Virginia may be for lovers, but if your amorous predilections are of a more automotive nature, today Nice Price or Crack Pipe has a classic Pontiac from Florida that the seller claims will let you get your freak on.
Love was not a noun that could have been associated with yesterday's Thessaloniki-sourced Citroen, and in fact the vote tuned into a Greek tragedy as the tiny flat twin-powered truck was unable to pull away fast enough from a decisive 61% Crack Pipe drubbing.
While that trans-national conveyance failed to find favor at nearly five grand, perhaps today's contender – which, with an Italian name and American personality, is also an amalgam of cultures – will do so at more than five times the price.
Pontiac didn't invent the muscle car with the GTO - that distinction goes to the Oldsmobile with the '49 Rocket 88. After that, everything from Chrysler 300-Cs to 283 fuelie Shoeboxes from Chevy mated high performance motors and lightweight (for the time) bodies. Pontiac wasn't even the first during the golden age of the genus in the sixties as Ford had been stuffing big blocks into their mid-sizers for a couple of years prior to its birth. But for some reason it was the GTO that defined the category, and its origin story of flouting GM's no-racing cars mandate only serves to elevate its bad-boy rep.
This 1969 GTO is described as for GTO lovers (emphasis on the plural as it does sport dual exhausts, grrrrr-owl) and represents from the second year of the second generation, which was also the final one to ride on the A-body platform. The design of GM's mid size cars of that era carried the most exaggerated definition of the coke-bottle look applied by any manufacturer, creating an unbroken transition from roof to rear fender, and creating a wasp waist that was the envy of every girdle-wearer regardless of gender. Up front, this GTO carries the hidden headlight option which makes the car look like the impetus for the monsters in Pitch Black.
Sporting the "economy" 400-cid engine under its hood-mounted tach, the GTO is much the same car as the Ram Air, but unlike that car – as well as Judges and 455 H.O.s – these models can be purchased at non-astronomical prices, and hence may still be driven for enjoyment. The 350 old school horsepower the engine puts out would be pretty enjoyable, and the long-throw 4-speed cogger will only add to that. The car comes with a posi rear end and the seller claims that that, along with the rest of the underpinnings, have been recently rebuilt.
Also refreshed is the carousel red paint and much of the interior. Despite the resto work, it's claimed to be a numbers-matching car, which is something brand aficionados and Rainman appreciate. The seller also claims that it might be a "brass hat" car based on the special-order color, but lots of people throw that designation around and there's really no evidence that this car is of such extraction.
Mileage is listed in the ad at 999,999 which is kind of a dick move, but with a lot of parts replaced, it becomes a little less of an issue. What might be an issue however is the price. The Jacksonville Jags lover has set the Buy It Now price for this object of a GTO fan's affections at $26,750. You might be saying to yourself, hell, for that I could get me one of them thar' new GTOs and that's a heck of a better car! If you are saying that, you should pick that Aussie GTO over its American ancestor. You should also probably go back to reading Consumer Reports so you'll know which enema bag gives you the biggest bang for your buck.
For the rest of you who appreciate cars from the heyday of the muscle car era, do you think that price seems fair, and is $26,750 low enough to make you fall in love with this GTO? Or, does that price mean it wouldn't even get a second date?
You decide!
eBay or go here if the ad disappears.
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