# just became a 2004-2007 GTO fan



## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

I really wish when I was car shopping last year I would have known about the GTO w/ LSX 6 spd. I didnt realize their exsitance until I brought my 2001 Pontiac Trans Am in for a dipstick replacement and realized those 4 short wide looking foriegn sports cars had GTO badges. 

Anyway I was wondering if anyone had any ideas where I could look for a 2004 up GTO's minus engine with a six speed option? I would also like to know if there would be a lot of problems swapping my trans am's LS1 & 6 speed into a GTO? the engine has approx 80k. thanx


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## 06BLACKGTO64 (Oct 30, 2010)

ive seen a few rolling chassis on ebay but those dont seem to common. I honestly think it would be easier to just sell the TA and buy a GTO...just fyi they were only made from 04-06 and only the 04 came with the ls1


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

yeah i figured that would be the better way to go..but i'm on a tight budget. dreaming, and kicking myself for not realizing how much more these GTO's appear to not ever become "aged' even though they, like the trans ams are no more mass produced. they still look modern even euro/jap or a nicer mustangish stance with american GM power. I am a giant parts changer...so all these electronics are beyond my back yard mechanic skills. I have dropped 350 c.i. buicks into late 80's regals and also I had a race blue printed kenne bell 455 buick bored to 462 behind a race turbo 400 that i shoe horned into an 87 buick regal....but as i have said all these wires. seperate coils, computers & harnesses would be above my head. There is a guy that used to be a GM mechanic that took a 6.2? vortec and put it into a 60 chevy pick up, and he put a ls2 into a 69 chevelle. He also has 4 diff GTO's. But he charges dealership hr rates, not like the GM dealer ppl i used to affliate with in a different state where i could legally drive with 112/116 octane leaded sunoco/vp fuels on the hwy. I realize the "2007" GTO photo i found off the internet was a proto.. so thanx for the reply. i can only imagine what the ls4 must feel like. also i saw a retro-TA online but i am not into any of the big 3's retro sports cars. but i do dig their engines....


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## noel the legend (Sep 27, 2007)

GTO prices have actually started to come back up over the last year or so. The best time to buy one is in the Winter. I drove to northern VT to get mine this November (it is my second GTO). It is an 05 with 21,000 miles, M6 and has the full SAP (sport appearance package - a dealer offered package that cost about $3,400 + painting and installation). I got a pretty sweet deal (just a hair over $17,000 after tax, tag, etc.). The car is in immaculate shape and has no paint defects and the interior is pristine. 

All that to say that you can most likely find one for less if you are patient and do your shopping wisely. I recommend looking at Cars.com. 

Be advised that I recommend suspension upgrades for this vehicle...not as a suggestion, but as a MUST, due to the problems. (Do a little research on the forum if you don't know to what I am referring.) 

That said, there is a reason that this is my second Goat. They are just amazing cars and offer rarity that is hard to come by for vehicles that can be purchased for this price.

Good luck!


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## Mddrummer911 (Jul 9, 2011)

Hey I have a 2007 gto! It's parked right next to my 82 fiero haha! Ok joke aside there are a few salvage yards that part out gto's but you are right just buying one would be a lot easier and cheaper. The 04 was the only year with the 5.7 ls1, the 05-06 have the 6.0 ls2. Like you I have had my share of sbc builds, mostly small block 400s to go in dirt track cars I used to race. But the wiring and computer control of the ls2 isn't anything I would attemp to swap out. If you do find a chassis, old school carb or a stand alone FI would be the only option.... Hey if u do a project my fantasy would be that ZZ ram jet 502 crate engine....


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

noel the legend said:


> GTO prices have actually started to come back up over the last year or so. The best time to buy one is in the Winter. I drove to northern VT to get mine this November (it is my second GTO). It is an 05 with 21,000 miles, M6 and has the full SAP (sport appearance package - a dealer offered package that cost about $3,400 + painting and installation). I got a pretty sweet deal (just a hair over $17,000 after tax, tag, etc.). The car is in immaculate shape and has no paint defects and the interior is pristine.
> 
> All that to say that you can most likely find one for less if you are patient and do your shopping wisely. I recommend looking at Cars.com.
> 
> ...


thanx also for advice and a reply, i'll look to see the flaw in suspension. are the GTO's carbon fiber & plastic frt end, fenders & doors? they are so stubby and wide looking...i mean that in a very good way. a TA has a lot of wasted space in the frt end since the engine is almost half way under the dash. my hands can't fit in most places, that was the reason i payed to have the dipstick changed. can't even ramp it for an oil change, i just drive it to a corner on the driveway for oil plug & filter access. 

suspension wise, i know my car is so damn light and the weight 'seems' so even that the braking is more of an issue. that is when it gets squirrelly, it reacts like a controlled power slide on ice at excessive high speed to stop on a dry hwy. ..oh and it does not like rain even when babied from 1st thru 3rd....if i recall correctly it spins like a spool diff. towards the right. (i realize that it has the limited slip)


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

Mddrummer911 said:


> Hey I have a 2007 gto! It's parked right next to my 82 fiero haha! Ok joke aside there are a few salvage yards that part out gto's but you are right just buying one would be a lot easier and cheaper. The 04 was the only year with the 5.7 ls1, the 05-06 have the 6.0 ls2. Like you I have had my share of sbc builds, mostly small block 400s to go in dirt track cars I used to race. But the wiring and computer control of the ls2 isn't anything I would attemp to swap out. If you do find a chassis, old school carb or a stand alone FI would be the only option.... Hey if u do a project my fantasy would be that ZZ ram jet 502 crate engine....


