The GTO was the car that started it all – the muscle car craze of the 1960s. By the end of the decade, things were cooling down as insurance companies had gotten wise to how fast these cars could go. And in the early 1970s, they would start getting detuned for fewer emissions and a cleaner environment (?). This ’70 GOAT with a 455 engine and manual transmission was only one car out of the 4% built that way at the beginning of the decade. Covered with dust and located in a garage in Mobile, Alabama, this once Orbit Orange (maybe) GTO is available here on eBay where the bidding has reached $6,600. There is an unmet reserve and if you’re in a hurry to part with your money, there is a Buy It now price of $25,000.

By 1970, the automakers were pulling out all the stops for speed. Chrysler still had the 426 Hemi, Chevy introduced the 454 V8, Ford had a 429, and Pontiac had the 455. Production was off from the 1960s peak of 96,009 units, but the Wide-Track guys still manage to push more than 40,000 GTOs out the door. When paired with the 455 and 4-speed manual transmission, buyers were getting into smaller numbers: only 1,671 GTO coupes were so equipped for 1970.

We don’t know a lot about this car other than it’s been sitting for 15 years. So, if you want to get your hands on some 2006 dust and dirt, this is your car. The engine is not original to this GOAT, with a period-correct late-1969 motor of the same displacement under the hood. There is documentation that comes with the car, but if things have been swapped, then its value has been diminished. It’s strictly a project car and there is no telling what it would take to get it running again.

Most of the Pontiac wears grey primer now, but the owner says it was blue, and yet orange paint is visible in the trunk and the snout. The rear quarter panels along with the fenders have been replaced, suggesting prior rust. The seller tells us there is none around the windows and deck lid and the floors are going to need patching, although we don’t see that much of the interior.

If you were to assign Fair Condition to this car, Hagerty says it’s a $16-17,000 proposition, so the BIN price seems out of line. Restored, it could be a $60-70,000 car as the 455 and 4-speed are worth a premium. Seems like more unknowns than knowns with this one to bid without first doing a personal inspection of what you’re getting into. In the meantime, I wonder what the story is what that 1963 Galaxie 500 convertible that’s sitting next to the GOAT?