Ride Of The Week 12/12/2022: Tim Holmes' 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix

THAT’S NOT A GTO

The license plate that adorns this Pontiac grabbed my attention at the 2022 Cavalcade of Cars in Syracuse, NY, “KNOTAGTO”. It certainly was not. This was a Grand Prix!

In 2008, Tim Holmes was attending the Adirondack Nationals when he spotted this 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. He knew immediately that he had to have it. “I practically jumped out of my buddy’s moving car when I spotted it,” Tim explained, “But I had to hide it for two years while I went thru a nasty divorce.”

So, he just bided his time and slowly collected parts on his mission to restore it. By 2014 he had rebuilt the motor and performed the body and interior work. It was not a vinyl top car originally. Tim felt he needed to break up all that white paint because, “It looked like a fridge.” So, he had to find the moldings and that alone, turned in to a six-month project.

The original 400 is gone. In its place is a 455 ci putting out 575 horsepower with correct Tri-Power backed by an automatic transmission. “This is a driver and not a trailer queen,” Tim proudly professes. Not a trailer queen, and definitely NOT a GTO!

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