After sampling a 1971 Buick Skylark living the good life curbside earlier today, it is an appropriate time to take a sobering look at how the ravages of time have affected a nearby example of the Skylark’s more famous and desirable 1968-72 A-Body brother: a 1969 Pontiac GTO. Spotted only about only 10 blocks from where the Skylark was parked and only a few days later, this GTO is at a very different stage in its life cycle, but possibly only a temporary one before it rises again.
The 1968-72 GTO and Tempest-based imitators have each received coverage on this website already (GTO, Tempest), so we can address this particular car rather than delving into the history of the model first. This GTO was one of 58,126 “regular” GTO hardtop coupes produced in 1969, with The Judge accounting for 6,725 more — a sharp fall from the 77,704 coupes produced in 1968, and a preview of the plummeting sales numbers that would fall to 32,737 (plus 3,629 of The Judge) in 1970, 9,497 (plus 357 of The Judge) in 1971, and only 5,807 when downgraded to an option package for the LeMans in 1972.
When new it would been in a Burgundy color similar to that of the Buick LeSabre parked directly behind it, but this car’s 47 years have not been kind to it. Now it sits on the street next to a public park and across the street from an elementary school. I think that its main purpose at this point in its life is to inspire: thoughts ranging from “I wish that I could restore that …” to “Get that eyesore away from my kids!” in parents passing in their minivans and CUVs, and “Dinosaur car!” in kids playing nearby. Perhaps one of the children will be inspired to take an interest in classic cars from inprinting on this one at an early age.
People more knowledgeable about the GTO than I am may consider it debatable whether this car is a real one. The Endura front bumper and GTO badges looked newer and fresher than the car as a whole, which makes me a bit suspicious. Signs point toward this car being either a genuine GTO or a clone done so thoroughly that it might as well have been one, though: in addition to the Endura bumper and hood scoops, the car had an interior with buckets, console, and floor shift. The interior, which did not photograph well through the dirty windows, looked worn enough to match the rest of the car. So even if the car is a Tempest made to look like a GTO, it most likely was done long ago.
Faded, rusting, sagging, and on mismatched tires that may not have turned in a long time judging by the dirt that has accumulated around the curbside wheels, this GTO appears to be disappearing into the earth around it. A future restoration may arrest the entropy, however, as it is hard to imagine scrapping a GTO unless it has too much rust to save, which this car appears not to have.
The owner going to the trouble and expense of keeping it registered and on the street indicates that the car is just waiting for rejuvenation. The dragging tail is another possible sign, as it may be from the trunk being used as storage for parts for the car’s eventual restoration — not unlikely given the small size of the houses in the neighborhood. So I would not be surprised to see this old Goat eventually rumbling through the streets of Washington or sitting parked at this curb looking like new, a future Curbside Classic.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1969 Pontiac GTO The Judge: Here Come Da Judge!
Curbside Classic: 1969 Pontiac Tempest Custom S: The Ex-Secretary’s Wanna-Be GTO
It’s likely a proper 1969 GTO, judging from the side badging in front of the door and the GTO-specific marker light just in front of the rear bumper, as well as the GTO-specific valence panel and turn signal lights below the front bumper. The grille looks like that of a ’68, though.
(I’d rather have a ’68 – nicer dashboard and cranking vent windows.)
I believe that the grille is a proper 1969 grille. The thicker, horizontal center bar that Pontiac added to each side of the grille for 1969 is faded, but it’s there – just (barely) visible in the third photo.
Agree there is little doubt it’s a legit Goat. Not only do all the badging and bits check out, but I doubt anyone who spent serious money for what would have been an excellent cloning would have let it get to this condition.
The ’68 is awesome, but I like the ’69’s taillights better. I lusted after these back in the day. Was so jealous of a rich, spoiled friend whose parents bought him a new ’69 coupe for high school graduation. Was scared to death as he hit 120 on the Baltimore Beltway. Recall it had a factory 8 track player and the cool wood steering wheel.
The endura bumpers never age quite the same as the sheetmetal around it, same with those filler caps Cadillacs of the 70s had(the ones usually missing). I’d wager my whole bank account that it’s original, all the other GTO specific details seem to have patina equal to the whole
I agree. The endura bunpers usually fare poorly over time, But from what I can see, this one is in unusually good condition. Replaced at some point in the past?
