If the pages of Barn Finds are an accurate guide, Pontiac’s GT-37 is a rare beast. This is only the fourth example we have featured in over a decade, and it is undoubtedly the best. This car’s appeal is heightened by the drivetrain combination, offering performance that eclipses the legendary GTO. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder T.J. for spotting a classic that is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Tiffin, Ohio. You could drive the GT-37 home with an asking price of $44,000 OBO.
Some paint and stripe combinations work better than others, although their appeal is often a matter of personal taste. Take this GT-37’s Cardinal Red paint and Gold stripes. I find the look extremely appealing, but others may not find it particularly attractive. The seller indicates that this Pontiac sports one repaint in its original shade. One indisputable fact is this car’s overall presentation. The paint possesses a depth of color and shine that you could sink into, while the stripes are crisp and clean. There is no evidence of shrinking or checking, and the car’s muscular stance is accentuated by the Rally II wheels. These wear trim rings that weren’t standard fare in 1971, but they could have been a dealer or later addition. The glass is crystal clear, and the chrome sparkles as impressively as the paint.
Pontiac released the T-37 in 1970, attaching that badge to what was previously designated the Tempest Coupe. The GT-37 joined the party as a genuine muscle car that could be ordered with the same drivetrain as the legendary GTO. Buyers not concerned with the cachet of owning the real deal could slip behind the wheel of the next best thing. As a bonus, the GT-37 was typically lighter than an equivalent GOAT, allowing the latest offering to score a narrow victory over the ¼-mile. The first owner equipped this GT-37 with a 400ci V8, a four-speed M22 manual transmission, and power assistance for the steering. The ET of 15 seconds is not too bad, especially when an identical GTO takes 15.2 seconds to complete the same journey. The seller claims that this GT-37 has a genuine 38,000 miles on the clock without mentioning verification. However, they hold a range of documentation that may remove any lingering doubts. It appears that this classic is in excellent health, making flying in and driving home a viable option.
I began to wonder whether this Pontiac would reveal any significant faults, and we must focus on its interior to locate one. The dashpad is cracked above the gauge cluster, with the edges warping as a result. The new owner could attempt a DIY approach to its restoration, throw a cover over it to hide the problem or splash around $650 on a replacement pad. Otherwise, this interior presents acceptably for a driver-grade classic. The Black vinyl upholstered surfaces are in good order, the carpet is clean and free from significant wear, and the headliner looks tidy. It appears that someone has added an under-dash gauge cluster that could be easily removed, but I’d retain it as cheap insurance to monitor the health of that beautiful V8.
The 1971 Pontiac GT-37 is an oft-overlooked member of the muscle car world. The company produced 6,589 examples in 1971, with 718 buyers ticking the box for the 400ci V8. Those featuring a 455 are rarer, but you won’t see one of these classics on the road very often. The seller’s price is well above the market average, but do you feel it is justified for a car that offers better performance than a legendary GTO?
Why wasn’t this model more popular ?
No hoodscoops, poor publicity, lower compression in ’71, GTO name?
It was also competing against the Le Mans Sport, which came with the endura front bumper and GTO style hood. There are several GT37 dealer brochures available for viewing through Google, it just seems like they were ignored.
Steve R
Some facts in order, just shows to go nya’ how influential a name came be. Take the moniker “GTO”,,legendary status, a “GT37”? Pfft, please,, but apparently, 5,000 people in 1971, chose the GT37, half as many GTOs sold that year. I read, the GT37 base listed for $2800, a GTO, was almost $3400, and similarly equipped GT37s could cost that much. Only 54 had the 455 GTO motor. It’s a nice car, for sure, but have people really gotten used to paying 10 times the original amount for everything?
I have noticed the same trend. It seems anything reasonably nice has a 5x or 10x price now, even 6 cylinder Swingers. Who would have thought???. Most are just old used cars.
$2800 bucks in 1970 adjusted for the inflation index is a cool $22,776 today. Since the seller wants 44K, this is twice what the adjusted price is. That being said, that is a lot of money. To each their own.
This is a nice Pontiac, and thinking along the lines of what Stan said it seemed like a good idea at least on paper, it should’ve been more popular. But as a kid I remember GTOs, and Lemans were all over the place. But a GT37? I dont ever remember seeing one in real life. Thinking along the lines of Howard I agree, if you went to a Pontiac dealership for a performance car, you were most likely going to for the gusto and by a Goat. Its great that this has been restored and is in such great condition, and definitely a good conversation starter at a Cars and Coffee for sure. I’m with Adam as far as the color and stripe combination it looks right together.
A former boss of mine pulled up to work one day driving one of these. The body shop gave it to him as a loaner car while they were painting his Lincoln.
It’s a nice looking car, but the seller needs to provide documentation for his claims, especially so considering the asking price.
The M22 would be highly unlikely with a 400, but could be easily verified by showing the Protecto plate or with PHS documentation. The air cleaner is the generic dual snorkel unit that was common at swapmeets for decades, it does NOT have anything to do with Ram Air as the seller stated in the ad.
