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Jay Leno Checks Out The 1966 Pontiac GTO: Video

In one of his latest videos, TV host and car enthusiast Jay Leno takes a surprisingly pristine “time capsule” 1966 Pontiac GTO in Tiger Gold for a spin and engages in a visual tour of the remarkable range of custom options the original owner selected back when he first purchased it almost sixty years ago.

Originally owned by Sunoco station owner and local race car driver Bob Morgan, the Pontiac GTO is now owned by podcaster Greg Stanley, who shows off the remarkable vintage muscle car along with Leno.

Jay Leno and Greg Stanley with the Pontiac GTO.

Bob Morgan used the vehicle as a Sunday driver, and for an occasional trip to Daytona, and despite racking up 58,000 miles before it ended up in storage, it stayed in astonishingly good shape. The smooth, gleaming, undamaged coat of Tiger Gold paint appears to be original, as Bob Stanley proved using a paint thickness meter, along with the black voids in the paint under the hood where the part was originally suspended during painting.

Side view of the Pontiac GTO.

Morgan picked so many special options for the Pontiac GTO that the original documentation shows the price came to $4,200, of which $1,200 was in custom options, even after a $600 discount from the dealership.

The GTO sports red pinstripes when the only factory options were white or blue, red fender liners, redline tires, the Tiger horn option that produces a growling sound (which Leno describes as sounding like “termites”), Tiger interior upholstery, and a wealth of other opulent upgrades.

The vehicle’s interior is also immaculate, thanks to Morgan’s use of it as a special occasion car. When not in use, the GTO was stored in a neighbor’s brick garage and eventually spent 40 years under boxes and other stored items, unused until it was purchased by Stanley. The only damage to the car’s interior is a small bite mark from Morgan’s daughter, Lisa, angered by a lack of ice cream on a Sunday drive when she was four or five years old.

Lisa and Tracy, daughters of original Pontiac GTO owner Bob Morgan.

Leno and Stanley take the 1966 Pontiac GTO – which has a slightly rebuilt engine but the original power steering and power brakes – for a drive. Leno observes that the GTO drives like a new car, with plenty of power from the 360 horsepower Tri-Power engine, which also develops 424 pound-feet of torque.

You can enjoy the full details and many spectacular views and angles of this ultra-rare near-factory-mint customized Pontiac GTO in Jay Leno’s 50-minute long video below:

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Comments

  1. We will never pass this way again. And we are worse off for it.

    Reply
  2. My brother had a 66 2-fort Lemans whine college in the 80’s. Those doors were a mile long. It had an OH cam in-line 6 engine which was interesting. We painted it Coca Cola red, it was a real cruiser. I always laughed because it was twice as long as my Mustang.

    Reply
  3. Return Pontiac brand to General Motors, please!

    Reply
  4. My brother had a ‘66 GTO convertible. Royal blue with white interior and top. 389 V-8, 4 bbl. Carb and three speed tranny with Hurst shifter. White wall tires and full disk hubcaps. A really sharp car. He got drafted and had to sell it.

    Reply
  5. Had a month to go before USN discharge. bought a new ’66 GTO off the showroom floor….3 dueces, 3 spd….. I’ve had a lot of cars (mostly GM), but I know I will probably never have a machine like that ’66.

    Reply
  6. I had a 1966 GTO tri – power with a 4 speed. Three devices and a 4 speed and a 389. Just like the one Ronnie and the Daytonas sang about. When you floored it all the carbs opened up and there was a cacophony under the hood that was cherished by all high performance enthusiasts. GTO is the Goat
    Pontiac brand needs to be brought back by GM

    Reply

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