By 1973, the insanely popular muscle car era was all but over. The “grandaddy” of the genre was the Pontiac GTO, which saw a sales peak of 96,000 units in 1966 reduced to less than 5,000 in 1973. Always a mid-size, it made one more appearance as a compact in 1974 and then quietly disappeared. This ’73 GOAT looks like an outstanding restoration with lower miles and is offered by a dealer in Milford, Connecticut. The beauty is also available here on eBay for $39,000 OBO. Thanks go to our own Russell Glantz for this bodacious tip!
The 1973 GTO was something of a unicorn in that it wore GM’s new Colonnade styling for only one year. Though the design would stick around through 1977, the GTO would not. And given the lowest production numbers recorded for the car, the ’73 GTO is even rarer than the Ventura-based GOAT of ’74. The seller says this car is one of just 544 produced (per PHS documentation) with a 455 cubic-inch V8, meaning the rest of the run that year had a 400 V8 sitting under the hood.
We think we saw this car here on Barn Finds a couple of years ago but can’t be certain it’s the same vehicle. The description is about the same as is the mileage, but it was in Florida then. It would be safe to assume the car sold a that time and was shipped to New England where no miles were added. Now a dealer has it on the market and a few dollars may have been added for good measure.
This is a well-equipped Poncho that appears to lack for nothing but a new home and to see some road time to flex its muscles (horsepower was down to 250 SAE net by then; that was thanks to environmentally-imposed detuning which we assume is still in place with this restored beast). One odd thing is that the car has a rebuilt title due to a theft recovery some 30 years ago. The color of the paint is Golden Olive, and the interior is red, but it may have once been white (the red looks better!).
Slick looking coupe Dixon.
$4000 1973 dollars is about $30,000 in todays money, not a bad deal for 1973, and a year later probably get it for 1/2 that. Love the manual rolldown windows.
As a teen of the colonade years..i’ll be the heathen here and admit this was my favourite GTO(the purists scowl at me with disdain..datdain..and daotherdain!!! :O ) i just love colonade Pontiacs.
Hey, a GTO is a GTO. I like them ALL, even the 74. Almost ANY V8 can be pepped up at a minimal cost. Hey, a GTO is a GTO. PS, I’m 69 and I have ridden in them all. Sorry but a 73 or a 74 looks better than a new Corvette, Mustang, or whatever else.
I agree!!!
I agree with 454rat!!
Engine compartment looks great…although I’m wondering why the crankcase breather hose is not connected to the air cleaner crankcase filter. The 250hp rating i would say could be advertised rating to avoid insurance issues.
Looks sharp, the first car I ever bought was a ’73 Lemans Coupe in Ascot Silver. Although this one has 105 more cubes, two more barrels, the A/C has been updated, and it has an electric choke. A fun cruiser or burnout machine.
Friend of mine had a ’73 GTO. 400 4 Speed. Very cool
Nice write up Russ. I just love the NACA hood scoops
The 73 was really dealt a blow with the mandate to the ridiculously big front bumpers. That was too bad as the rest of the car was really pretty good. I am a fan of red interiors and it may not be original but looks great with this particular car. I think the 455 engine option ads some definite value to the 73. Too bad Pontiac never did build a real SD-455 GTO.
That Ram Air kit would find its way on to that 455 in a hurry if it was mine even if I had to make 1 up!
Might be a factory 455 car but this one’s NOM, per the seller…
I did not see any reference to a replaced engine.
I did see the rebuilt title due to a theft, though.
I have a confirming email from the dealer. He also has a 400 4spd., now that’s rare…
For the number of $$ he is looking for, he should have been upfront about that NOM. He is going to end up with a pissed off buyer.
Of all ’73-’77 GM Colonades’, it’s a toss-up between Buick’s Century/Regal & Pontiac’s version as to which Division pulled off a more sleek design.
What’s a MUST HAVE w/these impact-bumper cars are the oft-missing filler panels between the bumper & the body.
My old tri-city stomping grounds, this one here is a dream price. A rebuilt title & STILL thinks its worth the asking. Maybe half with a clean title. This one off design wasn’t so desirable, I’d rather have a ’74 then w/ a shaker, 455 & Nova styling.
The 73 Lemans was a unicorn; I loved that rear end styling, and I think it only lasted one year, before it got a little more conservative. We had a 4 door with a 350 when I was a kid. I’d love to find one…
Sometime around 1982 I bought a silver 73 lemans without a motor in it. It had the black bucket seat interior and was a very straight clean car. I paid 100 bucks for it. The only engine I had available was a SBC so I changed frame mounts and used it for a driver. That engine quit on me and in the summer of 83 I bought a 76 chevelle and a 69 pontiac full size as a package deal. I was going to junk the pontiac but decided to fool with it for a bit and the damn thing ran good. My little brother asked it he could have the 73 Lemans and put that motor into it. I said sure and he did. After he got it fixed back up I was sorry then that I gave that car to him. I left the stock wheels on but he put air shocks and 50’s on it, it looked pretty damn good. Sadly it didn’t last him to long, he was a little drunked up and doing donuts with it and hit a sewer drain so hard with the rear he bent the rear axle housing, upon trying to put a different rear into it he couldn’t get the control arms back in place, we looked it over and discovered when it hit the curb it had shoved the frame over a couple of inches. I tell this story with sadness as my little brother is having health issues and his lungs were damaged while undergoing radiation and chemo, it hurts so bad to watch him go through this
This same car was featured on here back in August 2023. I don’t know if it’s the same dealer and it’s just been sitting for that long or what.
This car has had a color change. That is not Golden Olive.That is a pewter color. Golden Olive is a medium green color that was very popular at the time but probably wouldn’t play as well in 2025.
And as some are pointing out, it’s also a salvage title.
Soon after selling my 69 Judge ( somebody should have slapped me upside the head on that one ). I came across a 73 GTO in Desert Sand with Black interior. I thought at first it was going to be a Gold mine. But I soon came to realize the 73 power could not even start to compare to the 69’s HO 400. Although the 73 felt like it handled better in curves . ( left same comment on the Grand Prix when phone jumped pages )