The owner of this 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible says that the car is complete down to the last nut and bolt, but because it has been sitting unused since 1977, it is going to need a full restoration. It appears to be a largely solid car, and once restored, it would make a lovely weekend cruiser. The GTO is located in Morganville, New Jersey, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $15,100, but the reserve hasn’t been met. There are also currently 120 people who are watching the listing.
It appears that the Linden Green GTO is actually a very solid car, with the included photos suggesting that the floors are rust-free. There is some rust visible in the lower body, but none of this is extensive. The worst of this would appear to be in the lower rear quarter panel on the passenger side, but I think that even this could be addressed with patches, rather than complete panel replacement. The original Black top looks like it is in nice condition for its age, although the rear window may require replacement due to the fact that it is quite cloudy. The Rally wheels and all of the trim and chrome appears to be present, although the wheels themselves, along with some of the trim items, will require restoration if perfect presentation is the final goal.
I would love to spend a few days attacking the interior of the Pontiac with some quality cleaning products because I suspect that this would be time well-spent. The dash and pad look good, while the original Parchment interior trim looks really nice for its age. Even the carpet seems to be pretty reasonable, and the only thing that would seem to require attention is the minor deterioration that some of the painted surfaces inside the car exhibit. A few of the chrome trim items are also showing some minor corrosion and pitting, but once again, they could certainly be restored with no real problems.
Opening the hood reveals one of the more unusual features of this particular GTO. For 1967 there had been some shuffling of engines due to the fact that Pontiac no longer had access to such niceties as the Tri-Power option. The previous 389ci V8 was stretched to 400ci and was available in three distinct power outputs. The “Economy” version wore a 2-barrel carburetor and produced 260hp. That is what is fitted to this GTO, and it is backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission. The car also features power steering and power brakes. I don’t believe that the engine has been run since the car was parked back in 1977. However, it does turn freely, while all of the electrical equipment functions as it should. The Pontiac also features a good selection of documentation, and this dates right back to “day one” for the car. The lower output 400 was not a popular choice amongst potential GTO buyers, because it did have a fairly noticeable impact on overall performance. Of the total of 81,722 GTOs built during 1967, only 2,967 buyers chose to equip their car with a 260hp unit.
If this ’67 GTO Convertible is as complete and rust-free as the photos would seem to suggest, then this is a project car that is ripe for restoration. The end result should be a pretty amazing looking car, especially given the color combination that the original owner chose for the vehicle. With good examples of the GTO Convertible consistently selling for figures north of the $60,000 mark, this is a project that would seem to make sound economic sense.
nice it survives……
Looks from the paperwork the car spent some time in Illinois. Everyone has obviously totally forgotten this but cars from this era rusted Fast when used in the salt, and this one’s showing signs of the tinworm. I’d want to inspect the body integrity first. Also, it’s interesting that the IL title was issued in January 1979, when the car was supposedly parked in 1977. Oh well. The market’s saying “nevermind!” GLWTS.
Indeed the market is suggesting values are still strong with vintage cars. I’ve heard countless times over the past several years about the classic car bubble bursting and values dropping but I have yet to witness it. There has been a leveling off to a degree but this GTO is certainly evidence that buyers are still enthusiastic.
This will last as long as the Boomers are still driving and the economy is still good. It’ll be interesting to see what happens after that.
Nice writeup, as usual , Adam, but that looks major rust. If you can see this much I’m sure its worse underneath, as Superdessucke said. Inspection mandatory. Looks complete. Rusty under the hood also. He was right there with the camera, why not take pics of the trunk? Or underbelly?? Good luck to the new owner, Caveat Emptor.
Cheers
GPC
Watch an old movie like The French Connection and look at the cars. You will see cars 3 years old that look rusty. They just did not treat metal like they do now. So this rust we see would be a big concern of mine, especially at the eye watering price this is going to end up at.
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Popeye Doyle!
“What the h*ll are the rocker panels?”
The author glanced over the unusual headrests on a bench seat option, head restraints were still optional in 1967, if these were factory, thats a pretty rare option.
Not a bad starting point for restoration. I’d restore it back to factory original, including the drivetrain. The 2-barrel 389 with the 3-speed auto will provide enough performance for a car that was meant for cruising and not really intended for stop light burnouts. I had a very nice ’69 Torino GT convertible that had the base 302 with a 3-speed manual trans that was peppy enough for top down cruising. If I wanted to go fast, that’s what I had my ’70 Nova SS with an L78 396 for. This GTO convertible would be perfect for just cruising along.
I’ve owned 4 GTOs and 2 were 67s, what exactly is a swivel bench seat??? Never heard that term used.
Superdessucke is right. If you own a valuable classic, you better get your money out of it now and get a driver. Us baby boomer are close to getting out of driving age let alone 550HP driving. I think he is right about the bubble bursting some time in the next few years. Climbing in and out of those muscle cars is not as easy as it was 10 years ago. I would never buy another car, only pickups and SUVs. Only cars I have are classics convertibles, easy to get in.
Nice write-up, Adam. There’s a lot to like about this car, but there’s a lot to question. No undercarriage pictures is a problem. While the interior floors look excellent from above, the rot on the right rear quarter panel and hinted at rot behind the chrome rocker trim requires closer examination. These cars had a tendency to rot in the rear frame by the spring hangers. The firewall on the right side looks questionable. The left door sags a good bit. The bench seat (swivel???) is a value killer (Ma had a 67 LeMans convert with buckets and the wood-grained console…very nice). It needs a top. The front bumper and brackets will need to be remediated. IMHO the Linden green color could not be a worse choice for this car. It’s all there…that’s a plus. This is not one that would be in the $60K class fully restored. A really nice paint job is $20-40K. Rechroming is $10-20K. The starting point for this vehicle has you under water very quickly. Spend more and buy a better version. That’s what the seller did.
One of my personal favorites!! 67 had the best body style in my opinion!! A convertible too!! It’s definitely worth the time you put in it!!!
If I was going to buy and restore a GTO then this would be it.
I do not think price will get to high.
Drive train will keep price down
Rust equals money.
Not a fan of green, but to me it looks decent on this car.
I like the general car, being the “economy” 400, bench seat with folding arm rest, and the white upholstery in a convertible. But I am certain there is going to be a lot more rust than what is showing.
Being from Wisconsin, I can accept some rust. But this might be worse than normal. Would need a very thorough inspection.