WHERE TO START

"A Tribute to Jim Wangers' 1964 GTO 'Test Car' built for Car and Driver March 1964"

CHAPTER 2

Greg Raymond

Where do you even begin when contemplating a “Tribute to Jim Wangers” recreation of the lost pilot car used in the Car and Driver March 1964 road test? Before anything else, you have to dismiss the idea of finding a PHS‑documented GTO to sacrifice. Values of authentic, documented GTOs have reached a point where modifying one, especially for a tribute build, borders on sacrilege. The irreversible changes required would almost certainly diminish the value of any genuine example.

As the owner of an original 1964 Pontiac GTO convertible, ordered new by my father in December 1963 and delivered in April 1964, I’m firmly opposed to converting any Tempest or Le Mans into a GTO with the intention of passing it off as the real thing.

My father’s 1964 Pontiac GTO Convertible, featured in the 2018 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.

With that said, building a tribute car with complete transparency and honesty about the mission at hand opened the door to an unexpected opportunity, one that practically landed in my lap. Longtime SDPOCI member Terry Saunders contacted me several times over the years, hoping to sell his 1964 Pontiac LeMans 2 Door Sport Coupe. I always encouraged him to finish the 25 year project he had poured so much of himself into. But in early 2023, after purchasing a new home, Terry reached out again. He needed the car, and every carefully bagged, tagged, and cataloged part, to be moved on to the next caretaker. That’s when I finally agreed.

Terry had invested hundreds of hours into the car. He had stripped off roughly 90% of its original components. A stout 389 sat on a stand beside the LeMans, ready to breathe life back into the Pontiac. It was clear he had envisioned something special. Now it was time to get this car back on the road, and what better purpose than to resurrect Jim Wangers’ long lost pilot car… the legendary “Blue Car.”

The photos below, taken in 1999 as Terry began dismantling the LeMans, show a car that looks far worse than it truly was. Decades of layered paint created a frightening first impression, but underneath, the Pontiac was remarkably well preserved. In a future chapters, we’ll take a closer look at the metal work and preparation that created the perfect foundation for the Nocturne Blue finish of “The Blue Car.”

I also owe credit to my long time colleague and friend Dave Anderson. I had the privilege of working alongside Dave for nearly twenty years on projects for both Jim Wangers and Art Fitzpatrick. While attending the 33rd Annual All Pontiac Show in Fullerton, CA in May 2023, I shared my plan to build a Royal Bobcat. Dave didn’t hesitate: “Greg, you gotta build the blue car. It’s gone.” He was absolutely right. And just like that, the mission shifted. Thanks, Dave.

A few days of heavy lifting later, the 1964 LeMans Sport Coupe was on a trailer and the keys were in my hand. Before touching paint or bodywork, the first task was determining the most accurate engine configuration. That sparked plenty of debate. With no PHS documentation for the pilot car and very little surviving information, I reached out to the sharpest minds in the Pontiac community and pieced together the most logical, evidence‑based direction.

Car and Driver March '64

Starting with the Car and Driver Article:

The magazine described two nearly identical test cars, one with manual steering and metallic brake linings “The Red Car”, and the other with power steering “The Blue Car”. Both were driven hard, with the manual‑steering car accumulating over 3,000 miles and the power‑steering car roughly 500. The article also stated plainly: “Our test cars were Bobcats.”

“This was the most exhaustive and thorough road test we have ever done. We used two nearly-identical cars, the diff erences being that one car had the shorter ratio manual steering [The Red Car] while the other had power [The Blue Car]; the manual steering car was also equipped with metallic brake linings. We drove our two cars unmercifully. One was driven from Detroit to New York City, used for ten days by every member of the staff , then driven from New York to Daytona Beach, Florida carrying the managing editor, his wife, and three active children. This car - the manual steering, metallic brake version [The Red Car] was driven over 3000 miles. The other car [The Blue Car] was driven about 500. We ran dozens of acceleration tests on the two cars, plus many, many laps of the Daytona International Raceway’s tri-oval and road circuit.” “Our test cars were Bobcats.”

Glory Days April 2003

In Jim Wangers Glory Days:

Wangers recalled supplying two GTOs, one of them a pilot‑line car with no production VIN, painted Nocturne Blue and equipped with a 348‑hp Tri‑Power, wide‑ratio 4‑speed, and 3.55 Safe‑T‑Track.

“We agreed to supply two Pontiac GTO’s, one a stock Sports Coupe with standard suspension, a 348 horsepower Tri-Power engine, a wide-ratio 4-speed gearbox, and a limited-slip 3.55:1 rear end. We chose to use a “pilot line car,” thus it had no production VIN number. That car, known as “The Blue Car” since it was painted Nocturne Blue.”

From Those Who Know the Most:

Debate ranged from whether the “The Blue Car” retained a stock 389 Tri Power to whether it received a 421 from Royal Pontiac or even whether it might have been a 4 barrel car. After interviewing the remaining experts and cross referencing every known detail, we settled on a build plan that blends documented fact with the most reasonable assumptions.

Tenney fairchild reports: "Jim also told us he sent the blue car to Car and Driver in NY (pre Ann Arbor era), for them to drive around locally and then down to FLA.  Another reason he said the Blue Car didn’t get a 421, because if they blew it up … busted.  Which is also why it towed the Red Car home - couldn’t exactly stop at dealer to effect repairs."

Given the Royal Bobcat badging visible in the Car and Driver photos, the Royal Pontiac license plate frame, and the fact that the pilot car was assembled just 11 miles from Ace Wilson’s Royal Pontiac, it’s almost certain the Blue Car made multiple trips to Royal before its December 1963 journey to Florida.