in both 0-60 (7.8 sec) and in the quarter mile. It was good for 125 mph as a top speed. Sounds like a 1950s muscle car to me. 🙂
Oh, snap – do I smell a QOTD?
The big, full-size engine installed in an intermediate was the GTO’s forte. It was the first truly successful performance car in sales. But the debate as to the first, genuine musclecar goes further back than the 1957 Rebel or even the 1955 Chrysler C300.
A lot of auto enthusiasts regard the 1949 Olds Rocket 88 as the first musclecar since it had the V8 engine of the biggest Olds 98 installed in their smallest wheelbase car. For the day, it had terrific performance.
Even when I was a young boy these had my attention. The overall sleek shape, combined with the stacked headlights, parking lights that look like driving lights, and the “gun slit” tail lights, made for a very stylish package.
The profile shot of the car parked in front of the store shows that the shape has held up a half century later.
Here in Harrisburg, there is a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible that is still used as a daily driver. That Cutlass, and this GTO, show why GM’s A-bodies were such a hit (and why poor AMC didn’t have much of a chance in the market segment it had essentially created with the 108-inch wheelbase Ramblers).
Peak GTO; peak muscle car era.
This GTO is one of my favorites from the 1960s. Sleek, well-proportioned, and large enough to have real presence, this GTO really nailed all its targets. The profile view of the parked car above emphasizes the perfect size of this generation of the GM intermediates. All that went out the door with the 1968-72 generation, which utilized different wheelbases for two and four-door models, reducing back seat room to uncomfortably tight dimensions in the former and an awkwardly proportioned exterior on the latter. I wonder why anybody needed a bigger car back then?
The GTO became a standalone model in 1966.
The 1967 GTO was not a Tempest, and GTO became it’s own model in 1966 not 1970.
That slipped by me. Fixed now.
Thanks, Paul.
Great article, and that’s a nice looking ’67 (those rims are horrible though). My father had one and sold it for a family car when I was 2 years old.
Pontiac GTO hit the streets in 1965.My neighbor had the a 1964 GTO – 389 – tri-power.
I thought Billy was the coolest guy especially when he took ka 13 year old kid for a ride. He opened it up on Ecorse Rd. Taylor MI between the viaducts – our own 1/4 mile. I do not remember the speed, but, I remember the thrust and being thrown back in my seat. A 55 year old memory that is still vivid in my mind today. My favorite GTO is the 1966 – blue w/white interior.
The GTO was available in September 1963 when the 1964 model year began.
Yes, the modern performance cars are light years faster, safer, more reliable, efficient; all the stuff-as they should be since they have 60 additional years of development behind them. But nothing today even comes close to the visceral thrill of a genuine 1960s musclecar. The look, feel, sound, smell and the overall presence just cannot be replicated. Those cars are from a world that no longer exists.
A ’67 GTO is on my short list of Cars I Must Own but, you know, they cost money. Usually a lot of it. But if I had enough, Id rather have a hardtop over the coupe, and it would need Cragars.
Always for Joe, a song. In a ’67 GTO, only Hendrix will do
Speaking of Jimi Hendrix and ’67 GTOs, he once borrowed one from Peter Tork of the Monkees (who all received one from Pontiac) & proceeded to get into an accident.
LT Dan, a great song pick for this car. Can’t lose with Hendrix.
The 67 only lower chrome trim on the rockers and doors was very effective at making this bodystyle look that much more athletic than the 66. I always preferred the 67 before I ever figured out why.
And on that thought it’s funny how 27 years later GM would slather chrome across the bottoms of Fleetwoods and all it did was make them look even more fat and geriatric. Oh how the GM design studio fell.
Totally unrelated to cars or curbs, your mention of Northwestern University triggered some thinkings in my brain that I will share. Northwestern is arguably the best known school for Orthotics and Prosthetics. As a certified prosthetist myself, this means something. I earned my master’s degree in O&P from Eastern Michigan University, which might be considered the rising star in the O&P education world. Prosthetics is a second career for me and I have been practicing for almost twelve years. This is not a field that I ever pictured myself in before 2006, but it has been rewarding work.
Since CC seems to specialize in the obscure, I thought that my obscure job field might be worth a brief mention.
Ed, thanks for sharing this. I don’t know much about Northwestern, Eastern, or your line of work, but I have observed while taking all different forms of transportation just how important good prosthetic limbs are for those who use them.
Gorgeous car and photos. Pontiac went from strength to strength in the 60s.
My third car when I was 18-19 yrs old in 1981-82 was a 1967 Pontiac LeMans, It was a red 2dr hardtop with black vinyl roof. I was perfectly happy having a LeMans with a 326cid. My LeMans’ interior was nearly identical to the GTO, bucket seats, center console with auto trans gear shift, and an assist grab bar over the glove box. The interior likely ended up in a restored tribute GTO. It was great having a car that a lot of people enjoyed looking at.
The one criticism I had with my ‘67 LeMans was that the trunk looked a bit too long, the Cutlass/442 has a similar looking oversized trunk especially when next to the smaller and newly downsized cars in the early 1980’s. Other than being lower, the GTO you photographed really seems to fit in, considering its 53 yrs old that is quite a feat. How would a 1914 Oakland look parked on a street in 1967? The Evanston GTO’s color, larger wheels and maybe it being a slim post coupe likely help make this Pontiac seem almost contemporary.
I used to also think that this generation of GM A-Body had a disproportionately long-looking trunk, but I’ve come back around. Then, again, I also like the long-hood / long-trunk of the second-generation Corvair.
I do think this particular GTO looks pretty darned near perfect, wheels and all, and exactly as accessorized.