bandit1 Posted July 1 Posted July 1 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 Posted July 6 Author Posted July 6 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. 8
johnwitzke Posted July 6 Author Posted July 6 Interior color was changed to Black with red accent carpeting. This was a factory option. Paint used was MCW semi gloss black lacquer. 5
rickcaps55 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 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 Posted July 7 Posted July 7 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! 1
johnwitzke Posted July 8 Author Posted July 8 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 Posted July 12 Author Posted July 12 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. 9
johnwitzke Posted July 12 Author Posted July 12 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. 6
gui_tarzan Posted July 14 Posted July 14 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 Posted July 22 Author Posted July 22 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. 6
johnwitzke Posted July 27 Author Posted July 27 Added the unique 1973 Ram Air under-hood ram air pan. I am in the process of fabricating the air cleaner lid as well 4
johnwitzke Posted July 27 Author Posted July 27 (edited) Started the BMF process. Edited July 27 by johnwitzke 5
Quiet Eric Posted Tuesday at 01:24 AM Posted Tuesday at 01:24 AM Everything looks great. Very nice foil work too.
johnwitzke Posted Tuesday at 01:28 AM Author Posted Tuesday at 01:28 AM (edited) This photo is possibly the SD GTO. This factory photo has only appeared in Jim Wangers book Glory Days. This was not the same GTO that was in Hi-Performance Cars Magazine article where they named it car of the year. Edited Tuesday at 01:33 AM by johnwitzke 1
Kayma367 Posted Tuesday at 11:22 PM Posted Tuesday at 11:22 PM According to the Google, this is the GTO featured in the Hi-Performance Cars article. Note the stripes in both the photo and the rendering on the magazine cover. Could they be the same car with just the stripes added, I'm sure we'll never know. Regardless of the direction you go, John, I've been following and have been drooling over this build since day one. Looking forward to the next update.
Can-Con Posted Wednesday at 12:14 AM Posted Wednesday at 12:14 AM 46 minutes ago, Kayma367 said: According to the Google, this is the GTO featured in the Hi-Performance Cars article. Note the stripes in both the photo and the rendering on the magazine cover. Could they be the same car with just the stripes added, I'm sure we'll never know. Regardless of the direction you go, John, I've been following and have been drooling over this build since day one. Looking forward to the next update. The car in that pic also has the "deluxe" bumpers with the rubber rub strips. The car in John's pic doesn't have the rub strips. They could be added but it would have been a lot more work then just putting the vinyl stripes on the sides of the car as they bolt to the bumpers from behind.
Bills72sj Posted Wednesday at 05:33 AM Posted Wednesday at 05:33 AM On 6/26/2025 at 9:07 PM, johnwitzke said: I was originally going to do burgundy, but have re-thought the interior color. I am going to do black trim with optional accent carpet in red. Pontiac's order code for the combination was sales code 561 Black Trim with Red accent carpet sales code 811. This was a very rare option, but was available. I owned a 1972 Grand Prix that was triple black with red carpet. I though it was weird but it was legit when I found the build sheet.
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