I grew up in Boise, Idaho in the '50s and '60s, when (in my opinion) cars were in their heyday.  As a teen, I admired many autos, and the muscle cars that were just hitting the streets were of particular interest.  But on my income, affording a $3800 car was insane, so I mostly settled for quite an assortment of $400 +/- tri-five Chevys.  I admit that I was more drawn to Road Runners and Chevelles than the Pontiacs, but I respected them at a stoplight!    I've built many types of rides over the decades since, including 4WD pickups and motorcycles, but I never got above "low-budget hacker level" - building daily drivers as opposed to high-enders or show cars.  And I mainly kept returning to the Chevy powerplants That I learned about as a kid.  So one day, when I asked our youngest daughter what her favorite car was, I was taken back when she quickly blurted, "A 1966 GTO!"  I did a little looking around and told her, "I don't think I can afford to buy a GTO, but maybe I can make one."    And so came the purchase of our '66 LeMans.  I sourced a front clip (minus hood) from a junkyard in Oregon.  A fiberglass GTO hood, rear tail panel and tail lights were found.  My buddy and I did a ton of bodywork and painted it in his garage.  I replaced all the front suspension, steering and brakes with items from CPP.  I found an interior in a wreck.  Now I needed power.  You all know that one can find a SBC under every bush, but finding a '60s Pontiac motor in rebuildable condition was quite a chore.  Of course, I wanted a 389, but finally settled for a 455 from a '70 Judge, backed by a Turbo 400 tranny.  Now after adding a woodgrain dash insert, some badges, and a few amenities, I had a reasonable facsimile of a GTO - and for a LOT less money!    Now purists will look down their noses at me, because my VIN starts with 237 instead of 242.  And the 455 didn't exist in any '66 Goats.  And blah, blah, blah.  But it really has almost everything done to it that a factory GTO had (in 1965, GTO was actually a LeMans option package), except for some correct numbers.  And here's the deal: going down the road, it looks every bit as good as any GTO.  I never claim it's real - in fact, I register it at car shows as a LeMans/GTO clone.   AND - our daughter is thrilled with it, and knows that someday it will be passed on to her.  It's fun to drive and the grin on her face makes me feel like a million dollars - pretty good for a low-budget hacker.    If you are a collector of just want those "primo grade A babies", more power to you.  But maybe you just want a cruiser to take out on weekends and tool around.  Something that your insurance and storage costs won't add up to more than two weeks in Hawaii.  After a rebuild, the 455 is strong GTO tail replaced the LeMans one Local shows are fun The hug I got was worth all the work   My point is that you don't have to spend a fortune and you don't have to go to a Florida or Arizona auction to get into a good experience with a car.  Find something close to what you want, and do some work to make it like you envision it.  You can do it, and it'll likely be just as much fun as one of those things that cost as much as my house. ... View more