Numbers Matching Project: 1967 Pontiac GTO

The Pontiac GTO is often credited with starting the muscle car movement of the 1960s. Though some folks think that honor should go to the Chrysler Letter Series cars of the 1950s. At any rate, the GTO was hugely successful and enjoyed its second-best year in 1967 when the seller’s convertible was built. Numbers matching, this project doesn’t currently run or stop, but did not long ago. Located in Perham, Minnesota, this ragtop GOAT is available here on eBay where the opening bid of $9,000 is uncast, and a reserve lies north of there. But the BIN price is $15,000.

Pontiac treated the GTO to a styling update in 1966, so the changes in 1967 were minimal. The taillights were different, but otherwise it’s hard (to me) to tell them apart. The 389 cubic inch V8 was gone in favor of a 400, and Tri-Power carburetion had also been retired. After a record sales year of nearly 97,000 units in 1966, production dropped a bit to under 82,000 in 1967, but the GTO was still the market leader. About 9,500 convertibles were assembled, of which maybe 5,000 had an automatic transmission like this one.

We’re told this ’67 drop-top is very complete and its powertrain is original. The odometer reads 15,000 miles, so we assume it’s on its second time around (remember when cars did that?). The transmission is all there, including the “His and Hers” shifter. The engine will fire, but that’s as far as it goes right now (it ran before when it was a “lot driver”). It will roll but does not stop on its own. The vehicle is rust,y and the seller says the frame is shot and will have to be replaced.

Some attempts were made previously to fix the rust, and the job was poorly done with patches. However, the car will come with PHS documentation (Pontiac Historical Society) to confirm it’s a real GOAT and not a LeMans in lion’s clothing (the VIN takes care of that). The interior is pretty rough and looks original, although the top isn’t bad and may have been replaced more recently. If you can get past the frame issue, would you restore this GTO?