[1965gp]

I wanted to post up about the 69 GTO I just picked up….

A friends wife saw it on a local classified website and sent me the details. I sent an email and got a response that the owner was out of town but needed it moved by 3/5. I kinda thought it was a scam at first but he followed through.

Guy calls me up and says I have the 10:00 window on Saturday. I called him back to see if there was room to bring a trailer at the storage unit. We get to talking and he said he has two guys coming before me so it might be sold before 10:00. We continue talking and he gives me option to buy it sight unseen. I told him that I just wasn’t in a financial place to take that risk. He understood and agreed to meet me in an hour (this was Friday). I ran to the bank and met him.

The car was just as he described - a one owner car that he got when he turned 16. The car was very rust free and had the original never rebuilt engine, transmission and rear end. The car is amazingly complete and in good shape except for some filler between the rear window and the trunk. I wasn’t too worried as that’s a very common problem.

The only drawback is a god awful brown repaint that happened in the 80’s. Even the owner hated it and preferred the original expresso brown poly. Still, the car was extremely dry, had all of the documentation and was a one owner car. We made the deal and I picked it up on Saturday

[1965gp]

Here is some of the documentation that came with the car

[1965gp]

After I got it home my plan was to see what I could do with the god awful paint. I only worked the front clip but you can definitely see a significant improvement.

[jhein]

Wow. What a great find. Looks really nice.

[Scott Thelander]

sweeeeeeeet

there are still a few out there !!

sounds like some flowers and a day at the spa are in order for the Mrs ....

[1965gp]

So I bought the car as needing a full restoration, he said he drove the car in the storage unit 4-5 years ago but it had been 16/17 years since it was actually driven (last inspected in 01, registered in 04). I put a battery in it today and all of the lights work, but looks like the dimmer switch is stuck. Parking lights, turn signals, horn….. it all worked!

Normally I will soak the cylinders with mystery oil, turn it by hand, then crank without spark- but I just had a feeling this car wanted start (similar to my 70 LeMans) and I was going to play along. A little gas in the carb and it sputtered. A little starter fluid and it fired up. I kept it running by misting starter fluid for about 20-30 seconds and then it idled just fine!

I tried to start it again without starter fluid and it wouldn’t fire. A little shot of starter fluid and it was good to go. I had this problem on a Firebird I bought- the old ethanol gas just wouldn’t fire on its own.

So I am going to drain all the gas, give it a cap, rotor, points, plugs and wires and see how it runs.

I am sure I will have to go through the brakes on it but for the most part things are looking good.

[1965gp]

Here are a few more pics:

The seats and carpet were done about 15 years ago, the dash (in good shape) and door panels are all original.

The compound basically turned to mud when I was buffing it. I am sure some of that grossness is single stage paint, but I think most of it is just dirt.

The engine compartment is extremely original. Some advanced detailing will go a long way.

[1965gp]

So the question remains- what to do with it? There are several ways to look at this car.

1) I think you can for sure call this car a survivor, Even with the bad/wrong repaint. The car has had recent exhaust put on it, but it’s tiny, like dual 1.25. And quiet… not a fan of quiet. However, how many one owner brown GTO’s with hubcaps are still out there? This is probably a good representation of what a lot of these cars really looked like. Looks like something you would see on Chips

2) you could dress it up a little. Add 15” or 17” Rallye II’s, maybe a judge spoiler, stripe and decals (would need to be aged to match the look of the car) and put exhaust on it. It would definitely toughen it up. Maybe add hide away headlights.

3) Paint it Carousel red. The tan/gold interior would work. Add Judge package to match my 70 Judge clone and have more eye candy for the shop.

4) sell it? I am into this car at a pretty low number considering it was bought expecting a frame off restoration. . I paid asking price as I knew it would sell immediately being rust free. What is this car worth in today’s market running/driving good with working AC, stereo, etc? As far as I can tell damn near everything on the car is original (see the repair log). I would think it’s at least a 20-25k car being fully operational?


