Club Clips: May 30, 2019 Edition

Worthy Goat takes spotlight in GTO club magazine 

Wow! I thought the 1964 GTO was bounding into my lap when I received Vol. 36, No. 10 of The Legend, publication of the GTO Association of America (editor Tom Szymczyk). In glorious color and with its grille level with my eyes, the GTO appeared ready to lunge off the cover.

Dave Kroop is the owner. He owns two 1964 GTOs. Conveying the story about one purchase can be interesting, but this story also tells how he andhis wife gained a second GTO.

Kroop was nearly 21 years old when the GTO hardtop bug bit. He was among the fortunate and realized his dream almost immediately. It was a $3,281.57 purchase, dated May 22, 1964, with a bunch of extras that Kroop wanted. His first challenge was to tame the car’s thirst for oil, which extended beyond the break-in period. Not every car is perfect, and Kroop discovered that principle: “The dealer ended up replacing one head and a new short block due to factory defects,” he said. Then came another adjustment. “I eventually got the ’64 deluxe spinner hubcaps and gave up on the red line tires as they wore out easily from normal driving.”

There was more trouble with tires, then “a slew of starter motors and a radiator replacement.” But once committed, well, an owner sticks with it, especially if the car is adored. When Kroop finally replaced it with a 1977 Nova, the “Goat” was showing typical signs of rust and other wear. The GTO ended up becoming a street racer. But the dream stuck with Kroop and he began to look again in 2014.

The article stretches four pages with a plethora of color photos and text conveying the improvements made on his current GTO, the magnificent-looking cover car. What is intriguing about the article is how readers gain a sense of mortality for cars, whether new or old. Eventually, the ravages of time and elements often take a toll. Collectors learn to live with that precept to a degree and try to still the hands of time by taking care of their cars. Old or new, cars need that. They always have.

GTO Association of America
P.O. Box 213
4324 Dixon St.
Timnath, CO80547