The last Pontiac powered GTO was built in 1974. It was built on the Ventura/Nova body and was powered by a Pontiac 350 cubic inch engine. This example is a 4 speed in very nice condition. It was purchased from the brother of the original owner. The car is located near Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin and listed here on Craigslist. The seller is asking $25,900 and the listing has been up for about 2 weeks. The seller states that the car was in storage for 15 years. We appreciate Rocco B. for sending us this listing.
The interior has been significantly personalized with tufted seats, dash, headliner and rear seats. The white is bold and bright in contrast to the red exterior. I wonder how appealing this “period correct” modified interior is to a buyer today. A big plus to this car is its 4 speed transmission which you can see in this picture along with three pedals under the dash. The seller states that the car has 75,000 original miles and just replaced the tires, fluids, valve cover gasket, shocks and battery cables. Also the fuel system, cooling system and brake system has been serviced with many parts replaced.
Pontiac changed the body style for the last three years of the GTO. In 1972, it was on the A-body (1968-1972). In 1973, they introduced it on the Colonnade body and in 1974, they moved it to the lightweight X body platform. As shown above, Pontiac added the Trans Am shaker scoop to the 1974 GTO. The 350 cubic inch V8 was rated at 200 horsepower. This particular car has a number of options and the seller included the build sheet showing bucket seats, 4 speed transmission, AM radio, power steering and power brakes among many other options.
This GTO rides on aftermarket chrome wheels and tires. Pontiac produced the GTO from 1964 to 1974 and it is widely credited as the first true muscle car. Pontiac revived the GTO nameplate using the Australian-built Holden from 2003 to 2006. However, the last year for a Pontiac powered GTO was 1974 and only 7,058 were produced. The build sheet shows an MSRP over $4,000.
350 and 4sp should have a smile š on the new owners face. White shift knob, matches the interior. Nice Ventura GTO here BJ.
Very nice last year ( original Pontiac version) GTO. $4000 is worth $26,000 today. Think about it.. Where are you going to find any kind of performance car for that kind of money today???? I know the 350 is not a 389 Tri Power or a 400 or a 455. But….. This Ventura ( Nova based) car is relatively light. In 1974 I would think its would be relatively quick. I still ponder iver Pontiac shoe horning a hot 400 or 455 from the factory in these. That would have been awesome. Very nice example here.
Could’ve created a missle š w that years top Trans Am motor Dave.
No shoehorning required. Same block. It’ll bolt right in.
My thoughts, exactly. Would make a great sleeper!
I had an Oldsmobile Omega in this body style. The 455 indeed bolted right in, but I had to remove the A/C evaporator (big plastic housing on the passenger side) to get the engine to fit due to the width of the 455. It was a definite fast car when it was done and sorted. I should have just built up the Rocket 350 the car came with. I think it would have been a better overall car if I had done that.
To answer your question, Ecoboost Mustang’s aren’t that much more. Low 13’s at a bit over 100 and great handling.
Cool Poncho, my second car was a ’74 Ventura 350/3 spd.
That interior is hideous.
Yes it is. There are a lot of personalized choices, interior and paint color, made that will limit the cars appeal beyond it being a 1974 GTO. Iād also be concerned about rust based on it spending its life in the upper Midwest. The 4spd is definitely a selling point, but there are a lot of choices in its price range. The black 71 GTO featured in this site a few days ago sold for $36,000, itās more expensive, but is a better value.
Steve R
This is not a GTO to anyone who was around in the 60s.
Looks like the inside of a casket
7.6:1 compression? That’s aircooled VW territory. Never realized an American V8 went so low.
They were light cars and as such still ran very respectable quarter mile times. I believe they were close to original 64 GTO ETs.
They were light cars and as such still ran very respectable quarter mile times. I believe they were close to original 64 GTO ETs.
Hot Rod magazine road test says it ran 15.72.
Steve R
Oh…and needs more diamond tuck.
And cowbell!
Always love the Cragars, hate the terrible interior!
I had a buddy who’s parents were divorced and well off, his dad bought him a 74 GTO for his 16th birthday. Dad also gave him $ for wheels and tires and misc. he bought headers and exhaust for it as well. I remember how heartbroken he was when his dad wouldn’t let him install them because it voided the warranty.
I also broke his heart when we came to a stop on I 29 and ran our 1/4, he couldn’t shine a light for me in my 67 SS 350 Camaro.
GOOD TIMES!!!!!!
Those were the best of times.
If we could only go back.
Very nice GTO! To much white on the interior. Being a auto tech I would get it dirty to fast. Still a very nice 4-speed GTO of that era!
