[0:11] Yeah, we didn't do any performance
[0:13] modifications other than the six-speed
[0:15] transmission.
[0:16] But it does just change the car. It
[0:19] really makes it drivable now. It's a
[0:21] perfect day here in California.
[0:24] There's something about a manual
[0:25] transmission in a big tank like this
[0:27] just makes me smile.
[0:29] But just knowing that you're in control.
[0:32] It's doing it because you want to do it,
[0:34] not because the transmission thinks it
[0:35] should do it. I mean, that's what I
[0:37] like. And that's the hood tach, stroke
[0:40] of genius.
[0:41] I just think it's the greatest thing. I
[0:43] like it even better than heads-up
[0:44] display.
[0:50] Makes you smile, goes good.
[0:57] Welcome to the episode of Jay Leno's
[0:59] Garage. The car featuring today, a true
[1:02] unicorn. By that I mean, a very unique
[1:05] muscle car, probably produced in smaller
[1:07] numbers than almost any other muscle car
[1:10] from the era. It is a 1967 Pontiac 2+2
[1:13] HO with the 428 engine. Now, what that
[1:17] means is it's basically the same size as
[1:19] a Bonneville or a Catalina, but it is
[1:22] neither of those. Those had the 421
[1:24] engine. This is the 428. It's not even
[1:27] quite a 428. They call it that because
[1:30] Chevy and Ford had the 427, Chrysler had
[1:33] the 426, so they just kind of fudge it
[1:36] up the 428 to sound a little bit more
[1:38] impressive than 421. It's got the hood
[1:41] tach, came with a manual transmission,
[1:43] rally wheel, you know, all the options
[1:45] of the period. This car was $4,000 brand
[1:48] new in 1967,
[1:50] which was a lot of money at the time.
[1:52] This was the car for the guy that
[1:55] thought the GTO was too small or was
[1:57] like the teenager's car, the young
[1:59] person's car. This is what was
[2:00] effectively called a banker's hot rod.
[2:02] The equivalent might be the Buick GS.
[2:05] This was a big Pontiac. See, not a lot
[2:07] of people wanted a big Cadillac-sized
[2:09] car with a manual transmission. They all
[2:11] wanted the automatic, but there were a
[2:13] few oddballs out there. I think they did
[2:15] maybe about 187 of these, I think. How
[2:18] many they did black convertibles? I
[2:20] don't know. What we did in this one is
[2:22] we took out the four-speed, we put in a
[2:25] Tremec Magnum six-speed transmission,
[2:27] cuz I wanted to get at least
[2:28] double-digit mileage at some point.
[2:31] Yeah, this thing just eats eats gas like
[2:34] crazy. And luckily, our team, George and
[2:36] Jimmy, did a great job. We went with our
[2:39] favorite transmission, Tremec. You know,
[2:41] boy, they make stuff that fits in just
[2:43] about anything. It was a wonderful, easy
[2:46] job to do. American Powertrain helped us
[2:49] with all the ancillary stuff, the
[2:50] hydraulic clutch switch from the to
[2:52] hydraulic from manual. The guy had to do
[2:55] a bit of trimming. This transmission is
[2:57] like
[2:58] a quarter of an inch, or maybe an eighth
[3:00] of an inch higher than the standard
[3:02] four-speed that was in here. So, we had
[3:04] to do a little modification. Had to
[3:05] modify the floor and the tunnel, so it
[3:08] could take this six-speed. And it really
[3:11] works out great, because your revs
[3:13] dropped to about you know, at 70, 2,100,
[3:16] something like that, rpm. It's It's a
[3:18] great car to drive. To me, Pontiac was
[3:20] always the best handling of all the GM
[3:23] cars, I thought. The best suspension and
[3:26] handling. I like the Firebird more than
[3:28] a Camaro. I like the GTO more than some
[3:30] of the other mid-Chevelles and stuff
[3:32] like that. But, I mean, it was all good
[3:34] stuff. I had never really seen one of
[3:36] these. I found this at the Audrain
[3:38] auction. It takes place every year, last
[3:40] week of September, first week of October
[3:43] in Newport, Rhode Island. It's a great
[3:45] car show, and they always have kind of a
[3:47] small auction auction, maybe
[3:49] 80 cars, 90 cars at best.
[3:52] And this was there. Unfortunately, the
[3:54] previous owner had heavily modified it.
