Everyone wants a GTO these days and you can’t blame them. They are fun cars, but if your budget keeps them out of reach, may I suggest a Bonneville? Sure, it’s a lot bigger and will never garner the same attention, but a quick Bonneville can be had for a lot less dough. You can find them with high-performance versions of Pontiac’s 389 and 421 and even a floor shift four-speed was available! Take this 1964 Bonneville for example. You are getting a 389 Tri-Power equipped machine plus a parts car for $4,500 or less. Try doing that with a first generation GTO.  I dare ya! You can find this project pair here on eBay out of Cleveland, Tennessee. There is one little problem though…

This Boneville has suffered some serious crash damage. It looks like the car was wrapped around a pole or two, so you will want to inspect this one well before committing to it. The seller claims that most of the sheet metal could be transferred over from the parts car, but it looks a little rusty to me. People resurrect beat up GTOs all the time, but the problem with buying the more affordable big brother is that you might be upside down after the restoration. Values are not as high and that is going to limit the desirability of a project like this. It does seem like you are getting a lot here for a couple grand though. The Tri-Power engine has to be worth something and I see lots of trim and parts that could be used to keep another car on the road.