Lifestyle

Reunited with a first love - a powerful hot-rod

Posted October 19, 2015 6:00 am

Matt Avery

Paul Lyczak has owned two 1964 Pontiac GTOs - the first one he purchased after returning from Vietnam in 1969, but he had it only one year. His second one he got in March of this year.

Paul Lyczak returned home from serving in Vietnam 1969 and like many returning vets the first order of business was to buy a car.

Before leaving for war, two memorable experiences had him gravitating toward owning one of Pontiac's street bruisers, the GTO.

The first was with a neighbor who lived across the alley from his family's Chicago home.

"He owned a car identical to the one I have now," said Lyczak. "I remember hearing it rumble up and down the street and recall the power it had. It was amazing to say the least."

Not much later a friend of his bought a brand new 1965 goat.

"It was the coolest car ever," said Lyczak. "Pontiac had this reputation for speed and endurance. I wanted one."

He purchased his first GTO, a 1964 example, from Rizza Ford in Riverside. The Azur Aqua coupe packed the 389ci/325hp V8 and a four-speed.

The young man was thrilled about his new ride but his father, not so much. The pair frequently took long road trips to Mercer, Wisconsin, to fish together. "He was skeptical if the used car would make it up there. Of course I said yes, not knowing if it would or wouldn't," chuckles Lyczak.

He convinced his dad the second-hand muscle machine was reliable but another close individual found another fault. The GTO wasn't optioned with AC and Lyczak regularly cruised with the windows down.

"My girlfriend didn't like her hair getting messed up," said Lyczak. To preserve the relationship, he sold the GTO in 1970. A 1970 Impala, optioned with air conditioning, went in its place.

Despite the brevity of the one year of ownership, his love for Pontiac's rolling icon never wavered.

In March 2015 Tom Korbas, a childhood friend and well aware of Lyczak's GTO love, called. He had a lead on a vehicle for sale in Ingleside, California.

"He didn't ask, suggest or recommend. His exact words were, 'Here's your car. Call him and buy it,' " said Lyczak. His buddy's hunch proved right. Lyczak wasted no time in completing the purchase, sight unseen. The GTO was built in Fremont, California, and sold new at Utter Pontiac, in Los Angeles. A highway patrol officer by the name of Marvin Lucky bought it for his wife. Frustrated at finding parts, he sold the car in 1984. A second owner flipped it within a few weeks. The third owner, Mike Radke, oversaw the engine rebuild, which took place in 1996.

Lyczak isn't shy about driving the classic, taking similar trips like he did when he was younger. His favorite times were "revving up and down Ogden" and motoring to such memorable destinations as Top's Big Boy and Duke's. "I'm not shy about pounding the gears, just like I used to," said Lyczak. "Although I don't remember them guzzling this much gas."

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Before Paul Lyczak, now of Schaumburg, went off to war in Vietnam, he remembers admiring his neighbor's 1964 GTO, the same model he acquired this year. "I remember hearing it rumble up and down the street and recall the power it had," he recalls. Photos Courtesy of Matt Avery media

The 1964 GTO's third owner rebuilt the engine in 1996. Paul Lyczak of Schaumburg acquired the classic this year.

Paul Lyczak bought his second 1964 Pontiac GTO sight unseen and has not regretted it.

Lyczak bought his first 1964 GTO used, and kept it only a year because it had no air conditioning.

1964 Pontiac GTO interior.

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