[3:57] He put big police spotlights here, you
[3:59] know, the kind of fold down and they got
[4:01] the handle. And he chromed this whole
[4:04] front end, which
[4:06] made it look kind of pimping to me. I
[4:08] didn't like it. He did a nice job on the
[4:11] paint and the chrome. You know, it's
[4:12] funny, when you restore a car like this,
[4:15] if you do it right, it's tough to get
[4:17] your money out of it. Because these
[4:19] things were built when technology was
[4:20] expensive and labor was cheap. Now it's
[4:22] the other way around. When I got it, it
[4:25] looked pretty good until I went to drive
[4:27] it at night and realized, "Wait, there's
[4:28] no lights." We pulled the dashboard out
[4:30] and all the wires had been just
[4:33] zip tied off and in a bundle because it
[4:35] was obviously way too much work, way too
[4:37] much trouble for somebody to put it
[4:40] right. And like with a lot of auction
[4:42] cars, it looked perfect and it it drove
[4:44] okay. It was fine. It just I didn't have
[4:47] any lights, you know? And we finally got
[4:49] the wiring down. That took a few hours
[4:51] to do. So that was a little tricky. As I
[4:53] said, George and Jimmy, our metal men,
[4:56] they just did a terrific job.
[5:20] >> What's that?
[5:22] Only the
[5:24] two real men here.
[5:31] Good to see you.
[5:34] Okay, shifter is there.
[5:37] And that is
[5:39] 9/16 inch, right?
[5:43] Let me get a pry bar.
[5:46] Good to see you as well. Good to see
[5:47] you. Good to see
[5:50] >> Okay?
[5:58] This is heavy.
[6:41] >> [snorts]
[6:43] >> They're all grade eight bolts in there.
[7:48] >> Yeah.
[8:05] George had the transmission out in the
[8:07] day and the new transmission out the
[8:08] same day. And the next couple of days
[8:11] were spent modifying and cutting a
[8:13] little bit bigger hole for the
[8:14] transmission to do a few other things,
[8:15] but for the most part, it was pretty
[8:17] straightforward. The company American
[8:19] Powertrain, as I said, boy, they come It
[8:21] comes with a kit how to do this whole
[8:23] deal. It really makes it a really nice
[8:25] car to drive. And the six-speed really
[8:28] helps you because before, I think it had
[8:30] about 390s in it at 70. I'm
[8:32] You know, I'm turning like four grand
[8:34] and it's just It was just too much. So,
[8:36] now it's like 2,100 and it's just just a
[8:39] lot of fun to drive. You know, it's like
[8:41] being in a toboggan. You're outside in
[8:43] the great open air in this thing. It's
[8:45] like driving your living room. It's so
[8:47] funny. But it it It's addictive. It's
[8:50] comfortable. It's got all the silly
[8:51] options, the hood tach, which I love,
[8:54] the simulated wood grain steering wheel,
[8:56] which always makes me laugh, and of
[8:58] course the manual transmission, AM/FM
[9:01] radio, no air conditioning, no power
[9:03] windows. And when you want to put the
[9:04] windows you actually have to stop, get
[9:06] out, walk around the car, and roll down
[9:08] the windows. This one car should have
[9:10] had electric windows. It should have
[9:11] been this. But the the previous owner,
[9:13] the original owner, didn't spring for
[9:14] it. This is not the original color. I
[9:16] think it was blue and white cuz I think
[9:18] I found an ad somewhere that had this
[9:20] car for sale when it was blue and white.
[9:22] The previous owner, as I said, did a
[9:24] nice job. I mean, the paint is flawless,
[9:26] the trim, the chrome.
[9:28] When we replaced the side uh the big
[9:31] spotlights that were here, we got new
[9:33] new pieces here and new windshield
[9:34] pieces. You know, you get spoiled with
[9:36] American stuff like this cuz almost all
[9:39] parts are available. When you're doing
[9:41] Duesenbergs and all these rare European
[9:43] cars,
[9:44] you're not finding parts and when you
[9:46] do, they're crazy expensive and they
[9:47] don't fit or they're rusted, but that's
[9:49] the one you have to use because there
[9:51] aren't any other parts available.
[9:53] Interior, you can get a brand new
[9:55] interior and which which this did, it
[9:57] was a white interior which I never liked
[9:59] in a convertible, it just gets too
[10:00] dirty. So, cuz it's a little hot in
[10:03] California summer time, but that's okay.
[10:05] But, as you can see, it it's in really
[10:08] nice shape. The chrome is good. I like
[10:10] the wheels. This is exactly as it left
[10:12] the factory, the red line tires. It is
[10:14] so much fun to drive. Before we take it
[10:16] for a drive, let's take a look under the
[10:18] hood, show you what we're talking about.
[10:22] Kind of have to get down on one knee
[10:23] like you're proposing to this thing
[10:25] every time you
[10:26] open the hood.
[10:29] Now,
[10:32] we had to put new springs in.
