The muscle car movement of the 1960s reached a plateau in 1970, including the Pontiac GTO. Sales were tapering off due to higher insurance premiums (and later, higher gas prices). Pontiac built fewer than 4,000 GTO convertibles that year, so any that are still around today are probably in relatively small numbers. This one has been in a garage since 1983 and looks to be a project that went off-track some time ago. Though not rusty, it’s also not complete and is missing an engine and transmission among other things. Located in Mansfield, Ohio, this project Poncho is available here on eBay where the opening bid of $20,000 has yet to be cast.
According to the photo of the hood, this GTO had Ram Air when new (if the original hood). The production MSRP doesn’t mention Ram Air, but a 400 with an automatic transmission and Ram Air only saw 127 copies assembled that year. So that would make this a rare find. But the engine and tranny are long gone. The reported mileage is under 16,000 as verified by the title. But the condition of the car suggests a lot more use.
It left the factory wearing Verdoro Green paint, but that was changed to black later and time has not been good to it or the convertible top. While there is lots of surface rust, the seller (the owner’s father?) is adamant that there is no rot, and the sheet metal is all solid. The only reported exception is the trunk lid which was leaked on over time. The car was kept on stands to prevent bending or sagging (long-term storage was anticipated?).
The interior has been removed and no mention is made of whether any of it is around to go with the sale. The options list included factory air conditioning, but if the engine took flight then it’s likely that hardware did, too. The sticker price in 1970 was about $4,600, which would barely make a dent as a down payment today for an SUV or some other new vehicle. We assume the seller is clearing out his/her father’s stuff, and yet we’re told “it doesn’t need to go anywhere” which implies this is not a fire sale.
Wow….that’s all I got here!
Yep….for a convert that’s a pretty clean chassie…..not sure about the 3sp claim unless he thinking 3sp auto that’s what the report says…..does it have a dash…..let the comments roll…
About 45 min from me, in case anyone wants me to go give it a look….
Well, since you’re offering, GP…
Maybe you could drive by and throw a brick at it?
The GTO hood is the same for Ram Air and non-Ram Air cars. Non-Ram Air cars had a solid bolt on insert while Ram Air cars had an insert with a flap that led to some ducting attached to the bottom of the hood that sealed to a Ram Air specific air cleaner assembly. The decals on this hood we’re available through Pontiac for decades then through restoration suppliers after that, in fact there are several OE and reproduction sets currently on eBay starting at $20. This hood also has a cut out for a hood tach and has a rear Judge style wing, neither of which are shown on the copies of the factory paperwork.
Steve R
Ram Air Hoods are different from Non Ram Air Hoods. The frame under the hood by the scoops is cut out different for the open air scoops and pan to attach to. Check the prices for hoods for sale for a ram air hood versus a non ram air hood too.
Thanks for correcting my mistake. I should have said decals aren’t proof, but the documentation shown in the ad is.
Steve R
3 speed automatic trans = Turbo 400 which was pretty much standard for a 400 engine back then for Pontiac. Never heard of a Turbo 350 behind a 400 engine. Turbo 400 stood the abuse and power of the 400 engine better than a Turbo 350.
I’d love to buy it but that is still alot of money for a roller that needs about everything. Don’t even know if there are any interior bits to include. If the buy in wasn’t so steep, maybe give it a go.
Pancho Villa save your money
Nothing like taking a hose to the interior of a car to rinse down the dirt, but not wash the exterior so you can see it better.
Maybe he thought that the water would be good for the rust?
If it’s a wagon or a grandville i always think the same thing……….Uhhh it’s 1970….what no 455??? I see a wagon with a 350 or 400 and I think someone already harvested the Big Poncho.
Rare or not, it needs everything and will never be a numbers matching car. $20,000 is too much in my opinion. I’m thinking $10k might be more reasonable and even that might be too much. Seller says no rot and minimal rust, but the photos of the chassis look pretty crusty to me.
I agree that it is too much money to pay for a car that needs everything from the inside out.if you don’t do the work yourself you are looking in the neighborhood of a 100000 grand to look where it should look.will you be able to get your money back and I say maybe in another 15 to 20 years.
looks like this is what’s left of a “parts car”. Agree too much needed, even at $10K it just needs too much work and too many parts. Does it even have an engine?
10 thousand is fair if clear title, about 30 plus thousand more to make it a driver…. pass
This indeed appears to be a very solid 70 convert. The biggest problem is the lack of everything. Someone installed a 12 Chevy rear under it, which was standard with the 455 option, but from my memory, the 12 bolt was not available as an RPO. $20k? Maybe, if you had a spare interior, engine and trans laying around…
Does every barn have a “rare” car in it these days?
I guess this is an “I know what I got” listing. I know it is a “rare” GTO, but it really isn’t because it is no longer a GTO. It is just a Pontiac shell that needs to be dissassembled, repaired and repainted before you even consider updating the suspension or finding all the parts you need. By the time you are done, you would probably have spent more on this than you would have on a scratch built Chevelle, Camaro or Firebird using a reproducton body shell. Now, if you wanted to do a full-blown resto-mod with a custom interior, crate engine, updated suspension, etc., this might be a good candidate, but you can buy a running LeMans for about the same money and some would consider doing that with this car blasphemy. This, or a brand new shell for $15k. Not the same but still….