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30 Years In Storage: 1968 Pontiac GTO

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Properly looking like it’s just waking up (see the droopy eyes!) after a long nap, that’s exactly what’s happened to this 1968 Pontiac GTO after having been stored for 30 years. It’s located in Olathe, Kansas and is offered for sale here on eBay, where bidding has quickly climbed to almost $7,000 but the reserve hasn’t been met yet.

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Unfortunately, we aren’t told anything else about the car’s history–it would be nice to know why it was stored for so long, and why it was taken off the road in the first place. The seller tells us that the vehicle is numbers matching and only has 66,631 original miles. They also state that there is “very little surface rust in spots.” I wish we had seen some of those spots in the pictures to be able to evaluate things. It looks pretty nice in the pictures, although I can’t say that the Primavera Beige paint is the color I’d choose.

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This GTO is outfitted with the Endura front bumper (standard), those droopy hidden headlights, air conditioning, power brakes and power steering. The rally wheels are original as well. 1968 was the first year for these fastback A-bodies from Pontiac, and the GTO was named “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend. This example is one of 87,684 sold this year, although I’m guessing there weren’t that many that were this well-optioned.

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There’s a little bit of wear on the outside of the driver’s seat, but in general it looks really nice. The ad states leather seats, but that would surprise me; I think they are vinyl. I wasn’t able to find any reference to original leather interiors for this year GTO — can any Pontiac experts enlighten me?

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Underhood doesn’t look bad at all! This is a original four-barrel equipped 400 cubic inch V8 coupled to an automatic transmission. What we don’t know is does it currently run? It’s not clear if the seller has gone through the “wake up” process or if you will be doing that; obviously some very important questions! Are any of you interested enough in this find to ask them? Let us know!

Comments

  1. Avatar racer99

    Looks like alternator is spinning in the engine pictures although it never really says the car runs and/or drives. The options section in the ad says the car “Was Born With ….” which leaves the exact detail of it’s current state of equipment to the imagination (example being the missing a/c compressor). The car’s been hit in the front so I’d really like a look underneath the front bumper and behind the bent front valence to make sure the structure isn’t all mushed, the headlight mechanism is intact and overall to make sure the repaint isn’t hiding some demons (note the fresh paint on the inner fenders and the upper core support, the bent lower valence, the peeling paint off the front nose, and the mis-aligned headlight doors). These are great cars that are fun to drive, pretty sturdy, and make all the right noises. As long as this isn’t hiding some mortal sins under it’s nice paint the price looks very attractive at this point.

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    • Avatar Glen

      I don’t see where it has been hit anywhere, did I miss something? The bumper is plastic, the paint won’t last.

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      • Avatar dj

        It hasn’t been wrecked from what I can tell. The valances were like that when people couldn’t park right. And the paint is worn off the Endura bumper. It’s a nice car with factory air.

        Like 1
      • Avatar racer99

        Glen, the wear pattern on the front bumper is different from what I’ve seen from these normally as they age — it looks like a poor quality and/or older repaint over a replacement or different color bumper. The lower valence is bent on the passenger’s side and the front inner fenders and upper core support and attached parts are new or have been resprayed. The drooping front headlight covers may, or may not be associated with some form of mechanical damage. Those issues along with no underside pictures would lead me to believe it’s been hit in the front at some time in it’s life (if you look at the seller’s other listing it does show underside pics so you have to wonder if it’s a honest omission or not). I’ve inspected a couple of these for clients where the front end structure was pretty beat up but the exterior gaps, etc., looked OK.

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      • Avatar Glen

        Thanks for your responses.

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  2. Avatar Slim Chance

    Hurst “Dual Gate” shifter. Fun from back in the day!
    No leather in these cars.

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  3. Avatar Doug M. (West Coast)

    I had one of these, same year, but dark green. Was a really solid car, though not really fast for all the GTO hype. But I do remember there was this switch on the stereo called “Reverb” which would delay the sound in the back speakers just a bit and give this tin-can or tunnel sound effect. It will be fun to see where this price ends up.

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  4. Avatar Gary K

    My older sister and her husband back in ’68 as newlyweds & just starting out bought a 68 GTO dark green and the white or I think parchment interior fully loaded, I remember well what a beautiful car that was. Prior to the purchase my future Brother- in- law sold off a beautiful silver ’62 Corvette for I think $1200, he needed a down payment for the GTO. They had a lot of good years with the car but I wonder if he thinks he would like to have that or the Corvette back today.?

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  5. Avatar JW

    I had a 400 in a 70 GTO and yes they are not that fast but if this was a 400 H.O. that would be a different story all together. I hate the Enduro bumpers myself, give me chrome anyday. This car is just across the Missouri / Kansas state line from me, maybe a hour away.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Glen

    The engine is definitely running, the fan and alternator are both spinning. It appears to be a very nice car.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Greg

    It’s ENDURA not ENDURO.

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    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      Fixed — thanks!

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    • Avatar leiniedude Member

      Still wrong in the ad, LOL!

      Like 0
  8. Avatar JW454

    All that and an extra 200 dollars for a “title fee”. That is just B.S. It’s a huge amount but, how can it cost that much to transfer a title?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Rando

      If the “title fee” is like what a dealer in NC calls “doc fees”, then IF they charge the fee for the dealership, they HAVE to charge it by law possibly. I ran into this working for a state agency buying training motorcycles. Every bike we bought had to have the”doc fees” included. Any “discount” had to come from somewhere else. At least that’s what all the dealers told me. I could be wrong…

      Like 0
      • Avatar racer99

        Here in GA what used to labeled as “doc fees” has been outlawed as many of the dealers were advertising prices for vehicles and then adding exorbitant doc fees on top (some were way over $500) and not disclosing them until actually putting the final paperwork in front of the buyers. Much of that moved over into “title fees” or other buckets that have to be disclosed in advertising or when you post sale prices on vehicles. Rando is correct that legally (at least here in GA) that the fees are supposed to cover costs and it’s frowned upon to alter or discount the fees for specific transactions. The $200 fee is not abnormal here.

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  9. Avatar Jack

    No leather, it was called Morokkide Vinyl.

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    • Avatar Jack

      *Edit* “Morrokide Vinyl”
      Sometimes also called Expanded Morrokide Vinyl
      After a little research, I did see that the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix offered a special option of leather interior though…?

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Chebby

    Generally hate beige paint, but it looks great here.

    I’d re-dye the carpet and drive it!

    Like 0

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