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HURST WHEELS BULLETS CENTERS
335 HP YS 400 ORIGINAL MOTOR
WOOD WHEEL &VACUUM GAUGE
SUPER STRAIGHT
HURST HIS & HERS SHIFTER
EXHAUST SPLITTERS
RESTORATIONS
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67 GTO HISTORY
So the '67 GTO actually marks the beginning of the marque's de-emphasis on all-out performance. Gone was the
tripower engine option. Now, the hottest setup
available was a single Rochester Quadra jet on a high-rise intake manifold. But all was not
lost.
Pontiac saw fit to drop the 389 engine and introduce an enlarged,
bored-out version that displaced 400 cu. in. In addition, many new engine
pieces had been developed since '64 and were all introduced in a group on '67
engines. For one thing, a new set of cylinder heads was designed. These heads
were sorely needed and replaced the antique heads that were originally
designed for the '55 287-cube V8. The new heads sported clean combustion
chambers and ports, 2.11-in. intake valves and high flow capacity. Pontiac felt that the increase
in displacement plus the new heads warranted a retention of the 360-hp rating
despite the drop from three 2- barrels to one 4-barrel carb.
The 360 hp was the high-performance option with the HO cam, long-branch
exhaust manifolds, etc.
But the Pontiac folks weren't done at that. Halfway through the model year,
they introduced a completely new ram air package that not only had a
fresh-air intake system but all kinds of special internal components packed
into the same 400 cubes. A special block with 4-bolt main bearings and
Moraine 400 rod bearings was used along with forged rods and pistons,
lightened, swirl-polished valves, stiff valve springs and a ram air cam with
301/313° duration. Pontiac, smart to the end, rated the new engine 360 hp at
5400 rpm and 438 ft.-lb. of torque at 3800 rpm. That's right, with all those
extra goodies, the performance division kept the horsepower rating at 360.
Styling of the '67 was similar to the '66, only cleaned up.
There were less loose pieces of chrome and less
gimmicks. The '67 is still considered one of the cleanest-looking GTO’s ever.
The public responded by purchasing 81,722 of them.
As we said, by '67 the ram air packages had developed into something
really special around Pontiac. It was another instance of Pontiac leading the industry.
Its engineers had discovered the 10 percent boost in power with cold air
before anyone else and exploited it to the fullest. Not only was the ram air
package a status symbol around the drive-in, it really worked because it
included the above-mentioned specific internal engine parts that were
completely different from the standard engine packages. And Pontiac played the horsepower
rating game to the hilt. Both the standard high-performance, or HO, engine
and the ram air engine were called 360 hp. But despite the identical
horsepower ratings, obviously the ram air engine was much stronger. Yet both
engines ran in the same class according to NHRA rules. It was situations like
this that finally forced NHRA to factor horsepower ratings.
We can personally attest to how strong the '67 ram air GTO was
because the staff here at CARS ran one all year in open competition.
The car was originally set up and prepared by Royal Pontiac, then sent to New York where Motion Performance put the final tune on the car and
maintained it all year. Driven by the former editor of CARS, Marty Schorr, the car racked up an impressive number of wins in
the B/SA class at many strips all over the East Coast.
Production:
Sports Coupe: 7,029 Hardtop Coupe: 65,176
Convertible: 9,517
Engines:
400 V8 255 bhp
@ 4400rpm, 397 lb-ft @ 4400 bhp.
400 V8 335 bhp
@ 5000 rpm, 441 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm.
400 V8 HO 360 bhp
@ 5100 rpm, 438 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm.
400 V8 Ram Air 360 bhp @ 5100 rpm, 438 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm.
Performance:
400/255: NA. 400/335: NA. 400/360 HO:
0-60 in 6.6 sec, 1/4 mile in 14.66 sec @ 99mph. 400/360 Ram Air: NA.
GARDNER EXHAUST SYSTEM
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