1964 Pontiac GTO: Muscle Cars In Detail No. 8 (Muscle Cars in Detail, 8)

Probably wouldn't have bought this book except it had a section on the most famous GTO ever; Herb Adam's 'Grey Ghost'. I owned a '65 Goat; tri-power, four speed, etc. I swapped in a 455 punched out 488. But as mentioned in this book; it looked like a 389 to the casual observer. It was however scary fast and you could watch the the gas gauge drop at stop lights. Four wheel drum brakes were not confidence builders, nor were the skinny tires.

Not as enthusiastic about the book as the previous reviewers. The book does not have that many pages and quite a few of them are not about the '64 GTO but about other year GTO's and general Pontiac background. It does have great pictures. People that are familiar with the first few years of the GTO will not find much new information in the book but it is well written and covers much detail. It just could have covered so much more though.

Whether you're into classic cars or not, this book is beautifully written and the pictures are gorgeous! I only bought it because I'd heard the author was a native Pennsylvanian, not too far from where we live. My whole family is so into cars and racing...and I was curious...so I thought I'd take a chance and so glad I did! I bought several more copies for friends and family and they all loved it. Great book for car lovers, especially Pontiac fans! My first car was a '74 Le Mans. Best car I have ever owned!

A detailed account of how the first, true muscle car came to be. Great photos and tons of information, including production numbers, paint codes, and a complete options list for the '64 model. Also some very cool info on the Gray Ghost road racer and Arnie Beswick's Mystery Tornado!

Overall a good book. Stories of early Trans Am racing were really interesting (and informative). Recommend for all GTO owners as additional info into the origins of your car.

Great fun book. A must have for any GOAT lovers!

Great book dedicated to the original muscle car and my first car! Loved every page! Nice job!!

As the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Poncho Perfection Magazine, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Dave and have been thoroughly impressed with his natural talent for writing and photography. I was very happy that he had been selected by CarTech to write the 1964 GTO edition of the "Muscle Cars in Detail" series, as it would be the perfect venue to show off his talents. He has done a very admirable job here.To say that we are happy and proud of Dave and his first book would be an understatement. Providing historical context is very much part of this series and Dave delves deep into Pontiac’s resurgence as a performance division and in the process, manages to interview most of the surviving people who were associated with the GTO, such as Jim Wangers, Bill Collins, Herb Adams and Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick. Additional information includes the development of the GTO as well as all specs and production numbers, including info on the elusive M21 transmission. We were pleasantly surprised to see some racecars in the mix as well, including the "Gray Ghost" and the Gasser Brothers with their straight-axle GTOs.Those who have criticized the book for not focusing on the 1964 GTO exclusively are missing the big picture. Telling the story of a vehicle involves providing the historical context in which the car evolved from. Starting and ending in 1964 might seem to be the way to go at a casual glance but the very reason the GTO came to life was because of the January, 1964 GM Ban on Racing, which completely shut down the Super Duty program, which was the center of Pontiac's promotional activities. Forming the plan that took the performance message off the racetrack and onto the street is a crucial element of the story and as such, needs to be discussed, as does the June, 1956 promotion of Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen to the General Manager position at Pontiac, as it was the turning point that transformed the division into a high-performance automaker. That cannot be left out, either.Concentrating on one model year of any vehicle is a challenge but David Bonaskiewich stepped up and delivered. This is wonderful new take on an oft-told story. It is definitely worth the price of admission.Though we didn’t expect to be on board with the concept when it was pitched to us, we really recommend this series of CarTech titles. They do a great job of bringing the entire story of these exciting vehicles to life. We are told that additional GTO and Firebird editions will be added to the series as well. Great news!

Very interesting and very well researched book. Well presented with excellent photographs. Fascinating biographical details of John DeLorean and his colleagues.

everything you ever wanted to know about the 64 GTO, the answer is probably here somewhere !

Mostly for guys worried about financial future gains of cars, dudes who can't sleep at night because one of the screws on their car is not original.