These clone arguments kill me. Is a 69 Lemans that’s had every single applicable GTO part replaced any less of a GTO than an original GTO that’s had all the same parts replaced during a resto? A little tiny number stamped on a little tiny plate. So the roof panel is guilty by association because it started life welded to a quarter panel that had an arrow head on it instead of a goat crest even though they come from the same GM die? When both cars have their quarters replaced, what makes them different after the fact? Same with the door panels. They are identical until you install the nameplate. Does that make the door panel any less of one because it had a different name plate on it once? I’m guilty of falling under the evil clone cloud. My 69 convertible is a clone. Here are a couple of reasons why:
1. The car was a great deal at the time. If you want a 69 GTO ragtop and don’t want to mortgage your house to buy one, you won’t be getting one any time soon.
2. I don’t like the 69 Lemans gigantic front bumper or watered down taillights.
3. The car started life as a 6 cylinder. When I got it, it had a ’64 389 that some moron welded the incorrect motor mount saddles in at an angle.
4. The car needed every piece of sheet metal replaced.
5. Since I’ve driven, sold, and parted many GTO’s over the years, I had every little piece of the required GTO items including the drivetrain from my 68 GTO I had just junked sitting in the garage.
Bottom line is that I like the looks of a 69 GTO better than a Lemans. Trying to go back to “original” to please the purists is a joke. It was a 6 cylinder car with the drivetrain long gone. I didn’t want a 69 convertible 6cyl car, I wanted a 69 ragtop with my screaming 400 4spd to have FUN driving in. Other than the vin, you can not show me a difference between my car and a “real” GTO. No bondo holes covering the Lemans emblems in the fenders because I used real GTO fenders on the car; no cobbing in the quarter panels due to changed marker lights, because full GTO quarter skins were replaced. EVERYTHING else that makes a Lemans into a GTO is a bolt on item. Forget finding your magic hidden vin stamp on the frame (this is a NY car and that rusted off LONG ago) What’s the point of chasing the other magic vins since you’d need to diassemble the car to find them. Do you think a GTO windshield frame was different than a Lemans?
I have NO intentions of ever selling my car. When I bought it I knew it would be the last 69 convertible I’d ever find that I could afford. If I ever did need to sell it, yes it would be given the title of “clone”. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t swap out vin tags (which I could have illegally swapped when I was offered the chance years back) I still get a little self-conscious at the shows when the finger-pointer-numbers guys run to look at my VIN before they even see the car. That’s because I let the general opinion of clones affect me when I shouldn’t. The head shaking and smart ass comments are real funny to me as they walk back to the parking lot and get into their Toyota Camry to drive back home after they showed me how dumb I am. Better yet are the guys like green70judge here who have ONE reason to hate clones: They feel it diminishes the rarity of their own cars. If you don’t like the ebay auctions with the clone listings, then don’t look at them. Do you get this upset because of the spam emails telling you about the male enhancement you require? Everyone's not as fortunate as you to have that car. That doesn't make you better than them, and it's a pretty uppity attitude to look down on someone building a clone they can afford rather than pay you $100K for the privilege. I’m with TJH on this one about driving them. My car is a daily driver. It goes to Walmart, to the movies, to the car shows, to work. If it gets scratched I don’t have to kill myself. If it gets rear ended at a light on the way to work, I’ll be pissed, but this car cost me quite a bit less than my F350 so who cares? Are you going to drive and enjoy YOUR beautiful numbers matching GTO Judge to all of those places every day?
I happen to have an original 69 Judge rusting away in my garage. I’ll get to it someday. Now ask me which car I enjoy owning more at the moment!
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