25-YEAR RESTO
20 SEPTEMBER 2019
“I collected hoards of N.O.S. and
rare assembly line parts”
THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
The original options on Mancini’s GTO included the code-XP
400ci/360hp Ram Air engine, Turbo 400 automatic transmis-
sion with Hurst Dual-Gate (His & Hers) shifter, 4.33 posi HD
axle, Rally gauge package, console with bucket seats, vinyl top,
Super-Lift air shocks, HD 55-amp alternator, transistorized volt-
age regulator, AM radio, rear-seat speaker, visor vanity mirror,
outside remote mirror, roof-rail reading lamps, light package,
custom seatbelts, Rally II wheels, power steering, power brakes,
Soft Ray windshield, ride and handling package, and front and
rear floormats.
Among the rarest of the N.O.S. parts Mancini collected over
the years and used on the car were the carb jets, advance curve
springs and weights, super-thin race head gaskets, and blocked
heat riser intake gaskets (new in the GM packaging) for the
engine’s Royal Bobcat tune; Super-Lift air shocks; trans pan; fan
belts; radiator hoses; rubber lines; brake hoses; steering andchassis components with correct OE Saginaw stamps; door
handles; bumpers, and gauge sending units.in one way or another.
I collected hoards of N.O.S. and rare as-
sembly line parts over the course of the
project that have found a home on the car
today.
On top of all this, I was really getting
in tune with aspects of correctness, such
as the differences between those N.O.S.
and assembly line parts. I became an avid
study of assembly-line build details. It
was on this project that I developed many
of the research skills and detail-oriented
practices that have set my business apart
from other restoration shops today. It’s
been a constant development over much
of my life.
For the body restoration I strictly ad-
hered to all the details of the Baltimore
production plant. All oversprays and mask-
ing patterns were documented and dupli-
cated exactly to precise measurements.
The correct undercoats and primers were
used throughout, and all the interior fin-
ishes were done in OE-correct Duracryl
acrylic lacquers.
It was not easy to match the true, real
color of the Tyrol Blue. If you order Tyrol
Blue from the paint store, what you get is
a hue totally different from the original.
Having many undisturbed original paint
areas to color-match, I endeavored to
make an exact match. What you see on “A lifetime of collecting N.O.S. parts” meant
the GTO’s interior was restored with N.O.S.
window fuzzies and weatherstripping, the
dash woodgrain, trunk mat, steering wheel,
and trim. Mancini’s Instrument Specialties handled the GTO’s interior restoration. The car was origi-
nally well optioned with a console and Hurst Dual-Gate shifter, a Soft Ray windshield, custom
seatbelts, an AM radio with a rear-seat speaker, roof-rail reading lamps, a visor vanity mirror,
and an outside remote mirror.
Mancini’s N.O.S. stash included the grilles,
emblems, headlights, and bumpers for the
GTO’s restoration.the car today is a dead-nuts match to Ty-
rol Blue, which happened when I thought
outside the box after much trouble with
the process. I realized that the under-
coats play a role in the final hue, so I
sprayed the special match over red oxide
exactly like the Baltimore plant originally
applied.
Not one penny was spared or part com-
promised front-to-back, top-to-bottom, in
this pursuit of perfection.
Roughly 25 years passed on this restora-
tion project, but I am thrilled with the re-
sult and so was everyone at MCACN. Many
people wanted to buy it, but it is not for
sale and never will be.