1973 Pontiac GTO

[slusher]

Beautiful paint and nice start on your interior!

[DoctorLarry]

Interior shot:

[DoctorLarry]

Another:

[bandit1]

This is cool, saw the GTO show off when Steve Magnete (I am horrible with names lol) gave one to his buddy. 

soon down the road I'll nab one, 

[johnwitzke]

So here is an update.  Final color coat on the car.  I will let this set for a couple of weeks to allow it to gas out.  Then it will be hand polished to replicate a factory finish.  I used Scale Finishes 1973 Pontiac Florentine Red.   

[johnwitzke]

Interior color was changed to Black with red accent carpeting.  This was a factory option. Paint used was MCW semi gloss black lacquer.  

[drodg]

Very nice!!

[rickcaps55]

WOW that color came out beautiful. The interior has a great finish with the black you used this is going to look great i just got a mail notice mine should be here by Friday. I am still not sure of what color to use yet.

[DoctorLarry]

Mine is going to be Golden Olive with a Dark Saddle interior. I have a 73 Grand Am 4 door that is Florentine Red. Great color choice!

[johnwitzke]

10 hours ago, DoctorLarry said:

Mine is going to be Golden Olive with a Dark Saddle interior. I have a 73 Grand Am 4 door that is Florentine Red. Great color choice!

Golden Olive is a great color and a good choice.

[johnwitzke]

Polished Florentine Red.  No clear coat. Trying to replicate a factor finish.  Next will be the masking off the engine compartment, front wheel wells and interior roof and side panels for semi gloss black paint.  Work continues on the interior detailing, it will be time for the cardinal red carpet. I will post a photo of the completed interior later.   

[johnwitzke]

Decals have arrived.  GTO on the fenders and trunk lid will be white. the body stripe will be applied. There are various interior and under hood decals that I will use.

[gui_tarzan]

On 6/26/2025 at 9:48 AM, Zen said:

Looks great so far! 

Confused on what is 3D cast? Is the body 3D printed first then a mold is made to be cast?

Where would one find these 3D cast bodies or kits?

Andy prints these on a 3D resin printer and from what I've seen does a great job with them. The files for these cars are from Andrey Bezrodny and can be purchased on a couple of the 3D file sites. 

[johnwitzke]

So I have been doing some additional research and have found out some interesting facts about the Hi-Performance Cars Magazine 1973 Car of the Year GTO.  A good friend of mine that knew Joe Oldham confirmed that the 1973 Pontiac GTO with a SD-455 motor was in fact Florentine Red.  It was also thought to have been a 4-speed car.  The GTO was an engineering development test mule.  This was a 1 of none car as the SD-455 motor was only available in the 1973-74 Firebird Trans Am and Formulas.  Like the SD GTO, Pontiac also built one 1973 Grand Am with the SD-455 engine and was also an engineering development test mule.  It was a white car with burgundy interior with an automatic transmission.  Unfortunately the car doesn't exist anymore but the engine does. After the press review was completed and the journalist left, Joe was asked to stick around while Pontiac brought out the SD-455 GTO for him to view.  Other than Joe Oldham, no other car journalist seen it, nor do any photos exist.  While not 100% sure of the interior color, we do know it exterior was Florentine Red.  So with that said, I have decided to make the 1 of none 1973 SD-455 GTO.  I had another interior tub made along with a bench front seat.  it will have a burgundy interior.  I will put a correct style 4-speed shifter add the proper number of pedals and transmission.

[DoctorLarry]

Did you use Ray's decals on the dash? Looks great so far!