O k Young fellows. Let’s get the interior correct. It’s DIAMOND PLETE !!
BUTTON TUFTED !!
OR TUCK AND ROLE!!
I’m just.
An old school guy.!!
Yeah I would lose the diamond pleat from the door panels. Interesting car from an era that most of us would rather forget.
Wow I didn’t see all the pictures. Bordello style, dashboard and headliner too?
Looks like a pretty decent re-paint. Same color as factory?
I love that body style. My mom had a Nova sedan 350 automatic and it wasn’t good on snow. It had too much power for slippery conditions. You’d stop at a stop sign and the rear wheels would still be trying to spin. Dad turned the idle down until it hardly ran and it still did that. I’ve been a confessed car nut since a kid and never had a car that did that since. I agree, the interior isn’t my thing but it would be an easy winter project to change back to stock. Interior kits plentiful for those. I do love that car!
Interior kits for these aren’t as plentiful as you might think. It’d have to be GTO specific, because the Novas had upholstery on the seats and carpet on the floor, all the rest of the interior was hard plastic. I think I’ve seen new 74 Nova door panels for sale, but they are pretty pricey. I agree it looks like a nice car at a fair price, somebody gonna get a good ‘un!
I’ve owned a lot of GTO’s over the years but never a 74 and I have always kind of wanted one. I was also a big Nova fan so that did not hurt either. Could you imagine if Pontiac had given us a 455 SD 1974 GTO?? Actually the 74 was never given enough credit as it did run very close to the original 64. Nice car for sure but the interior does not work for me personally. Pretty well equipped car. Someone will enjoy this car.
I like Cragar SS wheels on most cars. They seem out of place here. (Just personal taste I guess) The interior is just too much. Upholstery school project??
If it were mine It would have a hot 455 SD in it and the car would be lowered a little. Will the small early Nova bumpers work on this?
One thing that isn’t mentioned in discussion is that they certified that one year shaker hood. Crash testing and durability testing for a low production car. Nice looking GTO.
i feel they will be hard pressed to pull 30k from this sale with the mods especially with the Tiajuana style interior. it would cost a lot of cash to return it to the more appealing factory style.
I am like the rest, at a fan of the interior. The biggest thing that bothered me is the hole in the left rear frame, and covering up the rest of the frame so you canāt see how thick it really is. Also a little confused on the four speed it seems like on the sheet. It was highlighted for a three speed. really sweet ride though., and yes, the 389 or 400 trip power would be super and easy
I always liked that Pontiac front end treatment over the Nova for the 73-74. A case of black SEM vinyl spray dye would do wonders for the interior. Then release the pressure in the front 5 mph bumper shocks to bring that bumper in 3-4″ and weld it to clean up the ugly overhang, for openers.
Too bad they didn’t offer the 455 in this year GTO. It would of have been pretty responsive!!
They should have offered the Olds 455 in an 73 or 74 Omega. Hell, they put fatblocks in the Nova so….
Iām a lifelong Pontiac fan / owner, but far from a purist, and Iāve always liked these cars in original, or slightly warmed over day 2 form.
Butā¦this one is a perfect example of how you can ruin the value of a collector car by ācustomizingā it. Useable interior panels for these cars are very difficult to find, so it would be quite a challenge to restore. And the ācandy appleā paint will be expensive to correct too. Hopefully the owner is willing to drop the price considerably if they really want to sell it. Canāt imagine it bringing much over 15 grand, if that, but who knows?
True but kind of a sad story, back in the late 70s a friend had the same car but red in color, he had a drinking problem and one day his girl friends dad told her she could not see him till she was 18, well he took it hard and got drunk, hit a telephone pole which totaled the GTO but thankfully didn’t hurt him to bad, so he called into work to tell them and they fired him, all in the same day! He is still around but he and the girl he loved never got back together.
Some people are calling it a Ventura GTO. Why? First time I have ever heard it called a Ventura. Why does it just say GTO on the fenders. Should it also say Ventura GTO. I have never heard a 68 or 69 called a Tempest GTO. New stuff to me.
When Pontiac co-opted the Nova body style to create a mid-size car (at that time), they named it the Pontiac Ventura. At one point they decided to make it a GTO. Some people refer to it as the Ventura GTO to distinguish it from the LeMans body GTO.
For 1974 the GTO was an option on the Ventura. GTO was a stand alone model only for 1966-71. For 1964-65 it was an option package on the Tempest LeMans, and for 1972-73 it was an option on the LeMans.