Once upon a time, it seemed like there here was no hope for a numbers-matching 1968 Pontiac GTO. I was completely rusted out, and bound for the scrap yard; it seemed that the 400 cubic inch engine would never purr again. While others saw nothing but a rusted out piece of scrap metal, one man saw his dream car. Jordan Stoltz found the car whilst searching Craigslist, as we all do from time to time, he saw the GTO and he knew it was ‘the one’.
Stoltz had always wanted a GTO, however because of their muscle car status, they often sport a hefty price tag. When he saw that this vehicle was within his price range he knew that it was gonna need some work but that’s exactly what he wanted. The owner was 4 hours away, and Jordan didn’t have a trailer, so the owner brought it to him. And just like that, Jordan had his dream car.
Tackling the rust was the first big task, and he used reproduction sheet metal to save the whole body. It also took flushing years of mud out of the engine and transmission to get the Poncho running again. Jordan works in a restoration shop, so that gave him the resources to resurrect this Pontiac that was once considered a parts car.
After about a year of driving it around like this, Jordan decided that it a little restoration just wasn’t enough for this GTO, he wanted a beast. The engine was upgraded with a Butler Performance stroker kit, and bored it out to 461 cubic inches. Other power upgrades include a lopey cam and long-tube headers now having an estimated 550-horsepower, in naturally aspirated form. With all of that power, it would seem that you couldn’t do anything to make this car any better, right? Guess what, wrong! Jordan proceeded to slap a nitrous kit on the car to pull it all together.
In its current form, the Poncho looks like something straight out of the Punisher, and while it’s not track-tested, yet, we wouldn’t want to challenge it!
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