[10:34] I think we put a new pad in, too. This
[10:36] the original motor, 428. Now, normally
[10:39] this would have been 360 horse. The 376
[10:44] horsepower had the forged steel crank, a
[10:46] few other high performance pieces,
[10:48] different carburetor. That's the
[10:50] original motor, kind of factory headers
[10:53] for lack of a better term. Yeah, it's
[10:55] all as she left the factory. There's a
[10:57] lot of room in here. You can actually
[10:58] stand in this thing and work on it. You
[11:00] got the dual master cylinder. I think
[11:02] '67 was the first year that became
[11:04] mandatory on all cars. Power steering,
[11:07] power brake. We got one of those. We
[11:10] take our Optima battery, we cover it
[11:11] with one of those vintage looking fake
[11:14] battery so it looks period correct. You
[11:16] know, it's funny, I thought the previous
[11:17] owner stuck this as 428 here. I thought
[11:20] the previous owner just stuck that in
[11:21] there for whatever reason, but that's
[11:23] the way it came. They wanted everybody
[11:25] to know, no matter where you were,
[11:27] whether you're being hit by this car,
[11:28] run over by this car, stuck under the
[11:30] hood, they wanted you to see 428. You'll
[11:33] see it, it's in the driver's
[11:34] compartment, too. 428 428, that was
[11:37] their big number. Very straightforward,
[11:39] easy to work on.
[11:40] Plugs are accessible, you know, engine
[11:43] coolant, all this kind of stuff. It runs
[11:45] really good. Runs really good. Let's
[11:47] shut this.
[11:51] Come on, let's take it for a ride.
[12:17] Suddenly it's 1967.
[12:39] You know, I mentioned before, when you
[12:41] restore these kind of American cars, a
[12:44] lot of new old stock still available.
[12:46] When I got this, it did not have air
[12:47] conditioning, which I didn't put in, but
[12:49] it didn't have a clock, but it had the
[12:51] space for the clock, like they used to
[12:52] do in American cars. They leave the
[12:54] space blank, so people know how cheap
[12:56] you are.
[12:57] So, I looked on eBay, found a brand new
[13:00] Pontiac 2+2 clock,
[13:03] you know, the same one that goes in the
[13:04] Bonneville or Catalina, and I I bought
[13:07] it for a couple bucks, and I put it and
[13:09] it works fine. So, it's kind of cool.
[13:12] This thing is so hilarious to drive. As
[13:14] I mentioned, it's like driving the great
[13:15] outdoors. You know, when you get in
[13:17] modern cars, they have all kinds of
[13:20] safety features, you know, and key tops
[13:23] and all this kind of stuff. This thing,
[13:25] you're just out you're on your own.
[13:30] Just a big 428.
[13:33] Still forged crank, 376 horsepower.
[13:36] I think it's 452 foot pounds of torque.
[13:39] It's pretty good. Especially if it's
[13:41] This actually They wanted to make sure
[13:44] that the
[13:46] power rating was the same as the GTO.
[13:49] So, this turned about the same time,
[13:52] you know, low 13s in the quarter mile as
[13:55] the GTO.
[13:57] Just the idea of low 13s was considered
[13:59] blisteringly fast back in the early
[14:01] days.
[14:10] Yeah, we didn't do any performance
[14:11] modifications other than the six-speed
[14:13] transmission.
[14:15] But it does just change the car.
[14:17] It really makes it drivable now. And let
[14:20] me tell you something, these Tremecs are
[14:22] just unbreakable. They're just a great,
[14:24] great transmission.
[14:26] I even put one in my Maserati, you know,
[14:28] the ZF is very nice, but parts for that
[14:32] are more expensive than the entire
[14:34] transmission like the Tremec. And the
[14:35] Tremec is bulletproof. You can't break
[14:38] it. Certainly not with the torque of a
[14:39] six-cylinder Maserati. So, yeah, it's
[14:43] it's always been a a smart choice. Bolts
[14:45] right up. And the guys did a heck of a
[14:47] job putting it in.
[14:56] And it's a perfect day here in
[14:58] California.
[14:59] There's something about a manual
[15:01] transmission in a big tank like this
[15:03] just makes me smile.
[15:05] Obviously,
[15:07] you know, the new 10-speeds and all
[15:09] these kind of transmissions are much
[15:10] faster.
[15:11] But just knowing that you're in control,
[15:14] it's doing it because you want to do it,
[15:15] not because the transmission thinks that
[15:17] you do it. I mean, that's what I like. I
[15:20] I this era of American cars. This is
[15:22] when they really started to get good.
[15:24] Disc brakes in the front, got serious
[15:26] about handling.
[15:28] And you think this car was would be
[15:29] heavy, it's not. It's between 3,800 and
[15:32] 4,000 lb. You know why?
[15:35] Because the complete absence of any
[15:38] safety equipment. No steel door guard
[15:40] beams, no airbag, no airbag actuators,
[15:44] no absorbing bumpers, nothing. Nothing.