As always I appreciate everyone’s suggestions, thoughts and ideas!

[Mike Davis]

Don't know what you paid but that is a heck of a find.
Congrats....

[1965gp]

I don’t mind since it was posted recently and I’m pretty sure some local members saw it. I paid $12,500 for it. Not chump change by any means but considerably less than I think it’s worth.

[rwfisher]

Clean it up and drive it!!! How often do you see something as delivered / driven nowadays. Living in the Northeast, this is how I remember they all looked, No hideaways ( They just froze in the winter ) Hubcaps no Rally II’s or RWL’s, plain interiors etc. Great find.

[Joe's Garage]

1) Finish the buff job. I like the color, myself.

2) Detail the interior.

3) Detail the engine compartment.

4) Change fluids, hoses and belts and do a good tune-up.

5) Clean/flush the fuel system and rebuild the carb.

6) Go through the braking system with new hoses, pads, shoes.

7) New radial whitewall tires. Keep the hubcaps.

8) Swap out the 'tiny' exhaust for stock-style exhaust with good-sounding mufflers.

9) Cruise it, show it, enjoy it.

'Survivor' GTOs that nice are a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Have some fun with it.

This year, burn the tires off it and enjoy the horsepower-induced sensations.

NEXT year figure out what you want to do with it long-term. Keep it - sell it - whatever.

Have some fun with it first. Really. Have fun. FUN.

[Drag Star Le Mans]

Great car and a damn nice find!

[OCMDGTO]

Wow great score and deal of the century! X2 with Joe, make it roadworthy and burn some gas. That brown might grow on you. I like the Carousel Red idea, too.

[android 211]

I had an air cleaner lid rechromed, it cost twice as much as buying a reproduction one. Not sure which chrome would last longer. Just detail it, don't change the color except back to Expresso Brown which goes best with the interior. Ditto on the whitewalls. Resealing and charging the ac system will cost a few bucks, I recommend checking Craigslist for old R12 cans and recharging it with that not R134 (which is being phased out too BTW). Stock exhaust was 2" head pipe and 2 1/4" tailpipe after the mufflers with a resonator. Just go full 2 1/4". Does it run well on 93 octane? Use a colder plug, I've had some success with reducing pinging that way. I put an old Trans Am sway bar on mine in front and an old 3/4" rear bar off some junkyard car or swap meet in back and it made a huge difference in driving enjoyment. After 53 years changing all the old rear control arm bushings while you add a boxed pair of lower control arms isn't a bad idea.

[iceman411]

Nice! Original cars are great. The doors close, windows roll up and down like they should. Just the feel on old car brings. Especially something that hasn’t been messed with. The records the owner kept was remarkable. Very cool time capsule.
With so many restored, modified cars out there, including tribute cars, it’s very refreshing to see such an original car. I like the sway bar idea, add a posi, get everything working like it should and enjoy it the way it is.
Mike

[jhein]

I vote for what Joe's Garage said above. That car has some serious mojo. You could always restore it later. It think it would be very cool to enjoy for a while as a survivor. It looks like it would clean up pretty good. I have to admit that I'd be tempted to put some road worn Rally II's on it.

Also, I'm not an expert on GTO values but I think that sounds like a really good deal for that car.

[mgarblik]

What a great car and potential nice driver without any restoration. My best friend had an Expresso Brown 69 GTO, same interior. He drove that car for years, and it was a great runner. Handled good, good brakes, just a really nice car. I would proceed with your plans and put some fun road time on it. Enjoy it!

[1965gp]

Thanks guys- I’m very happy with the deal and I guess that as mentioned this proved that they are still out there!

I can’t wait to get to know it a little better. The paint will continue to improve as it’s waxed/buffed but the blemishes will still be there.

It’s going to be fun to work on. I agree about finding some R12 to see if I can get it working. It will be a fine line between cleaning. Bd restoring. I obviously don’t want to affect any originality.

[mgarblik]

Where are you located? I have R12, but I don't believe it can shipped easily.