(Words by Olivia Scaffidi: Photos by Houston Kilby) Badass. The first word that came to mind when I stumbled across this amazing pro-street build while scrolling through Facebook. Builder, Houston Kilby, is a hot rodding and racing enthusiast from Johnson City, Tennessee. He has been working on his 1966 Pontiac GTO known as the “FULL METAL GOAT” for three years now and has been involved in racing his whole life. He first began drag racing at only 9 years old in a junior dragster and eventually moved on to building his own hot rods.

What makes this pro-street even more amazing is the fact that it is a true garage build. From welding the chassis, to stretching the wheel wells and installing the tubs, Kilby has invested countless weekends toward completing the project and his dedication to building the car on his own is something to be commended.

“This build from front to back has been a learning experience. I worked alongside Blaine Kilby, one of the best chassis builders, and learned how to bend chrome moly tubing and Tig weld. Blaine showed me the ropes so I could then apply everything I learned to my own project,” Kilby explains. “The hardest part of the build by far was learning how to Tig weld the chassis. It took six months of practice before I was good enough to weld up my own chassis.”

Under the hood of this beast, you’ll find a massive 698 cubic-inch F3-136 ProCharged Big Chief engine. “I decided to go with the best ProCharger engine builder in the country, so I spoke to Steve Morris and his team 3 years ago when I began the FULL METAL GOAT project. They helped me work out a plan with the motor I already have to piece it together.” The Big Chief engine is coupled to a TH400 transmission with Gear Vendors overdrive. Kilby wanted a car that was flexible for all street-car style racing events and also intends on driving the GTO on the road.

“The car does get some negative attention in the Pontiac world because of the type of motor that’s in it. With a set of Pontiac Big Chief cylinder heads on top of a Merlin IV block it creates a lot of controversy amongst Pontiac purists,” he explains. “On the positive side, the car gets a lot love from most of the car groups I am part of on Facebook. People have been really supportive and I cannot thank them enough.”

The pro-street Pontiac won’t be quite ready to hit the streets for at least another year, as the car is still waiting on a number of parts. In the meantime, you can stay up to date with Kilby’s progress on the FULL METAL GOAT by subscribing to his YouTube channel. His videos detail how he assembled certain components and he provides valuable tips and tricks for anyone building a pro-street car of their own. “You cannot buy cool, you have to build it!” Kilby says. Spoken like a true hot-rodder.