[15:46] You You know, you die by your own hand
[15:49] in this
[15:52] And that's the hood tach, Stroker
[15:54] genius.
[15:55] I just think it's the greatest thing. I
[15:57] like it even better than heads-up
[15:59] display.
[16:05] Makes you smile, goes good.
[16:12] For younger people who don't know,
[16:14] Pontiac was the performance arm of
[16:16] General Motors.
[16:18] Uh you had Buicks and Oldsmobiles,
[16:20] Chevrolet was the sort of middle America
[16:23] everyday car.
[16:25] Uh Buick was luxury, Oldsmobile was
[16:28] luxury, and of course Cadillac, the
[16:30] ultimate luxury car.
[16:32] And everybody had their own motor. John
[16:34] DeLorean, before he kind of disgraced
[16:36] himself, just a brilliant engineer.
[16:39] Father of the GTO.
[16:41] Ed Cole was president in the '60s. Ed
[16:44] Cole was the guy who developed the
[16:45] Corvair, which I think is probably the
[16:48] greatest European American car. Just a
[16:51] brilliant design.
[16:53] It's so funny, it got beat by Mustang.
[16:55] It was considered a failure cuz they
[16:57] only sold 1.8 million of them. I guess
[17:01] Mustang by that time had sold like two
[17:02] or three million. So it was deemed not
[17:05] successful. But I love mine. I think
[17:07] it's a great looking car.
[17:10] There was some great GM designs by the
[17:12] mid-'60s.
[17:13] I don't think Pontiac sold anywhere near
[17:16] the numbers that Buick or or certainly
[17:18] Chevrolet did. But, they were unique. As
[17:21] I said, I think the Firebird was the
[17:23] best looking of those mid-size cars. I
[17:25] thought it was better looking than the
[17:27] equivalent Ferrari, which it shared the
[17:29] same body with. The Fiero
[17:32] was not really good when it first came
[17:34] out. It had that iron duke four-cylinder
[17:37] engine. But, by the end, it had a little
[17:40] V6 and it turned into quite a
[17:43] performance car. They mistakenly sort of
[17:46] marketed initially
[17:48] as a uh
[17:49] import fighter, you know, just economy
[17:52] secretary's car. When it was actually a
[17:54] pretty good little sports car. And by
[17:56] the final generation of it, I think it
[17:58] had a five-speed manual and and a and a
[18:02] V6.
[18:14] And
[18:19] it goes fantastic.
[18:22] '67 Pontiac was riding high. When they
[18:25] introduced the GTO, they thought they
[18:27] might sell
[18:28] 15 to 20,000. I think they sold
[18:31] something like 80 I I some huge amount.
[18:33] I mean, it was a huge huge success. It
[18:36] made them rethink the whole marketing
[18:37] thing. Cuz prior to that,
[18:40] they only allowed us see, for every 10
[18:42] lbs of car, you so much cubic whatever.
[18:45] You couldn't put the big engine in the
[18:47] smaller car. Big engine only went in big
[18:49] car, you know, that kind of thing. Once
[18:51] they saw how much people clamored for it
[18:54] and how popular it was, boy, that whole
[18:56] formula changed real quick.
[18:59] It's hard to believe this is the
[19:00] standard suspension. I mean, it really
[19:03] handles good for what it is. You can't
[19:05] help but have a smile on your face when
[19:07] you drive in this.
[19:14] Driving in six, what am I turning?
[19:20] 1,700 rpm. That's not bad, 70 miles an
[19:23] hour.
[19:24] And it's got the torque to pull it, so.
[19:26] I love the massive shifter with the big
[19:30] cue ball on it. That Hurst shifter, that
[19:33] was a magic name back in the '60s. When
[19:36] you had a manual transmission, you just
[19:38] got a Hurst shifter. It was just
[19:40] something you did. And they really were
[19:42] good. They really were such an
[19:43] improvement over the factory.
[19:47] Hey, if you've got one of these cars,
[19:49] I'd love to hear from you in the
[19:50] comments section.
[19:52] Uh got a guy named Jack Anderson. He
[19:54] does the uh 2+2 club. He's got all the
[19:57] information. If you're into these cars,
[19:59] join the Pontiac club. It's it's really
[20:01] good. I mean, they have access to every
[20:03] factory thing, every bit of uh build
[20:06] sheets, whatever you need, you can get
[20:08] it through them. So, it's kind of a
[20:10] a fun group of guys. I met them a few
[20:12] times when I got my Firebird. And now I
[20:14] got this one and I got the Grand Prix,
[20:16] so I've gone from
[20:18] not having any to being a three-time
[20:21] Pontiac guy. So,
[20:22] uh so, check it out. Join the Pontiac
[20:24] club. Hey, listen. Well, I'll see you
[20:26] guys next week or on something totally
[20:28] different from this. See you then.