Those 14-inch redlines look pretty skinny in to contemporary eyes,
but Pontiac enthusiasts soon figured out how to fatten them up. Pon-
tiac outfitted the GTO with steel wheels that were an inch wider— 6
inches versus 5—than the standard Tempest wheel “for improved sta-
bility,” wrote Ray Brock in Hot Rod’s first look at the car (Dec. 1963).AT A GLANCE
196 4 GTO
Owned by: Warren Tripp, Reno NV
Restored by: Previous owner
Engine: 389ci/348hp Tri-power V-8
Transmission: Muncie M20 wide-ratio 4-speed
manual
Rearend: 3.23 gears with Safe-T-Track
Interior: Black vinyl bucket seat
Wheels: 14x6 inch steel
Tires: 7.75-14 Firestone Deluxe Champion Adding three Rochester two-barrel carburetors in place of the single
Carter AFB raised the 389’s output from 325 to 348 hp.
“It’s rare and problematic, but
prized by Pontiac collectors”
While Warren’s first GTO had a Carter
four-barrel carb, his Sunfire Red version
heats things up with a trio of Rochester
two-barrel carbs. Back then, this setup
raised the output from 325 to 348 horses.
Single-carb models typically ran zero
to 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds and
the quarter in 15.7 at 92 mph, while Tri-
power Goats were consistently quicker,
scrambling to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds andrunning the quarter in 14.8 seconds at
95 mph.
Not only that, but the look of the loaded
engine bay added immeasurably to the
car’s mystique. Previously General Motors
limited engines to 330 ci for midsize cars.
But the Pontiac performance crew couldn’t
resist sneaking larger engines in a few test
mules, made easier by the fact that what-
ever the displacement, all Pontiac V-8s had