Milt Schornack and the Royal Bobcat GTOs

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About the Book

The original muscle car, the Royal Bobcat GTO was the baby of a burgeoning Detroit subculture, one not sanctioned by the big automakers of the early 1960s. In a post–World War II America hungry for chrome, flash and speed, Royal Pontiac in Royal Oak, Michigan, modified and sold its souped-up versions of GTOs to customers, and in the process created a demand for custom street racers in America. Founded by Ace Wilson, the Royal name became synonymous with speed.
This book outlines the history of the Royal Bobcat GTO, from the people—including Milt Schornack, the mechanic who raced for Royal Pontiac and was responsible for the custom Bobcats—to the fabled midnight test runs on northern Detroit’s famous Woodward Avenue. Fourteen chapters, illustrated with 25 photographs of vintage GTOs, the infamous Car & Driver road test photos against a Ferrari GTO, and more, chronicle the history of a car that changed the focus of the Detroit auto industry for the next decade. Former editor-in-chief of Hot Rod Magazine Ro McGonegal contributes a foreword.

About the Author(s)

Writer Keith J. MacDonald lives in Palm Bay, Florida. Milt Schornack lives in Macomb, Michigan.

Bibliographic Details

Keith J. MacDonald with Milt Schornack
Foreword by Ro McGonegal
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 208
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2387-3
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments      vi
Foreword by Ro McGonegal      1
Preface      5
Introduction: Michigan Nights      9

1. The Pre-Royal Days      15
2. The Beginning—1963      25
3. Lil’ GTO—1964      35
4. Those Royal Bobcats—1965      46
5. The Royal Racing Team—1966      70
6. Down Shifting the Momentum—1967      104
7. It’s Not Easy Being Green—1968      125
8. Heat on the Street: Woodward Avenue’s High-Octane Burn—1969      143
9. An Era Concludes—1970–71
10. The Truth about Ram Air      178
11. Lil’ GTO: Redux      183
12. The Return of the Project Cars      192

Index      197

Book Reviews & Awards

“entertaining and worthwhile reading”—SAH Journal; “well-rounded”—Culpepper Star Exponent.