Ringbrothers, the Wisconsin shop known for widebody restomods, has put 5,500 hours into a 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible nicknamed Billie. The finished car makes 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque from a supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8, against a maximum of 360 horsepower for original GTO convertibles. It debuted at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
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5,500 hours on a 1965 GTO convertible called Billie
Carscoops put the labor at almost 230 days of effort, and Motor1 called the project more than 5,500 hours. Both describe a car commissioned as a tribute: the owner’s mother once had a GTO, and Billie is the rebuilt echo of it. Motor1 says Ringbrothers began with a Pontiac Tempest convertible and finished it in a custom shade called Billie Goat Blue, mixed with BASF Glasurit paint.
Brad Anderson’s Carscoops report on Nov. 3 supplies the 5,500-hour figure and the family connection. Motor1’s account, published Nov. 2 by Anthony Alaniz, names the car and credits its photos to Ringbrothers. Neither outlet links a shop press release, and the builder’s own site still showed Octavia, a 1971 DBS, Kingpin, a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, and Invadr, a 1987 Grand National, with no GTO listed. The hours figure therefore rests on the two trade reports.
Jim Ring, identified by Motor1 as a Ringbrothers co-founder, described the main design problem: “The challenge was widening the body five inches without losing the proportions that make a ’65 GTO so recognizable.” The shop reshaped the front fenders, lengthened the rocker panels and widened the rear quarters. Carbon fiber handles the hood, which has an enlarged scoop with functional vents, plus the front wheel tubs, the lower front valance and the rear diffuser. A one-piece billet aluminum panel carries the taillights. Carscoops adds a new front grille, a unique rear bumper and door skins redesigned in carbon fiber and steel, while Motor1 lists custom bumpers and reworked headlight surrounds. Billet aluminum also appears on parts of the hood. The list is long enough that almost every exterior panel was touched, not just widened.
A supercharged LT4 from Wegner Motorsports
The power comes from an LT4 crate engine supplied by Wegner Motorsports, rated at 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft. Against the 360 horsepower of a new GTO convertible, that is close to 1.8 times the output. A Bowler Performance 10L90E automatic sends it to the rear wheels, and Motor1 adds a custom exhaust built with Flowmaster parts.
Wegner Automotive, which has built engines since 1975 and mainly serves LS and LT owners, has worked with Ringbrothers before: its site describes a custom Whipple-supercharged 416 LS3 rated at 1,000 horsepower for the shop’s 1969 Camaro G-Code build. The company’s page does not list LT4 crate engines by name, so the Billie engine sourcing rests on Carscoops and Motor1.
Underneath sits a Roadster Shop Fast Track Stage III chassis with Fox coilovers, custom 1.25-inch sway bars, C7 Corvette end links and custom upper and lower front control arms. Six-piston Brembo brakes sit at each end. Roadster Shop’s site describes the Fast Track line as fully boxed, hand-fabricated frame rails for 1958-64 Chevrolets and lists no Stage III tier, so that designation is Carscoops’ wording. Staggered 19-inch and 20-inch HRE wheels wear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, 295/35 in front and 345/30 behind.
Dashboard four inches forward: the cabin and the show stage
Inside, the dashboard was moved four inches forward and lowered two inches. Upholstery Unlimited wrapped the leather, the speaker grilles were 3D printed, and the original radio was modified to take Bluetooth. The shifter is a modified coffee-machine portafilter, and Dynamat deadens the cabin. Motor1 adds Dakota Digital instruments, Vintage Air climate controls and a plaque on the dash reading “Raised by Ringbrothers.”
Ringbrothers has a long record at the show. Carscoops covered its 2017 pickup, Clem 101, a rusted 1954 Ford F-100 rebuilt as a 1956-style restomod with a 415-horsepower Coyote V8, a seven-inch stretch in the wheelbase and 19-inch and 20-inch HRE wheels, and noted it was the first time the company had unveiled a pickup at SEMA. Nine years later Billie carries a rating more than 50 percent higher than that truck’s. Nothing in either report on the GTO gives a lap time, a quarter-mile figure or any other measured result, so the 650 horsepower is a rating rather than a tested number.
The reveal came at the SEMA Show, which runs Nov. 3 to 6, 2026, at the Las Vegas Convention Center and is trade-only except on Friday, Nov. 6.
Carscoops and Motor1 give no price, and neither says whether the car will be sold or kept by its owner. Ring’s quote about the five-inch widening is the only statement from the shop in either report, and Ringbrothers’ own account of the 5,500 hours has not been published where it can be read.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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