New The Seymore Gto, A 1 Possessor Car Kept Inwards The Family, The Trials It Took To Conk It, Together With The Homo Who Bought Together With Raced It, Van Seymore. It Was Drag Raced For 4600 Miles, Thus Stored Away.
Van Seymore married Patricia, had 2 kids: Keith together with Jenny together with started working at GM inwards 1955.
He started every bit a leave of absence maker alongside Chevy earlier moving upward to 'Advanced Manufacturing'. Aside from making fuel tanks, radiator grills, crude pans etc. Van made experimental parts for exciting projects such every bit exceptional rocker arms together with air cleaners nether Zora Duntov. Van contributed many components to the master copy Mark II "Mystery Engine", together with shares the GM patent for the press apparatus for hydroforming.
Van discovered Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac dealership at only the correct time. they were running at total steam when Van needed a novel machine inwards 1963. Van wanted to supersede his 1960 Ford Paxton supercharged Convertible. He requested i of the novel manufacturing flora lightweight Galaxies alongside fiberglass front end terminate but Ford was giving him the runaround doubtlessly because he was employed past times Chevrolet.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Royal Pontiac salesman crossed his path at the Royal dealership together with afterwards only about joking around, a novel cerise 1964 GTO, a real early i that needed the manufacturing flora to repaint it was handed over to him alongside a manufacturers lien.
Van performed his ain 'Royal Bobcat supertune' task on the machine which provided undefeated condition inwards B/S aeroplane competition. Rumor says this may receive got been the commencement local GTO to run inwards the 12s.
Van worked a minute shift at GM which gave him fourth dimension to hang out at Royal Pontiac, care press events together with exam sessions. Van also helped the Royal crew heart out the pop client street Bobcat packages. Van took Tri-powers domicile inwards batches of five or 6; re-jetted together with performed other 'Bobcat' procedures together with converted broad ratio 4 speeds into unopen ratio 4 speeds inwards batches of five or 6.
Van's move didn't transcend unappreciated, he ran his novel 1964 'sleeper' GTO nether the radar every bit a fully sponsored together with supported manufacturing flora car. Van was given a Shell credit menu to pay for fuel together with enjoyed access to an opened upward concern human relationship for race machine parts. Royal shipped Van's parts via Greyhound to the Flint, Michigan omnibus station for alternative up. Van's parts oft had cerise pigment on them indicating 'scrap', enough 'scrap' parts to stay undefeated inwards B/S competition. Van held the NHRA B/S tape of 13.42 until Art Noey of 'Shaker Engineering' took it to the side past times side level.
But, a mix upward at a large machine present caused the sales guy to sell the car, every bit the dealership notwithstanding officially owned it. Van could plate the machine together with drive it on the street but Royal held terminal tell over the title. One of Royal's salesmen mistakenly sold Van's GTO to an enthusiastic present goer. It was shipped dorsum E to the novel possessor at the terminate of the show.
Royal non entirely sold the GTO but all of Van's hours of skilled difficult move built into functioning upgrades; headers, tow bar brackets together with slicks mounted on wheels notwithstanding inwards trunk.
Trying to teach far upward to him, Royal offered him i of five lightweight sparse estimate sheetmetal GTOs, heater together with radio delete, undersized radiators, Tripower, manual transmissions, manual steering together with manual brakes. He passed on them, but they became famous... i was 'Mr Unswitchable', i was raced past times Knafel Pontiac together with Arlen Vanke together with only about other past times Cecil Yother.
So, they delivered to Van a double black, 389 tripower 4 closed ratio speed, 3.90 gears, GTO alongside the hood inner already cutting for a ram air system, semi-metallic brakes, together with the battery mounted inwards the trunk.
The construct of his GTO had been expedited to foreclose the completed machine from getting trapped on the holding if together with when an anticipated UAW strike occurred together with the haste of construct was apparent: it had 3 7.75 whitewalls installed, i 7.75 redline together with a 7.35 whitewall for a spare. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 3 speed was installed inwards the machine alongside the specified 4 speed unloose inwards the trunk. The pigment task showed prove of hastiness together with sloppiness. The dark GTO had handprints inwards the hood inwards 2 locations, hairs inwards the paint, together with a large 'swiped' expanse on the decklid. Fit together with destination was poor, alongside gaps inwards the headliner together with carpet. All these faults are visible inwards the machine today due to the depression miles which receive got preserved all the manufacturing flora faults introduce the twenty-four hours the machine was delivered.
Van drove it domicile together with took apart the top terminate correct away, cutting the heads .030 reworked the carbs, re-curved the distributor, shimmed the valve springs, together with pose it all dorsum together alongside sparse caput gaskets together with “new for 1965” intake gaskets. The commencement outing resulted inwards functioning consistent alongside where the previous 1964 GTO left off, 12.90s inwards the quarter
The caprine animal was truly every bit good low-cal for B/Stock, together with then Van loaded the machine upward earlier rolling through tech. The caprine animal made weight alongside the tow bar, security chains, toolbox together with slicks inwards the trunk, a total tank of gas together with his boy Keith strategically placed on the scales.
Van live got nailed past times a technical inspector. Van was stopped on the agency to collect his fourth dimension skid together with instructed to cross the scale. Van balked but the tech insisted,and when Van reluctantly crossed the scale he came upward short, earning the GTO a ban from that runway for awhile.
The caprine animal served every bit a exam vehicle for chiliad together with H's novel slicks named 'Wrinklewall'. After half-dozen runs van got to continue the tires. The next weekend at the dragsttip, the Wrinklewall tires caused times that had everyone else at the runway letting air our of their tires.
He raced inwards B/Stock inwards 1965 together with B/MP from 1967 through 1974, where he was a regular aeroplane winner together with five fourth dimension NHRA tape holder (12.20 ET best). Arthritis laid in, together with the GTO was parked. It entirely had 4656 miles on it.
It was freshened upward together with brought dorsum to life inwards 2000, together with forthwith has 5000 miles on it.
http://www.oneownercollectorcar.com/index.php/cars/onefamily/384-1965-pontiac-gto-factory-lightweight-keith-seymore
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/5000-mile-unrestored-1965-pontiac-gto-dragstrip-warrior-new-still-family/