SW, I can tell you from experience, who ever put that GTO back together knew their stuff. I have a 70 GTO vert, and let me tell you, I've never seen as many moving parts on a front clip (hood, fenders, endura, lower valence, etc.) as a 70 GTO. I had four Uncles who worked at the GM Lakewood plant where the GTO's, GS's, and Super Sport Chevelles (and bus chassis) were built.
I remember visiting the plant on "Orbit Orange" day, and as a ten year old, it was quite a sight to see up close.I had no idea I was looking at some really expensive cars (in future terms). I remember my Uncle Gordon's station, after all the fenders and hood and lower valence had been hung loosely, along with the endura bumper. His station was where all the stuff got it's final alignment. Here's the clincher. The tool they used to measure tolerances and gaps in the endura to fender, hood and lower valence was a business card. It had to slide tightly between all the joints, They could bust one through in about 25 seconds, with two other guys putting the final lock down on all the bolts holding that front end together. It looked like they were doing a well coordinated dance. It's quite a great memory.
The reason I say all that is I rarely see one with all it's joints fitting as tight as yours does. Especially on a Orbit Orange car. Great find and yes, auto RAIII cars did indeed come with 10 bolts. They are tough as a two dollar steak. I've owned a few GTO's and Judges and that's one component I never had an issue with, regardless of the burnouts I threw at it.
Great find. Looking forward to how you "SW" it up.
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Jim
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