What a difference a year can make! The apex of the muscle car movement occurred in ’70 but things started to unravel in ’71. The combination of performance car insurance premium surcharges and the Clean Air Act conspired to take the razor’s edge off of performance and dull things up a bit. GM, in particular, took a horsepower haircut on almost all of their ’71 models due to lower compression ratios that would comply with low lead or no lead fuel usage. All was not lost, of course, but the handwriting was on the wall. Today’s find, a fabulous-looking 1971 Pontiac GTO is a case in point. It’s not much changed from its ’70 predecessor in appearance but HP did take a hit. No worries. The enterprising owner of this Goat has taken care of that matter – more to follow. Interested acquirers will find this beautiful Tin Indian soaking up the sun in Saint Johns, Florida where it’s available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $55,000.
GTO production for ’71 was a bit light with just 10,532 rolling off of GM assembly lines. Specifically, a two-door hardtop, equipped with a 400 CI V8 engine and an automatic transmission, such as our subject car, accounted for a bit over half of that total, registering 6,421 copies. This GTO comes well equipped with $1,651 worth of options on top of a base price of $3,588, including shipping (those were the days!)
OK, clarification time. This GTO is not a judge despite it wearing the jurist’s side stripes and rear spoiler. The seller does assure us, however, that this is a genuine 242 model (GTO). The spoiler was an option and a previous owner applied the eyebrows. The finish is Quezal Gold, a very popular shade in ’71, and I can tell you, it’s perfect. I recently spied this car at a local show and it had nary a gnat poop marring its rich, deep finish. This is an air inlet-equipped (RPO 34U) model and the hood and front bumper are where the primary differences exist between this ’71 and its ’70 predecessor. Rounding out all of this visual goodness are the optional hood-positioned tachometer and honeycomb wheels.
Let’s talk power. The base engine for ’71 was a 300-gross HP 400 CI V8, down 50 HP from the prior year. The big delta is the result of a compression ratio drop to 8.2:1 from 1970’s 10.25:1. No worries, the owner has jacked the squeeze back up by swapping out the smog cylinder heads for a pair of 1968 vintage WS #16 heads. But wait, there’s more! Ram Air exhaust manifolds assist with deep exhaling while roller-tipped rockers smoothen out the valve action. Moving rearward, we find a Turbo-Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission that has been treated to a 2300 RPM stall torque converter with an added shift kit to provide shifting crispness, and some bark, to the rear wheels. Speaking of the rear wheels, they’re attached to a heavy-duty Chevrolet twelve-bolt axle that is spun by a set of 3.42:1 gears hitched up to a limited slip carrier. The seller adds that this Poncho has only experienced 3,000 miles of use since the top-end rebuild and the axle upgrade were facilitated.
As goes the exterior, so does the interior – it’s perfect. The upholstery is typical fawn-hued Morrokide vinyl covering bucket seats. Optional equipment includes a center console, Formula steering wheel, Rally gauge cluster, AM/FM stereo radio, and cold original style Frigidaire A/C.
The seller tells us that this GTO came in third place in a recent GTOAA (GTO Owners Association of America) National judging contest and he suggests that his car “needs nothing“. Based on my observations, I would have to agree. There’s the best and then there’s the rest – this 1971 Pontiac is definitely in the former category. If anyone is looking for additional details regarding this fine specimen, ask via the comment section and I’ll try to get you an answer.
Amazing. Good write up J.O . This one w the autoloader would seem perfect sans the rear wing for $89. The massaged motor and stall kit are nice bonus. Must really move out . Beautiful Poncho.
Nice car,but I still think that’s one of the ugliest
front ends ever made.
At least the earlier ones had style.
I love the look of this GTO, except for the wing. It stands in its own merit without one, the graphics aren’t necessary either, but they look good on their own accord.
The Ram Air air cleaner is a natural fit, it looks at home in both the GTO and Firebird Formula.
The rear end probably isn’t a 12 bolt, the seller never mentions what rear end is in the car, only the gear ratio. The 12 bolt only came on 455 equipped cars and 3.42 gears were never offered with that rear end by the factory, only through aftermarket suppliers, while it was available as an option for the 8.5 10 bolt.
Steve R
It is a twelve bolt, I know the owner. He installed the current gear set and I have physically seen it with my own eyes.
JO
Thank you for the reply.
Steve R
IMHO, the best looking GTO. In one of the best colors. The added performance items only make this one more desirable.
I found a 71 GTO here on Barn Finds just over a year ago. It had no engine and the seller showed what looked like a 4-speed sitting in the trunk. The car had been painted white and had some rust, but overall was not too bad. The car was located in Rapid City SD, a long 1,000 mile drive. I paid $4,000 but was not happy that the transmission was only a 3 speed, the seller did not take pics of the shifter side. After I got home I paid PHS their fee to get a list of options. Turns out my car is one of 11 Judges that year with a 3 speed. Thanks to Barn Finds, great deals are still out there…
Last year for the GTO convertible, only 661 made in 1971.
What in God’s name are Ram Air exhaust manifolds?
They were longer, swept back for low restriction, rather than the standard log style exhaust manifold. If you want to see what they look like you can use Google.
Steve R
Almost as ugly as a Colonnade model, imo.
This is a nice GTO with some nice mild custom touches. While not correct, I like the additions and some of them I’d do myself if I ever happen to find my brother’s old blue/blue ’71 GTO.
FYI the official-looking window sticker is not the real deal, but a modern item that you can order online and have it say what you want. While some of the items added to this GTO were available optionally from Pontiac as either factory or dealer installed, others were not. For example, the “rear deck spoiler”(actually called the “airfoil, decklid’) was a dealer-installed accessory. It was factory standard on the GTO Judge and optional on the LeMans T-37, but not on the non-Judge GTO. The hood tach and rally gauges were both factory options, but not available together. The hood air inlet(aka ram air induction) was standard on the Judge and optional on the non-Judge GTO, but only with the 455 HO engine.
In addition to the 3-color stripes(as opposed to the Code D98 2-color stripes that were optional on the GTO), blacked out grilles and black painted hood air inlets, all nicely borrowed from the Judge, this car sports a front spoiler. While a front spoiler did come on some 1970 GTO Judges, it was not optionally available in any year. This car also has incorrect but attractive 1972 crosshair parking lights. Personally I’d lose the incorrect air cleaner lid engine call-out stickers but otherwise this is a super sharp GTO that would be a joy to cruise in.
Sorry Steve. The ram air manifolds are short but have individual ports and the ones your thinking of are the longbranch manifolds with individual ports and original 2.25 collectors, i have a repop made by Ram air with the 2.5 collectors. The long branch was pattern after the super duty for in a small kinda way
I’ve owned a 67HO ram air goat 4speed car and was a second owner that had 32,000 miles when I bought. Black on black, reclining passenger seat with headrests, 8 track, wood wheel ,rear defrost fan.
As the former owner of both a 69 and 70 GTO, which are the best looking I think, I still liked the 71. I like the long snout on the hood. If you can find a 71 with a 455 HO and 4 speed, that’s the one to have, unless you have hundreds of thousands and can find one of 17 GTO Judge convertibles built for 71 model year. Pontiacs of this era had far superior interior quality in contrast to Chevy. Those Morrikide seat covers wore like iron. When I bought my 70 in 1986, they were still perfect.