so i imagine everything wouldnt be compatible as "blackGTO64" said before, like the instrumentation would probably be diff wiring after 2004. 5.7-6.0 etc.

the guy that built my BB Buick was a sbc dirt track engine builder. i was more into the 1000 foot/ 1/4 mile cars years ago. but this guy was being groomed to apply for nascar tech/mech...but he didnt want to leave arkansas for some crew out of florida. i would be lying if i would guess at the team that wanted him. he was an awesome engine builder and was great with porting heads and he believed in making cranks "aerodynamic".

there are tons of jet ski boats with bb chevys up there besides the real street racers..unlike down here in south louisiana, that you could just drive up to the fuel pumps to buy leaded 116 octane fuels up there. there are no inspection stickers in arkansas either.

also speaking about fiero's, i had a friend that was into BB chevy race cars....that for fun he took a fiero and put a sbc 327 with a converted frt wheel drive tranny into the back of a fiero. the car wasnt very good for racing due to wheelies..he just drove it around town for kicks.


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## 06BLACKGTO64 (Oct 30, 2010)

The wiring harness and computer (ECU- Engine control unit) would have to be changed out, I dont think the instrument cluster would have to be changed. the biggest difference is that i believe all three years of the GTO's have had changes, 04 obviously the LS1 with OBD-2 ECU, 05 LS2 with OBD-2 ECU and the 06 LS2 with CAN bus ECU. obviously all you would be concerned with is the 04, but if you would get an 05 I dont know if the other computers (BCM, TCM ....) would communicate with the 04 computer, and im quite sure they wouldn't for the 06 since the CAN system communicates much differently. Best bet would be to research if an 04 ECU can operate with 05 computers since they share the OBD-2..Hope this helps you out


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## 06BLACKGTO64 (Oct 30, 2010)

I correct myself, ALL 2005 and 2006 GTO's are CAN Bus, so to put an LS1 in a 05 or 06 would be too much work


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## Mddrummer911 (Jul 9, 2011)

ls1bayouboy said:


> so i imagine everything wouldnt be compatible as "blackGTO64" said before, like the instrumentation would probably be diff wiring after 2004. 5.7-6.0 etc.
> 
> the guy that built my BB Buick was a sbc dirt track engine builder. i was more into the 1000 foot/ 1/4 mile cars years ago. but this guy was being groomed to apply for nascar tech/mech...but he didnt want to leave arkansas for some crew out of florida. i would be lying if i would guess at the team that wanted him. he was an awesome engine builder and was great with porting heads and he believed in making cranks "aerodynamic".
> 
> ...


So are you from Arkansas? I'm I'm Jonesboro...


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## danfigg (Sep 27, 2009)

*re*

Dude dont sell or trade your T/A for a GTO bite the bullet and keep the T/A. They will be worth money soon. If its paid for get a GTO I only pay 290 a month for mine and with the credit union they did a bi-weekly payment so im paying 145 every two weeks. I should be done paying in 2 years. When its all said and done, you will own to very rare Pontiacs--Danfigg


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

Mddrummer911 said:


> So are you from Arkansas? I'm I'm Jonesboro...


no i now live back in south louisiana. 

i lived near Hot Springs for 17 years prior, moved near there from down here in 1989. back to here 2006. loved Mountain Home area of arkansas. but there wasnt enough "used car dealers" like central & south arkansas to justify the move or drive from there. i used to have my own mobile automobile upholstery "headliner" replacement service. that was somewhat my way i got involved with a lot of fair engine and auto repair dealers. there are crooks everywhere. but as a whole you guys in arkansas dont know how lucky you are to have very fair prices for certified auto repairs and engine builders. 
i hate to bad mouth ppl from here but even ppl i grew up with wanna rape you on auto repairs down here.


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

danfigg said:


> Dude dont sell or trade your T/A for a GTO bite the bullet and keep the T/A. They will be worth money soon. If its paid for get a GTO I only pay 290 a month for mine and with the credit union they did a bi-weekly payment so im paying 145 every two weeks. I should be done paying in 2 years. When its all said and done, you will own to very rare Pontiacs--Danfigg


well time will have to tell. i just have a year left on the "tax&license" had a mechanic look the car over prior, and he said the car was very clean for a 2001. the only thing was the dipstick tube had a seal that needed to be replaced. i have 2 trucks a 1993 s-10 x-cab & a 1994 gmc 1500 x-cab. i would like to drop the 5.7 into the s-10 with a borg-warner 5 speed and auburn diff w/355 gears. i planned to keep the TBI & Computer. but i may just find an hei distrib. and '87 up intake & 600cfm carb. do a timing chain cam & oil pump replacement. if i go that route i may just keep the TA for reliable transportation..and buy me a harley lol. i just love that body style on those GTO's and wish when i had the $10,000 saved i would have known about them. thanx for all the heads up


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## ls1bayouboy (Oct 23, 2011)

also have a 1977 gmc stepside i picked up in arkansas that is about 90% done with a 500 c.i. cadillac from a wrecked hearst, the truck is straight but it was from a junk yard with no title. it had welded spider gears but that blew apart after a short time. so we just put another single track rear end for now. i was told that i needed a state trooper to come to the house to certify it. and it has no side mirrors, shorty straight pipes and that BB under the hood so im not sure i could get it street legal here.


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## crash60 (Dec 26, 2011)

Hi, I'll assume you're down south. Currie motors in Frankfort Illinois has a purple 2004 GTO for around $11,000. Don't know mileage. Rarer color and almost bought this car 3 years ago. I assume the sales person has been driving it since then. It had 24,000 at the time I was interested. They should have a web site.


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