For Pontiac fans, model #242 means one thing, the Goat. The designation #242 was given to the GTO after it became its own separate model from the Tempest/Le Mans. This 1971 Pontiac GTO was discovered just days ago in this barn and it has all the correct numbers, including the 242 designation. It has been parked for the past 34 years and is going to need lots work after all these years. The original owner supposedly drove the car into the barn, so hopefully that means the motor is still good. Sadly, it is the 400 instead of the more powerful 455, but it will just have to do! On the plus side, it has the optional 10 bolt rear end and was originally painted in the rare two tone Cameo White and Castilian Bronze combo. Find it here on eBay in Carterville, Georgia.
I still don’t understand HOW you can just park a car for decades??? I just will never understand it. this GTO was probably nice when parked,,hopefully it can be brought back.
Mike,
I believe that’s a question that leaves many scratching their head. There is a 1934 Ford sedan sitting in a garage near my home that’s been there since 1950. The owner is in his eighties. He let me see the car once about 15 years ago but refused to discuss selling it. When he parked it there he was about 23 years old.
Very tempting, I could probably better use and afford the Ford next door! 65-66 galaxie
2 dt hdtp.
Cartersville is about 100 miles from where we live. I wish I had the time to go and check it out.
There are many reasons why someone parks a car. My parents bought a 1966 Bonneville coupe with a 421 tri-power new in 66. By 73 the car had some rust issues, because we lived in Cocoa Beach Florida for a few years. the rear main seal was blown on the engine, and the AC compressor was bad. They drove it into the hay barn on our farm in South Georgia. The plan was to eventually rebuild the car, but life got in the way.
The car sat there up the mid 90’s and deteroriated further from the beach rot that had a good start on the body. Finally a friend was restoring a 65 GTO and bought the car from my folks as a parts car for his Goat. The 421 tri-power was treated to a full rebuild along with the turbo 400 trans. The engine ended up in the GTO. The rest of the car was reduced to parts and junked. The body shell was crushed in 99.
Truth is, in 1981 when this thing was parked, it was just an old car in pretty rough shape. I remember in the late ’70s and early ’80s a bunch of the high school kids were driving around in beat up muscle cars bought cheap. My next door neighbor dated a guy with a Judge. My Dad had a ’66 GTO he bought for $500. A high school buddy had a 2 seater AMX. My brother had a $75 ’67 Mustang. My sister drove a ’68 Javelin. One of my auto shop class mates had an SS396 Chevelle. Another guy had a Buick GS455 ragtop with a huge V-shaped dent in the rear bumper/trunk. There were others but those are the ones I remember well. I lived in a lower middle class neighborhood in a blue collar town.
My point is that this wasn’t worth much when it was parked. Probably due to the front end damage. Of course that doesn’t explain how it sat for so long – most people realized the muscle car values started climbing in the mid to late ’80s. At least it was parked, and not sent to the junkyard. Lots of muscle cars there, either wrecked or rotted out. I remember walking around my local junkyard and pulling all the cool emblems we could find. We had a lot of fun putting 396 emblems on my buddy’s ’72 Corolla, and 440 emblems on another kid’s slant 6 Duster. I still have a Charger flip top gas cap in my stash somewhere.
Like Randy, I was more interested in the ’66 Galaxie when I saw the first pic. I think they are highly under rated, but for full disclosure I have to admit I own a ’65.
– John
Is it just me, or does this seem kinda hillbilly? Looks like the car was dragged brutally through the dirt for a pic. Seller has but a slight grasp on spelling and grammar. OK , that shouldn’t matter, it’s about the car. These were nice cars, in my opinion. However, like GearHead says, when it was put away it really wasn’t a treasure. Good to see stuff like this get literally “dragged” out of barns, but if they don’t come out gently, maybe whatever is left gets worse? Just sayin’
I don’t think the 10 bolt rear end was the big option- it was the 12 bolt posi-traction that was more desirable. IMHO, the 400 was a better motor, especially in Ram Air III or IV configuration, plenty of torque, and for a big block, it would really wind.
10-bolt was standard; it came with the 400s. 12-bolt came with the 455s. Safe-T-Track(“posi-traction”) was optional in either.
BTW, no such thing as a Pontiac “big block” as everything from 326 through 455 had the same outside dimensions.
My reference to “big block” was to note how high it would wind as compared to Chevy’s rat motors– personal experience. Certainly no such thing as a Pontiac small block unless you count the aluminum block Buick 215 in the pre-GTO Tempest.
“IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS”
Um, it sure as hell does.
The car was parked because owner went into the service. I rode around in this car as a teenager, it was an awesome car back then. I even remember the original color. His brother owned the galaxies.
I have to agree, why would someone let them sit for so long? At least if they had good intentions, once they saw that they were not going to be able to restore or repair the car LET IT GO! In the last year since retirement I have started messing with Mopar cars again. I was raised on them and had many unbelievable cars growing up, the best was a 1969 Roadrunner convertible with a strong 383. At the time we never thought about numbers matching but it was all original. Anyway I purchased a 1967 Satellite that is still in the process of restoration and this 1966 Dodge Dart convertible that I found listed in the Hemming catalog. Just happen to notice that it had the same area code as me listed with the ad. Met the lady and found the car had been sitting,in her garage, for 14 years since her husband died but now she needed money for her grand daughter’s college fund. The car is all original, numbers matching with 36,000 miles on it. After replacing the normal mechanical items bad from sitting and the top, this is the car as I bought it. No rust and her husband sent it to be painted and minor restoration done and he passed away before it was complete. I detailed it and color buffed it and have won trophies already at shows. True ‘garage’ find. It gets so much attention. The husband must be smiling down on us.
So many cars seem to get parked somewhere out of sight or simply behind the barn & just left. Hard to understand but especially if they were running when parked. There is an old blue Corvette about 35 miles north that I know has been sitting at least since the early 1970s in the back area of a fruit stand along side the highway. Was under a tarp mostly but could be seen. A friend stopped by many years ago & said the car was not worth restoring but the elderly lady did not seem to want to talk about it. Several of us guys that know about it have always figured that maybe someone, had gone off in the military, maybe Vietnam & never came home, so the family just left it.
I know this is an old listing/post but the two tone paint got my interest up. According to the GTO handbook, two tone paint was only available on the T-37 car and not the GTO. I bet he was talking about the stripe package being white.
Why are you posting 3yr old stories as “Todays Barn Finds”?
The 400 was faster and handle better then the 455. I had a Gt37 with the 400. Love poncho power. This car would have to rebuild out of love because would be way upside down price wise on it.
Bongo, handling would not be noticeably better or worse with 400 vs. 455 of the same year. It’s the same block. Weight difference between them will be negligible.