Bill's 1965 GTO convertible comes to Prodigy Customs from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, one of the car cruising and show capitols of the east coast. Bill went all the way to Texas to get this fine specimen of a body, and then took it home before delivering it to us in Orlando, Florida. What has affectionately now known as “BILLY’S GOAT”, had a couple thousand miles on the trailer before it got to us, but it will not be on a trailer much anymore. While promised not to be a trailer queen, Bill wanted a car pretty enough to be a trailer queen but planed to drive it like he stole it. See, Bill is half owner in the coolest new web magazine around, MuscleRides.com, and Muscle Rides is all about badd ass cars THAT ARE DRIVEN! Additionally, it seems Pigeon Forge draws some of the best classics, muscle, rods and customs from all over the country, and Bill felt obligated to do the locals proud.

Plans for the Pro Touring GTO included narrowing the Moser rear (www.Moserengineering.com) and custom mini tubing to accommodate the Monster 345 / 25 / 20 and 255 / 40 / 19 Pirelli rubber. Mounted incredible Forgeline VR3P true 3 piece wheels. The goal was to narrow the chassis and mini tub the car while improving the handling of the car. The big wheel tire combo is required to handle the power from the blown 6.0 liter Magnacharged motor and Twist Machine paddle shifted 4L80E transmission. Street and Performance provided the complete engine and transmission installation kit which made the late model engine swap a breeze. Street and Performance also provided the entire beautiful billet under hood accessories. A custom stainless steel Rick’s Hot Rods fuel tank supplies plenty of fuel to the thirsty beast. A Wilwood 13” / 12” disc brake system with drilled and slotted rotors handles the stopping duties of this thundering heavy weight. QA1 adjustable coil over shocks at all 4 corners Keep the GTO riding and handling great.

Inside we choose to do a two tone red and Dove Grey leatherette interior to match the two tone exterior. Seating is upgraded to 2001 Olds Aurora intergraded seat belt, full power buckets. Wally Riggs sewed up the custom seat covers incorporating the retro 45 degree angled pleats in the seats being careful to pay respect to the original cars heritage. Custom embroidered headrest let the world know that this is THE “Pro Touring GTO”. Continuing to pay respect to the cars original heritage while adding a modern twist, we had Wabbits Woodworks do some custom silver carbon fiber to replace the original cast chrome interior trim. The silver carbon fiber is very Pontiac-ish in the fact that it kind of resembles the infamous disco dash from the popular mid 70s T/As, but with a modern flare. The IDidIt polished aluminum column and custom Wabbits carbon fiber steering wheel finish off the interior detail. A black cloth Mercedes type material top looks killer and gives the car a very formal look on the rare occasion in the top is up. This is one convertible that really looks just as good with the top up, as it does with the top down.

The body on the car was really fantastic for a car 40 years old. The outer body maintained 100% virgin sheet metal, and appeared to have been painted only once over original paint. It is not often we get a chance to work on bodies so nice. A little floor work common in convertibles was necessary, but all in all, a great body to start with. The Torch Red and Sebring Silver exterior are separated by a Sunset Orange stripe and graphic to give the car a updated paint design that should be timeless. A nice little detail on the exterior of the GTO is the custom Pro Tour GTO fender badges made in the original style and size, with just different lettering. Again, paying respect to the first Muscle car, the great GTO.

As with many of our projects, Kris Horton got the call for the renderings. As you can see the car matches the rendering perfectly. In fact, often times, the rendering is confused as a picture.

Billy’s Goat has been a hugely popular car on the 2006 show and cruise circuit. Bill is probably one of the most personable guys on the planet; and everyone just loves the Pro Tour GTO. After a sucseesful 2005 SEMA debut as Twist Machines feature vehicle, Popular Hot Rodding Magazine immediately after the show selcted Billy’s Goat for a full magazine feature. Billy’s Goat was in the March 2006 issue PHR including the cover, centerfold, and 6 full pages. After SEAM, there was no rest for the GTO as the GTO made the trip to the Turkey Run in Daytona Beach for some fun in the sun and cruising. In April the Goat showed up at the Year One Experience and was selected for a interview with Bill and his Goat for My Classic Car. After the interview, the Bill was spotted on the famous Road Atlanta road course wearing the ole GTO out! Not one to let the Goat sleep much, In May Bill then made the 700 mile drive from Pigeon Forge to Orlando for the start of the Hot Rod Power Tour. After completing the 1400 mile Power Tour, at the end of the Tour Hot Rod magazine needed a car to go to New York City to be featured on Fox and Friends morning show. Billy’s Goat was selected to represent Hot Rod magazine to be 1 of 3 representatives of the Power Tour. Considering the other 2 cars belonged to event sponsors, and Billy’s car was the only participant’s car chosen, we considered this quite a honor. At the end of the trip, Bill had logged nearly 3000 miles on the Goat in just 10 days or so. As I said, it was built to be driven! Most recently, Bill received another honor he is very proud of. Remember when I said Bill wanted to build a car to make the locals proud? Well, Pigeon Forge has a little event called The Grand Run which brings 10,000 of the coolest rides in the country out to play. Billy’s Goat was picked as the tee shirt car for The 2006 Grand Run, and was on special display for the entire show. Bill hasn’t said so, but I think in Good ole Tennessee, this probably meant more to him then all the other accolades.

The tour for the GTO is by no means over. Bill plans to do even more events in 2007. And if you see Bill and his goat, say hey.