The GTO

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This is sort of a semi-fictional story I wrote about when my cousin bought his first car. He just recently finished a frame-off restoration of the car, and it looks great!

The GTO!


A different vehicle sat against the curb this day. I was riding my bike past my cousins’ house one day when I saw it, and remembered what he had said the last time I saw him about wanting to buy a car. Knowing that he was a Pontiac fan, I knew that this car had to be his. I had to stop in and see him and check out his new ride, so I knocked on his door.

He answered the door, and before I was able to open my mouth, he bolted out “Hey, check out my new wheels!” We went out to the street after he grabbed the keys. The rough, bedraggled looking car looked pretty sad by the side of the road. It was missing it’s hubcaps, was painted in different shades of primer, and a few rust spots. Duct tape covering some of the rust spots like bandages over wounds. The left headlight door wasn’t quite closed, sort of like a prizefighter with a black eye. Still, the car was his, and he was really proud of owning his first car!

With a big smile on his face, he told me to hop in. I ran around to the passenger side, and lifted the squeaky door handle. The big heavy door let out a moan as I opened it. I caught a sniff of the musty interior. Old cars just seem to have a unique smell to them…a smell of character I guess, and this car was no exception. I plopped down on the big lumpy bench seat, it’s foam long gone. I looked across the cracked dashboard and saw some true marques of a serious muscle car.

A big round tachometer was clamped to the steering column with a hose clamp. From the mirror hung the mandatory fuzzy dice, and in the floor, a beautiful shiny Hurst shifter with an “8-ball” knob” came out of a rubber boot. In the dashboard, a fancy Alpine stereo poked out of a roughly cut hole in the fake wood grain trim. Well, how do you like it? He said with a big smile on his face. “This is cool” I said, knowing that despite the rough shape this car was in, it would be a fun machine!

He stuck the key in the ignition, and gave it a turn. The weary old starter motor wheezed as it turned the massive engine. The engine suddenly fired with a growl and the entire car came alive like an animal vibrating, humming, and rumbling. “Wanna look under the hood?” he asked, and I said “SURE!” We both got back out the car and lifted the huge piece of sheet metal to reveal the massive piece of chrome-covered iron. It sat there between the two rusty fenders looking a bit lonely without all the wires and hoses new cars have. “There’s nothing like it! A 400 engine with a Holley carburetor, Edelbrock intake, and Hooker headers”

“Hey, let’s take it for a spin!” he said as he slammed the huge hood down. “Heck yea!” said as I didn’t waste any time as I climbed back into the car. I reached behind myself for the seatbelt and my cousin then corrected me “ This old thing ain’t got shoulder belts, just one in the seat”, so I then reached down and found the big wide seatbelt across me and buckled up.

The purring rumble of the engine turned into a heated growl as he eased out the clutch and pulled onto the neighborhood street. Even with as little gas as he was giving it, it still pushed me back into the seat firmly as the old machine creaked and rattled it’s way up the street. We approached the end of the road the transmission gave out a whine as he downshifted back to first.

“Hey, let’s head over to the gas station, I gotta fill er up so I can drive it this week to school” With that, we took off down the road as he shifted the gears. “Hey, what’s the stereo sound like?” I asked. He said “I kicks ass!” as he grabbed a tape and shoved it into the slot. The scream of electric guitars, the pounding of drums, filled the car and drowned out the huge engine. Musclecars and hard rock, the only thing we need now is a few cute girls!

We pull into the gas station and fill up. I go in and grab a soda pop while he tops off the tank. As we sat there, a Mustang 5.0 pulls up with a group of guys he knew from school. “What the hell you doing with that piece of junk!” They shout! My cousing fires back “This old piece of junk has more power in it’s windshield wiper than that little toy you’re driving has” “Okay, bring it on!” they shout as we pull out to the traffic light in front the gas station.

We sit at the light. Engines rumbling. The kids next to us in the Mustang start racing up the engine, and spinning the tires while my cousin sits quietly behind the wheel. The light turns green, and the kids take off in a cloud of tire smoke and noise. We take off a bit slower, which leaves me a little puzzled. My cousin says, “ I’ll just wait till they get a little bit ahead”

“Hold on!” he says, as he floors the gas pedal. The GTO takes off in a thundering roar, and throws me back in the seat like a fighter jet with afterburners. My cousin grabs the 8-ball shifter with his right hand and slams it down into the next gear. The engine roars like a mad lion attacking prey.

The Mustang, a little bit ahead of us starts getting closer quickly. One of the kids was hanging out the window laughing and hollering. His face quickly turned from a sly grin to a startled look as the huge grill of the GTO started approaching him. With a quick lane change, we pass the Mustang like it was standing still in the middle of the road. I turn around and look, and notice the looks of all of them in the Mustang, which ranged from surprised to startle. As they disappeared in to the rearview mirror, the same startled look I saw on the Mustang’s passengers appears in my cousin’s face.

“Holy s__T!! !, we’re doing 80 in this thing!” he shouts, as he throws the wheel to the right. The back end of the car slides around in a cloud of dust, and we dive down a neighborhood street. He eases off the gas pedal and the big engine slows down to a rumble as we idle back to the house using the side streets.

We pull right back into the same spot we left a little while ago, and he turns off the engine. With the engine and the stereo off the neighborhood sounds quickly return to my ears. The lack of vibration feels weird. So, whattaya think? He says as he holds out his hand for a high five. I slap his hand and say that the ride is awesome. “Someday this old heap is gonna look as nice as it runs. ‘till then, I’ll just have fun with it!”

I see my aunt walk out the front door and give an evil stare at us sitting in the car. “I’ve gotta go, looks like mom’s on the warpath about something” We get out the car, and my aunt hollers to him “Get in this house now!” As the two enter the house, I look back at the car before before getting on my bike and think about how it would look all fixed up with shiny paint and chrome all over.

I ride off on my bike and It then hits me, in only two more years, I will be getting my own driver’s license and I can then get one of these cool street machines too! I wonder if mine will be faster than his?