With the top down, the GTO cuts an imposing silhouette, perfect for summer evening trips to the ice cream shop.
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Travis Pearson / Photo courtesy Travis Pearson
Travis and Patricia Pearson wanted a cool convertible big enough to take their kids cruising. This beautifully restored 1968 Pontiac GTO turned out to be exactly the right car, purchased from and lovingly rebuilt as a tribute to Travis' late stepfather, Doug Patten. RPM Motorsports handled the restoration duties.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
This is what the GTO looked like after it was retrieved from western Kansas. Doug Patten of Leoti bought the car about 15 years ago, recognizing it as an original, numbers-matching car, worth saving, but never had time to restore it. Pictured with the project are, left to right, Amanda, Erika and John Pearson.
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Travis Pearson / Photo courtesy Travis Pearson
Door panels received the two-tone leather look and feature beautifully stitched horizontal elements.
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The snug-fitting new tan top was installed by D&M Upholstery, which also handled the all-leather interior.
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A beefy set of Nitto 275x50x17 tires provide plenty of traction at the rear of the ragtop, while front and rear sway bars improve handling to better-than-new levels.
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The Pontiac shield serves as the rear marker light, while the red GTO graphics leave no question that this remains a muscle car at heart.
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The front end of the GTO was lowered with a set of 2-inch dropped spindles, while a set of Rocket 5-spoke 17-inch wheels provide just the right look for a performance car.
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The original dashboard was saved along with the instrument cluster. A new 3-spoke wood wheel, a leather dash top cover and an old-school AM/FM cassette player, complete with Pontiac face plate, complete the vintage look.
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The GTO convertible as it appeared shortly after it was finished at its first car show in Leoti, where it won best of show.
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Travis Pearson / Photo courtesy Travis Pearson
One of the new features of the '68 GTO was the flexible `Endura' nose, which was designed to allow the front end of the car to rebound from minor parking lot incidents with no noticeable damage.
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Factory bucket seats were covered in soft cream-colored leather by D&M Upholstery, with the rest of the interior trimmed out in the same material.
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The 400 cubic inch Pontiac V-8 was completely rebuilt and dressed up with a rare set of Pontiac cast aluminum valve covers and a March serpentine drive belt setup. Edelbrock aluminum heads, intake and carb complete the package.
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The Pearsons joke that they may be the only people to ever request that additional seat belts be added to the back seat of a muscle car. The three sets of belts were mandatory, as the family includes three children, ages 7-10.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
The smoky green-gray color resulted from spraying a stock late-model Honda color over a dark gray primer. The Pearsons spotted the color they were looking for on a custom Camaro at the 2010 Black Top Nationals, tracked down the owner of that car and got his approval to re-create the hue on the GTO.
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Mike Berry / The Wichita Eagle
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