The Pontiac GTO was the leader of the pack when it came to 1960s muscle cars. But demand for the genre was declining by the end of the decade, and most of them faded away as the 1970s wore on. 1974 was the last year for the storied GTO, and it was a one-year-only iteration of the Ventura compact (rather than the LeMans intermediate). The seller has one with a transplanted 400 cubic inch V8 and needs some cosmetic TLC. Located in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this Poncho is available here on eBay, where the opening bid of $10,000 has yet to be cast (and there’s no reserve).
This GTO rode on the Ventura platform, which was the same as the Chevy Nova. A Pontiac 350 cubic inch V8 was standard, but the one in this car is gone, and a 400 has been substituted. No mention is made of any upgrades other than Ram Air induction, but new parts include the carburetor, brakes, and some suspension pieces. A front-end alignment is needed due to the latter, and the gauges will need to be hooked up. The car runs well, but the odometer reading of 21,000 miles is likely optimistic.
Most of the ’74 GTOs we’ve seen here on Barn Finds have been red in color. This one is white with minimal rust and a red interior to contrast the exterior. Aftermarket wheels have been added to complement the ‘70s muscle look. We suspect a respray of the white may be needed, but if you only plan to use the car occasionally, will things suffice as they sit?
We’re told this GTO originated in Florida, where it was garage-kept much of the time. I always thought this version of the GTO was overlooked because it departed from its original design. But the Ventura version is lighter and, when new, this GTO should have at least performed as well as a Chevy Nova SS. Just over 7,000 of these were produced before Pontiac threw in the towel.
Little GT,,Little GT,,,( music skipping and fading), it only shows to go, what can happen in 10 years. I happen to like this car, only because I liked the “Nova” types, and it does still resemble what a GTO was all about, big V8 in a small car, but it was clear, time was running out, and was a different world. Obviously, to me, it’s 121K, but not in a bad way. Someone drove this regularly, just not in winter, thank goodness. It’s a great find, I do believe a car like this will endure the future specifically because of those 3 letters, G,T and O. Not because they know what a ’64 GTO actually meant, but if interested in this car, they at least know a GTO meant something special, and it was.
First, I want to address the constant complaint that “this isn’t a real GTO”. Well folks, by 1974, the world was a different place, and we were starting to realize that unshackled power comes at a cost. The Ventura GTO was a great compromise. Novas with larger engines from the same era appeal to all but the muscle car snobs, and there’s no reason these shouldn’t as well.
That said, this particular model (outside of needing a good cleaning…. why don’t sellers clean their cars?) has its issues. It appears that the passenger door and the hood don’t line up. (There are no shots of the driver’s side door.) However, since there is no reserve, if one could get it for a little over $10k, it’s not a bad buy.
The only thing that would keep me from buying it is the red, white and blue color scheme. It wasn’t even 1976 yet, and this annoying marketing scheme was already in full swing. This car in black would look awesome.
Trans Ams in black were already becoming popular by this time and shortly thereafter were soo common that they almost became a cliche: personally I wouldn’t go with black for that reason. On the other hand I could see removing the red and blue pinstripping on this car and replacing them with a set blue racing stripes down the center line of the body as an homage to the original white TA’s, which for my money were the best looking of the Firebirds.
My two cents anyway,…
IMHO the ’74 GTO looks especially striking in black. Strange then that black wasn’t one of the officially available paint colors. The only way to get it was via special order.
I like these type of GTO. I knew someone who had one. Black on black modified 350 4 speed 3:73 gears. It was very fast and loud.. This one should have gotten detail and clean up on the inside. I always believe if your selling your ride presentation makes all the difference on selling. That carpet is disgusting. 10 mins to vacuum. I guess people don’t care. It’s a shame the AC was rip out. It’s going to cost some coin to replace. Well good luck to the next owner. 🇺🇸🐻
I consider it a real GTO,they came with a V8,had upgraded suspension bits etc.Remember..the previous GTO’s were just glorified Tempests and LeMans,so why the hate for a glorified Ventura?I always liked these and felt they were the peak of that platform.
