This is actually the car that inspired the Down on the Street series in the first place; it parks in my neighborhood, and every time I passed it I'd say to myself: "Hey, the Jalopnik readers would probably like this car." Then I realized such cars were all over town. But parking is tough in this downtown 'hood, and it's been hard to catch the Goat when it isn't hemmed in by a couple of parallel-parked Sentras and thus unphotographable.
As anyone who knows GTOs can tell you, this car maybe- or even probably- didn't start life as a GTO. Most didn't. But thanks to GM's paperwork system of the 60s, it's just about impossible to tell if you don't have the original build sheet (VINs mean nothing on these cars)- just put the right engine, hood, and emblems on a Tempest and you double the value!
But you know what? As long as you're not trying to buy the thing, who cares? This car's got a genuine 4-speed, and it drives every day. And I tell you what, it sounds mighty good.
The GTO for '68 came with a 350-horse 400 engine... but this car could have a 455... or a 350... or even a 326. The cool (though frustrating) thing about the Pontiac V8 is the easy swappage potential and near-identical external appearance.
This GTO has a lot of rough patches, but the owner has gone with black primer for the bodywork, so it looks all right at a distance. The rear springs are weak, though, which doesn't look so great.
Nice grille emblem! It's gotta be real! Or not.
One of these days I'm going to do a poll in which we all vote on our favorite hood scoops. These would definitely make my personal Top Ten Favorite Hood Scoops list.
It's hard to believe we've been seeing this wing style for nearly 40 years. It was kinda cool... back then. But those Pontiac-emblem-shaped marker lights will still look cool when mesh-tired Pontiacs are driving on the Moon Base.
If I'm being totally honest, I prefer the angular '64-67 GM A-bodies over the bulgy '68-72 ones. But still, this design looks great.
Wait a minute... isn't that bumper supposed to be chrome?