The Holey Goat’s OG 1970 Pontiac GTO 400ci Engine ~ Can It Be Saved?

For those following the Holey Goat’s resurrection by Pole Barn Garage, this is a long-awaited step —Dalton finally tears into the original, numbers matching 400ci Pontiac V8 out of the abandoned and abused 1970 GTO.

Arguably, most would have signed this engine off when it was initially pulled from the car. All external indicators are that it’s trashed and deteriorated far past the point of being a rebuild candidate after sitting in a Texas desert for decades.

One of the questions that showed up in early segments of the Holey Goat rebuild asked if the engine had any bullet holes in it. The answer is no — none of the shots penetrated the engine compartment. Along the same lines, no rounds hit the chassis, and other than the hundreds and hundreds of holes in the sheet metal, the car is shockingly sound.

False hope is still hope.

Dalton Summitt, Pole Barn Garage

As you might expect, the engine did not come apart easily, but surprisingly showed hints of hope with some expected challenges not being as difficult as anticipated, all while the old mill exercises Dalton’s cache of heavy hammers.

As the engine comes apart, there are indicators that this was a relatively low-mileage engine when it was parked.

Tearing Down The Holey Goat’s Numbers Matching 400ci Engine

Can it be saved? Are any parts salvageable? Watch till the end for surprising results!

Pontiac #13 Cylinder Head Teardown

We tear down the original #13 cylinder heads from Holey Goat’s OG Pontiac 400 engine, install an ACCEL SuperCoil from Holley adding even more style points, and prep the original TH400 transmission to be sent off for rebuild.

Stay Tuned…