That “Little GTO” has potential. Yep, it’s going to cost you some more investment after the initial purchase price but that could turn out to be a truly bad little monster.
Nice GTO here just needs cleaning up. To bad the A/C parts are missing .
Even in 350 form these we no slouch.
I like everything about this and I do consider this a real GTO! What’s there not to like about it. If this was its cousin Niva with a 400ci engine in it I think a lot of people would be drooling but because of the GTO name, people frown. Consider the car for what it is, I think it’s pretty peppy. I do like the color scheme as typically you see this year GTO in red many times. Too bad it doesn’t have the hatchback or a manual transmission, but I like it as is and it looks like it’s in decent shape and should give lots of smiles per mile!
Anyone remember the chase scene in “The Seven-Up’s” with Roy Scheider in the Ventura chasing the bad guys in the Grand Ville? That was a bad little car even if it wasn’t a GTO!
I remember it well. I had 72 Ventura, and it made me cringe!
Love that movie and one of the better chase scenes and what an end of the chase with the truck driver that Roy Scheider plowed into lifting the windshield off of him to find him alive on the floor of that Ventura.
cool poncho needing TLC. i would want to be in for where it is now but not too much more than that.
I always preferred these to the Nova SS. The front and the rear taillight lens treatment were nicer on the Pontiac. Real GTO? That’s up to the buyer. I consider it a real GTO. In high school a friend had one of these in a dark copper color. A beauty. I also don’t understand taking out the AC. If it needs a wheel alignment, do it before listing it. Also vacuum and detail the car. A little effort shows it was cared for and it presents a lot better.
I always preferred the 71/72 Ventura taillights to these later “slit” taillights.
I also like the 74 GTO quite a bit better than the 73-74 Nova SS and the bumpers were less ugly on the GTO over the SS. Performance wise the GTO was no slouch by any means with the 350. Not noticeably slower than the 400’s were. I don’t know where this one goes price wise with its marginal presentation but GOOD 74’s are topping $30K recently and even a little more. This is not one of them, but it has potential.
“No mention is made of any upgrades other than Ram Air induction…”
FYI the shaker was functional from the factory on the 1974 GTO, so Ram Air was standard, not an upgrade.
We had three in my little town. All from the graduating class of ’90. Joes was a maroon hatch back. All stock original 350. Mine was a maroon/white parts car for the other two and my 69 Nova (400sbc/400th) Third one was exactly this paint scheme, with black interior. Kary traded his 67 Firebird (326/ auto) ” the bondo puppy bird” 😂 for it. It had 400bbp/400th, would hop pop bottles at stop lights. Would imagine it had 4:10s to do that? Soo Frankie gets it’s, blows the rear end, enter my parts car. Put the 3:55 posi in it, my Nova already had one. Promptly blows the motor and replaced it with a 455 from a 71 Goat. Say what you will about the Nova Goats until you have driven one. Remember that no one, not even the girls, were running stock vehicles. Mags, Intakes, headers and cams were standard upgrades as soon as you could afford them. Thinking Kary got the 70 fastback ‘Stang after that. I went to 71/72 Goats ,LeMans, T37, Frank got a 71 split bumper that was built 327 demon and Joe got a 73? Charger. Remember no one drove stock and no one drove 55 mph then.
4 days left and no bids! If this was a 4 speed I bet there would be plenty by now! Only if the seller did a complete detail there would be some bids. I truly believe it. 🇺🇸🐻
Enjoy the summer Big Bear 🇺🇸 👍
Thanks…You to Stan! 🇺🇸🐻
Had two brothers in my hometown. One bought a 74′ Nova SS in yellow, and the other bought a 74′ GTO in white. He quickly had it painted red. To me, the GTO just looked better. The TA hood scope looked great and something about the grill and tail panel helped make those 5 mph bumper blend in better. The Novas bumpers looked like they were bleachers.
2006 gto beats them all!
Except in the looks department