The 400 4spd is nice, a buddy had a 1970 400, 4spd GT37 that he found in Autotrader for $1,000 while looking for an inexpensive V8 4spd American car. He wanted to find a second GT37 and looked at several, most were beat to death, all had 350’s. Most GT37’s were equipped with a 350 2bbl and were far from a performance car, though some people were smart enough to upgrade the drivetrain, like this cars original buyer did.
Steve R
Thinking back to that 72 GT I remarked on the other day – the gent in town with the Quezal gold GT had an M20 with the 400. I was always under the impression that only the 455 got an M22. Could be wrong about that though. Maybe it was possible to order? I do know that the combo of a 400 with a 4 speed is a pretty rare car, no matter which Muncie it has. Nice Pontiac.
An important part of this models existence was INSURANCE. Insurance was taking off at this time and I remember it very well. As a 19 year old owning a 2 year old 69 Judge (Ram Air III, 3 speed) I was feeling the need to sell it and get something more affordable. One of the Twin Cities area many Pontiac dealers, Brookdale Pontiac had at least a half dozen or more of these GT-37’s on their lot. I remember them fairly well as everyone was almost identical. All were 350-2 barrel, dual exhaust, 3 speed cars, power steering and no trim rings. I do not remember the MSRP but maybe it was $2800 or so, but not sure of that. I liked the looks a lot so I did drive one I found it kind of spunky and fun to drive. It was not a true muscle car by any means with the 350 of course. I did not buy one, instead I sold the Judge and bought a 65 GTO saving some insurance money with it being older. I like this example quite a lot and would not mind owning but it’s on the high end price wise to me.
You’re absolutely correct, John. These were an insurance dodge. You got the car that sorta looked like the GTO but it was a little more budget/family friendly. If Pontiac was looking for a real RoadRunner fighter this was probably the light weight low price car they needed, except it didn’t have the presence that the Judge had. I think those seats are from an earlier GTO. Regardless of originality it is a nice ride.
Front seat upholstery pattern doesn’t match that of the back seat, and I don’t believe that either are correct for a 1971 Pontiac A-body if my memory serves me right. The front seat almost appears to have the embossed 1969 GTO “Y” pattern on the backrest.
Just beautiful. 400 ci, buckets and that M22 for the win.
Not a Pontiac guy but I love this one.
I think I remember that lineup of new GT-37’s back in 1971 at Brookdale Pontiac as having bench seats? Its been a long time ago but I think they did. I think they were advertised by the dealer at under $3000? Does that sound right? Did this ad on this car mention PHS documentation? I don’t think it did.
My buddy’s 70 GT37 400 4spd had a bench seat, it was one of the things he liked about it. Whoever ordered it new also included tach and gauges, the car also had manual steering and drum brakes.
Steve R
My memory of the time tells me that this was Pontiac’s anti-RoadRunner, bench seats and all. This one’s documentation would have to be ironclad to let me believe the low mileage, seat swaps – – – and what else – – – befit a low-mileage survivor.
I’m pretty old and remember the T-37 not GT-37 learned sumpin today..
Agree on the ‘T-37’ designation. A couple of years ago I saw one in the CCCA museum. I think the deal with the CCCA was that you could get free storage in exchange for the car being on display. A motley collection of Detroit iron as well as a raft of classics.
What did they do, or delete, to make the GT37 lighter than a GTO? Neat car, more money than I’m willing to spend though.
The “post” model T-37’s were definitely lighter and desired for some of the old nostalgia or showroom stock type racing. I do think there may have been some T-37’s built with 455 H.O.s but it they were, extremely rare if they did.
In S Florida, it seemed the Pontiac dealers spec’d in stock orders with more equipment to provide some differentiation with the Chevy stores down the street. In these years I really lusted over a Firebird Formula 455. But to afford it I’d have to skip everything but AC. A must in S Florida. JM Pontiac had plenty of loaded up Trans Am’s but very few Formulas. They suggested Camaro might fit my budget more closely. On paper maybe but due to the strike there were no SS 396 Camaro’s to be had. The salesman tried talking me into a GTO but it was even more expensive than the Formula. I don’t recall them even mentioning the T-37 as an option but a 455 T-37 would have been highly considered.
Three words why Pontiac offered this car. “High Insurance Rates”! One of these offered the performance of a GTO but was half the price to insure.
I owned a 69 GTO & a 72 Formula 400. With that said both were ordered with various options and deletes. Pontiac had a huge option book and for a price, almost anything is possible from the factory.
I am the owner of this vehicle. I have the original bill of sale with the car, showing factory M22 four-speed and factory ordered 400ci V8. Message me on Facebook Marketplace if you are interested.
That would be good documentation to have and share. That to me adds value to this car. What is the “original bill of sale”? Are you talking window sticker, dealer invoice when sold or perhaps PHS. Any of that would be good.
In June 1971 I bought a GT-37 White on White with Bright Blue stripes, 350 three speed manual with the hood pins, with split dual exhaust tips, off the
showroom floor in Potsdam NY (traded in 65 LeMans). I put 130,000 miles on the car, the top speed 133 (160 speed O meter) still running great, today wished I’d kept it. I sold the car for $650.00to buy a 74 Tan LeMans GT with Tan Vinyl top and black & red stripes. Always wanted a GTO & bought a 66
a while back. Great cars