I wouldn’t be surprised if the owner has plans to fix it up “‘someday”. Whether or not someday ever comes. Cars like this are usually found with notes offering to buy the car tucked under the windshield wipers. I don’t have a problem with owners holding on to cars that they can’t afford to repair or restore but I think they should take measures to arrest further deterioration. Or they could sell them to me cheap!
Those notes always kind of bother me, I got one under my Cougar’s windshield wiper weirdly enough(it wasn’t even a technical ‘antique’ then!) but I found it kind of insulting, as if I “didn’t care” about the car by DDing it to school and they’d “treat it right”. I’d rather run a car I love into the ground than sell it for peanuts to someone who’ll likely flip it and sell to next the highest bidder. Most of the (over)restored muscle cars just become mere commodities once someone “saves” them.
I used to leave notes under wipers of cars, really unique ones. I had no intention of buying and flipping, I just liked what a particular “said”, either to me….or about itself. One example? A 78 Mustang II hatchback that was orange with a white interior and the very rare T-Tops. If I could have caught up to it, I would also have left a note on a 81 Mustang that was also orange but had that neat “fake” convertible roof in white vinyl.
I stopped leaving notes because I never got a response.
Not all of us are looking to “flip” a car.
That’s entirely different, had the note been a compliment it would have put a smile on my face for the day, I’ve even done that myself with a few cars I found cool. The note I got however just said something like “let me know if you when you want to sell this – Call xxx-xxx-xxxx”, so it didn’t exactly lift my spirits. I was half tempted to call the number and blurt out “I’m not going to sell it, now don’t touch it again!” *click*
I know A LOT of muscle car era cars get notes just like that, and I often find posts on message boards where people are actually insulting and berating someone who won’t sell this one car they all know about to the any one of them. Gee I wonder why!
There’s my favorite A-Body. Not so much the GTO, but the Lemans, for sure. Some hint of prejudice might come from the fact that a ’68 Lemans 2-door hardtop is the first car my family owned that I can actually remember. It replaced a ’65 Tempest that was totaled in a rear-end accident. I was in the car for that one, but being only 2yrs old I have no memory of it. I’m told I had been asleep in the back seat and rolled onto the floor upon impact. Objectively speaking, I have always felt that the Pontiac versions of this generation of A-Body showed such clean, simple good design compared to the rest of the bunch. The relative lack of adornment or abundant character lines shows off the merits of the basic bodyshell so beautifully, IMO. (I kept mute earlier today, but I’ve never been a fan of the Skylarks of this era. I always thought them too “Done Up”.) Just my $.02.
Every time I see one of these I have a very vivid memory of reaching up and running my hand along the smooth chrome “beak” of that big shiny loop bumper in the garage while my father tinkered with something or other. Such a pretty car. (Ours was a metallic lime green color with parchment vinyl top and interior. No rally wheels, but I’ve also always liked the standard wheel covers on these too, probably another case of “early imprinting”)
You mean not all of the ones left are painstakingly restored and being auctioned off for 6 figures at Barrett-Jackson?!?
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a goat in this condition on the street here in the Detroit area.
I drove a complete but tired 1970 Malibu for years with the intention of restoring it “someday” – it’s restored. I’ve owned it since 1987.
I wish the owner well.
Cool old goat, even in its current condition. While it’s a bit sad, it’s also quite fascinating to see something that is usually a restored weekend warrior/trailer queen in such a faded state. I hope it is indeed restored someday, but for the moment, you were lucky to find it here–thanks for sharing with the rest of us.
And I agree that the Tempest/GTO was the best-looking of the A-bodies, for this generation at least. The hidden lamps in particular just “make it” even though it looks like these haven’t been operational in some time.
Whatta car and (sort-of) survivor. Great find, Robert. I like that it’s sitting on a brick street – which kind of rhymes with the age and condition of the car. I am not knowledgeable about these cars, but I’ll also bet it’s original – to be sitting there, looking like that. A “fake” GTO would have been tribute-d long ago, I think.