The Replacements, Episode IX: ’64 GTO “Shadow of Light” Gets a Surrogate!

Every now then, for any number of myriad reasons, I decide to remove a particular car from one of my racing fleets and replace it with another one, sending a car into semi-or permanent retirement. When I first profiled the white ’64 GTO named “Shadow of Light,” the lore was that owner-operator Robert “ROTOR” Rotowski had acquired it as a completely original unrestored piece of history and wanted to keep it that way out of reverence for the past, thus leaving it with its original drum brakes, which doesn’t make for a very competitive car on the challenging road course at Drag City! Fast forward about a year, and taking ribbing in the paddock from other drivers about his poor track numbers and inability to keep up appears to have lit a fire under the racer to come up with the scratch (read: time and money) to do what only the most fortunate enthusiasts can: have a “road version” and a “track version” of the same car! The original white “Shadow of Light” still prowls the roads of Wardglenn CA on cruise night, but after a flurry of activity, a second ’64 GTO has been added to the Rotowski garage, and while the original is a time capsule, “Shadow of Light II” is anything but stock!

Although the engine is a date code-correct 389, it has been built to full racing specs; weight was reduced via the installation of Kauffman D-port aluminum heads, and airflow was improved with three BG 2-barrel 250 cfm carbs on a redesigned high-flow aluminum intake manifold, preserving yet modifying the Tri-Power mystique. A set of Crane roller rockers ride atop an insane cam with 236/242 degrees of duration, courtesy of Clay Smith Engineering. An aftermarket wide aluminum radiator and aftermarket water pumps, an MSD Ignition setup, and a compression ratio of 10.5:1 run through a Muncie M22 Rock Crusher completely rebuilt by Jeg’s. Custom made sway bars and Bilstine shocks take care of the wallow, a Chevy 12-bolt Posi takes the abuse getting the power down, and-perhaps most important to “Rotor” Rotowski and his fans – “II” wears a full set of vented disc brakes with 4-piston calipers at the front.

In order for the “show” to match the “go,” Rotowski again nixed the stock look on the paint color in favor of a deep teal, one of the most popular colors on both new cars and customs in 1985. Rumor has it that it’s a Honda color, but when asked, Rotowski just refers to it as “Aquamarine on steroids.” The black interior is completely stock minus the addition of Autometer gauges to keep track of things on the track, and the classic look is finished off with a set of ARE wheels and Hoosier racing rubber.

Rotowski has to get credit for building such an impressive car in what might be record time, giving a demonstration to the claim from PiL’s song “Rise” that “anger is an energy!” The name “Shadow of Light II” perhaps doesn’t make as much obvious sense for a car that is not colored white, but its understood that this is the more capable twin of the original car, and its still a homage to that awesome Bauhaus concert VHS from back in the day! Now its time for “Rotor” to smile back at all the other racers in the paddock and say, “How do you like me now?”