1967 GTO Go Kart
 

I thought I might post some information about my 67 GTO go kart.

One year I was on vacation in Virginia. I was surfing Craigslist when I found a lot of go karts being sold by a guy in far south Virginia. One of the karts had a fiberglass 67 GTO body on it. It was in rough shape, but the price was right. Unfortunately, I did not have my pick up truck with me. We went back to NJ. My uncle and I drove back with a pickup and bought it.

My dad and I stripped it down and repaired the fiberglass. We sprayed it red with automotive paint. I added real GTO badges (from trunks, and interiors for scale size). We built the grilles, added led lights, and detailed the body as close as we could to scale. Inside we made a correct design bench seat and door panels. Since the real GTO's came with a 6.5 liter Pontiac engine, I felt an electric start 6.5 Briggs would be the only choice for a 1967 GTO kart. The battery, and ignition components were pulled from an old lawn tractor. It is completed, and runs great. I even built a garage for it next to my car port with my real Pontiacs.


You can view several before and after pictures of the kart, along with some history here: gokartbazaar.com/t588-1967-gto-go-kart

You can see a discussion over the general value and rarity of 1967 GTO karts here: //forums.performanceyears.com/forums/showthread.php?t=683447&highlight=gto+kart

That is so kool.

I pulled my Carter SPX karts, and GTO kart out to check them out. I posted plenty more, new pictures here: http://www.gokartbazaar.com/t588-1967-gto-go-kart

Took the kart to a local car show recently.

you took it to a show and whats the rest of the story?

It was a local car gathering, more than a show, as the promoter advertised to the participants and gear heads at local garages, but neglected to advertise to the general public. Maybe a dozen or so vehicles showed up, but very few spectators. Their included bake sale didn't do so well as a result. They were begging people to take free cookies at the end of the day. Sometimes the promoters don't think things through.

It was held at a local park, with a half mile, paved path surrounding it. We brought the 1966 Tempest convertible, the 1967 GTO go kart, and an early Wheel Horse tractor. We had them parked next to each other on the grass. Next to us was a home built trike with a Ford V-8. There were a few 1950's and older vehicles as well. There was no judging.

When we realized there wasn't going to be any more spectators, I told my ten year old boy to go ahead and drive the kart around the paved path. He drove around like it was a mini road. He was having a ball. A photographer was chasing him down to get pictures. I took it around the path once myself. Someone had to point out to me that it wasn't running right. I forgot to open the choke. I meant to put an extension on the choke lever, but forgot. It is accessible, but hidden just under the body. The only other issues we had was the chain coming off, and a loose exhaust, both due to driving the low kart across the grass.

Overall, it was a fun experience, and a few old friends who hadn't seen each other in decades got reunited.

sounds like it was worth the trip