# Found a 1970 Gto



## brodg (Jun 9, 2012)

Hello, everyone I found a 1970 Gto sitting on the side of the road. I lived right by it so I went up to it and called the guy and he said he wanted 4,000. I wanted to know if it was worth it and I already know it was a true Gto because I decoded the vin. It is not numbers matching but it has a 400 in it and 400 turbo trans, and a 10 bolt rear. Thanks for looking, Bill


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## FlambeauHO (Nov 24, 2011)

Pics?


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

It could be worth $400 or $40,000. All depends on what condition it's in. PICS??


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## brodg (Jun 9, 2012)

*Pics*

here are the pictures of the gto. Thats all i have but if you want me to go take some more i will drive over their today and take some. But the gto needs a full interior, a new console, body work, paint, there is a hole in the reunk pan thats small, one in the left front fender, and one in the driver sides floor (but all are small), and some other mechanical things too. But the good part is my dad is a auto mechanic and me and him were going to put this together as a father and son project. And also my buddy's dad is a body guy and he said to do all the work (patching the holes and other stuff) abd get it in to primer for 5,000


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Now you're up to 9k. Not knowing fully what all needs replaced under the hood but by judging by the condition my guess is A LOT.. add parts a few grand Dad's a mechanic save on labor. Add interior est, 2-3K. Now your pushing 13-14K I assume you'll want it painted? Add for a cheap paint job 5K Now you are at 19K.... how sound is the motor, tranny, and rear end? Motor needs rebuilt? 3-8K Tranny need rebuilt add 800 or so.... Now you are in the mid 20's. 

Just giving you a reality check here. The 4K, good price but thats the good news. There will be things that will need attention you didn't realize until you dig into it. If you expect to spend say 10-12K. Add another 3-4K for things you didn't expect. It will snowball and snowball $$. For say mid 20's when done..... you may find one less expensive done up already. When restoring it... expect the unexpected cause the unexpected is expected and it comes with a $$ tag. The more you know up front the less impact it will have on your sanity and wallet as you begin this. Don't be swayed to restoring this at what I am saying, just be prepared.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Hey brodg, it doesn't look too bad from the photos, but looks can definitely deceive. As to whether or not it's "worth it", that decision is really up to you and your dad. There's a value on doing a project together like that and it can't be expressed in dollars and cents. A lot will depend on what it needs and also what you want it to be when you get done. Taking it back to "mostly stock" is one thing, going the "resto-mod" route where you do things like upgrade the suspension, brakes, drivetrain, and engine is going to be more expensive. 
It's almost always cheaper in the long run to buy a car that's "ready to go" than it is to restore one, but then you won't have the opportunity to share the build project with your dad if you go that way. 
A good, near show-quality paint job is going to set you back more than $10,000 easily, not including the body work beforehand to get it ready. That's because it's all in the labor before and after spraying --- the actual application of the finish itself isn't all that much.
If you want to build a strong engine, say a stroker with good parts, you're going to spend that much or more again. 
And we haven't talked about suspension, trans, rear axle, and interior yet...

I'm not trying to talk you out of it. In fact I think a father-son project like this is one of the coolest and most rewarding things you can do. Just be aware going into it that it's going to cost a lot in terms of both time and money invested. That's important because just like finshing a project like this is very rewarding, starting it and then NOT being able to finish can be one of the most depressing/defeating things you can experience.

I'm pulling for you both.

Bear


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## russosborne (Dec 6, 2010)

I have a slightly different take on this. While what the others have stated is true, if you don't have $25K or so to go buy a car already done, which I think is true for a lot of us, if you want one of these this is the only way to go. Get it safely drivable and enjoy driving it. Do the other stuff as you can. you don't have to have it all finished to enjoy the car. At least I hope you don't. I love hunting for the parts I need. Getting a box in the mail makes any day feel like Christmas to me. You don't have to spend $20K on a car to have a nice car. You can, if you want to and have the money, but all that matters is that the car you end up with makes you (and in this case your dad) happy. I drove a beater 70 GTO in the mid 80's as my only driver for almost 5 years, and just seeing it made me smile. Even with all the stuff that happens with a daily driver. I honestly haven't smiled like that until the first time I fired up my Lemans after I bought it. Even though it was a POS then. Now it is as far torn apart as it can be without using a torch. I'm thinking about firing up the engine again just to make me feel that way again. 

I spent $3K on my LEMANS, before I started buying anything else for it. I will gladly trade you if you buy this GTO and decide you don't want it. 

Just my opinion,
Russ


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## 68greengoat (Sep 15, 2005)

^^^^^ That's kinda my take too. I didn't(still don't) have $25k to drop on a car that was done. I bought what I could afford and kept fixing/upgrading as funds would allow. The motor was rebuilt 3 months and car was painted a year prior to my purchase. I had to have the tranny rebuilt right away for $1k. That's been it so far for the drivetrain. Been mainly rebuilding the suspension/handling/master cylinder/wheel cylinders/rims/rubber and interior work. Had it for 8 years now and it still needs more work. But that's ok. I've been driving it since I bought it on a regular basis. Goes down the road just fine...........

If you buy it, get it road worthy and build it as you can......


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## 646904GTO (Feb 10, 2008)

68greengoat said:


> ^^^^^ That's kinda my take too. I didn't(still don't) have $25k to drop on a car that was done. I bought what I could afford and kept fixing/upgrading as funds would allow. The motor was rebuilt 3 months and car was painted a year prior to my purchase. I had to have the tranny rebuilt right away for $1k. That's been it so far for the drivetrain. Been mainly rebuilding the suspension/handling/master cylinder/wheel cylinders/rims/rubber and interior work. Had it for 8 years now and it still needs more work. But that's ok. I've been driving it since I bought it on a regular basis. Goes down the road just fine...........
> 
> If you buy it, get it road worthy and build it as you can......


Best advice in the thread, buy it, build it as you go keeping it road worthy. I bought a 64 in 1988 from a towing yard for $400. No engine, 4 speed in the trunk and a 66 interior. I finally finished restoring it in 2006, sorta of. Paint, interior, drive train, etc. Since then I put aluminum heads, fuel injection, tremec TKO 600 5 speed, I could go on and on. So buy the car expecting to restore and upgrade as your budget, life and time allow. Most of all if you have a SO don't ever let her talk you into selling it! The 70 is a relatively low production car. I had one a few years ago and wish I had not sold it. Since then I picked up 2 '74's. I am restoring one and the other is for parts. Good Luck!


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## brodg (Jun 9, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the advise on the car. I was going up their on the intentions of buying the car for the most 3k. But when i had got up their it wasnt their, so i called the guy and he said he sold it. Thank you guys for all of the help with the car, but i think i might go with a 68 or 69 but i seen this and i liked it the first time i saw it. Once again though thank all of you's for the help.
Bill


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