If you could rewind the clock to 1967 and you walked into a Pontiac dealership with money burning a hole in your pocket, this GTO was about as good as it got. The original owner ticked many of the best boxes on the Order Form, including fitting the car with the firebreathing 400ci “HO” V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission. The GTO is now a sad sight, but it is a classic that still manages to produce a surprise or two for potential buyers. It seems that the current owner might have more projects than he knows what to do with, so he has listed this one for sale here on eBay. It is located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the bidding has sailed past the reserve to sit at $6,575.

I suspect that this GTO has led a life of adventure, with the panels and paint showing the ravages of time. The original owner ordered the car finished in Signet Gold with a Black vinyl top. Both features are now a distant memory, although you can see traces of the original paint in several locations. The panels have copped a few dings and dents, and a couple of them are beauties. The driver’s door and rocker are probably the worst, but the owner includes replacements for both to help get the restoration ball rolling. The passenger side rear quarter panel is also pretty bad, but with replacement skins available for around $200, this shouldn’t present a huge challenge for the buyer. Some of the trim and chrome could be salvaged, but the buyer will probably need to compile a long list of replacement parts if the exterior is to present at its best. They will need to add a windshield because while most of the Soft Ray tinted glass looks good, the windshield is badly cracked. We’ve now reached the point where we need to consider the question of rust issues. I’ve tried to save the best until last because the news appears to be pretty positive. The panels and rockers look remarkably clean, but the floors and trunk pan are the stars of the show. Both carry some significant surface corrosion, and the GTO will probably require a trip to a media blaster. However, I can’t spot any significant penetrating rust, which could mean that the only cutting and welding required on this Pontiac is to address the exterior dings and dents. It is worth noting that the freshly restored Rally wheels that the car rolls on aren’t included in the sale. The owner has a set of replacements to go on the car, but these aren’t holding air. The successful bidder could take away the Rally wheels and new tires, but they will add a further $1,000 to the sale price.

The “nose-up” attitude in the exterior shots has probably given you a clue as to how things look under the hood of the GTO. Sadly, there is nothing in the engine bay but a lot of fresh air. This is a shame because the drivetrain was something pretty special. The original owner ordered the car with the 400ci “HO” V8 that churned out an incredible 360hp. He chose to hook a 4-speed manual transmission to this brute, which fed all of those horses to a 3.55 Safe-T-Track rear end. He also selected the Ride & Handling Package, which brought improved springs and shock along with a stabilizer bar. There was no questioning this classic’s performance credential because it would’ve been capable of blitzing the ¼ mile in 14.2 seconds. With the engine and transmission now a distant memory, this Pontiac can never be a numbers-matching classic. However, this fact hasn’t deterred potential buyers because forty bids have already been submitted on this GTO.

When the original owner ordered this Pontiac, he didn’t focus solely on its performance potential. He looked long and hard at the Order Sheet and then wielded his pen to make the interior pretty special. He started by specifying Parchment vinyl trim and then added bucket seats, a console, the Rally Gauge Cluster and tachometer, sports steering wheel, remote outside mirror, door edge guards, a vanity mirror, and a pushbutton AM radio with rear speaker. That would’ve made this interior a pleasant place to clock up the miles, but once again, things have gone downhill over the past 54-years. It appears that some of those original features, like the driver’s mirror, gauge cluster, and radio, are intact. However, the console is missing, and the trim and upholstery have deteriorated beyond help. This interior will require a total restoration, and the buyer will need to choose how they would tackle this. The easiest and most cost-effective solution would be to secure a trim kit because these will include everything required to return the interior to its best. Depending on the supplier, these can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $2,600. I know that some readers aren’t fans of these kits because they aren’t genuine Pontiac components and that they undermine the car’s originality. I understand that sentiment, and there are many cases where I would support that stance entirely. I will say that since this GTO can never be numbers-matching, it also means that it can also never be 100% original. In that case, I believe that the buyer would be justified in choosing non-genuine trim.

When the Pontiac GTO first appeared on the market in 1964, it set the benchmark by which future muscle cars would be measured. In the ensuing years, these 1st Generation examples have become revered, which is reflected in their performance in the classic market. Today, you will struggle to find a good numbers-matching example for under $50,000, while a meticulously restored example with the same drivetrain configuration that this one possessed could threaten six-figure territory on a good day. This one can never be numbers-matching, but there is no reason why a buyer couldn’t recapture its former glory with a date-coded engine and transmission. I hope somebody does because this car doesn’t deserve to be left in its current state.