[Motoman]

Good day all,
it's been seven years since I sold my '68 GTO convertible, so I could get back into motorcycling. I know, I know... believe me, I hated to sell it, but anyway.

Let's get to the point of this post. My good friends brother has a '73 GTO basket case. It has been sitting out for about six years at their parents farm.

There is a good deal of major rust through on the lower quarter panels. The hood has major rust through on the supports, but the skin is ok. That is except for the dent that a tree branch left across the width near the scoops. The trunk lid has rust as well, but it's confined to the center portion of the lip, nearest the bumper. The doors were ok but for the typical rust on these.

As far as I know, this Goat hasn't been in any accidents. The paint (metallic blue) is faded uniformly except for the trunk lid, I'm sure it was repainted. The entire insides (light blue) will need to be gone over. The drive train is all original, a 400 four barrel, four speed with a posi track axle. Everything will need to be gone over, and the motor taken down for a rebuild. To do everything right it will need a frame off restoration.

The body on this beast is what worries me. And some, if not all the interior. '73 and '74 were bastard years for the Goat. I know '73 Le Mans and Grand Am parts will work.

The question is... how available are the body and interior parts for this year GTO, Le Mans and Grand Am? I'd like another project GTO like my '68, but this one has me wondering. Are there are any parts for this stand alone Goat? More of a headache than it's value? What's a basket case like this worth? I through out a figure of $600, he said "OK".

Ping me with any info ya can. It's also possible if it's to much to tackle, I'll buy it to part out. I'll see if I can get back out there to snap a few pictures for anyone interested in my query.
For now
Tom

[Motoman]

Good day all,
it's been seven years since I sold my '68 GTO convertible, so I could get back into motorcycling. I know, I know... believe me, I hated to sell it, but anyway.

Let's get to the point of this post. My good friends brother has a '73 GTO basket case. It has been sitting out for about six years at their parents farm.

There is a good deal of major rust through on the lower quarter panels. The hood has major rust through on the supports, but the skin is ok. That is except for the dent that a tree branch left across the width near the scoops. The trunk lid has rust as well, but it's confined to the center portion of the lip, nearest the bumper. The doors were ok but for the typical rust on these.

As far as I know, this Goat hasn't been in any accidents. The paint (metallic blue) is faded uniformly except for the trunk lid, I'm sure it was repainted. The entire insides (light blue) will need to be gone over. The drive train is all original, a 400 four barrel, four speed with a posi track axle. Everything will need to be gone over, and the motor taken down for a rebuild. To do everything right it will need a frame off restoration.

The body on this beast is what worries me. And some, if not all the interior. '73 and '74 were bastard years for the Goat. I know '73 Le Mans and Grand Am parts will work.

The question is... how available are the body and interior parts for this year GTO, Le Mans and Grand Am? I'd like another project GTO like my '68, but this one has me wondering. Are there are any parts for this stand alone Goat? More of a headache than it's value? What's a basket case like this worth? I through out a figure of $600, he said "OK".

Ping me with any info ya can. It's also possible if it's to much to tackle, I'll buy it to part out. I'll see if I can get back out there to snap a few pictures for anyone interested in my query.
For now
Tom

[fiedlerh]

Body parts are difficult but not impossible to find. Check the various A-body sites, www.grandamregistry.com, and southwestern junkyards (pontiac heaven.com?). Quarters are unique to '73 and may be pricey if you can find them. The wheel opening lip is slightly different on 74-75 rear quarters. The hood with scoops is not too hard to find, but some people think they are extremely valuable even if they are in poor shape. Rust-free doors and a deck lid could probably be found in the southwest.

[mike nixon]

there's a lemans sport listed on the desert valley auto parts site for sale. it's supposedly rough but rust free. sherman and ass produce some body parts. try the a-body site for parts also. for weather strip contact indesign . if you want there link send me an e-mail. there are mainly g/am but some parts interchange.
the hood for the 73 is the only year of nasa with the vent louvers in the rear so i'm told. 74-5 a body hoods didn't have the vents.
i think 73 1/4's are different also [ lower wheel well], i know the body bracing is.
fyi the seats and dash are different for the g/ams they share with the g/p.

73-77 g/p suspension interchanges for the most part.

it sounds like 600 is a bit high to me with out seeing the car in person. it's all in what you want and i'm sure these cars will rise in value but they are harder to get parts for.

rick lightfoot can probably supply more info than i, you may want to contact him. mike

[Rick Lightfoot]

The 1973's A bodies are one year only for a few components. However, there were only 826 4 speeds out of 4806 GTO's made in 1973. A blue '73 is a rare find. Parts for this year Goat are more difficult to find than any other year, but most of the car is the same as a LeMans Sport coupe. Does this car have the louvered quarter windows or the large glass windows? GTO'S could be ordered either way. Rear quarters, outer rear wheelhouses, rear bumper, roof panel, trunk floor, trunk lid, header panel, front bumper, and frame are 1973 only. Front fenders fit 1973-75 LeMans, NASA Hood is 1973-74 to be correct with the vents, but 1975 will fit, doors, front inner fenders fit 1973-77. Unless the car is rusted in half, it is worthy of restoration due to being a stick.

[ June 24, 2002, 10:43 AM: Message edited by: Rick Lightfoot ]

[Txbobcat]

Sounds to me like you are looking into one hell of a project and expensive to boot. I would try pricing and finding needed parts BEFORE buying. I like 73 GTO's and love 4 speeds but how long and expensive will this be. How much will it be worth (selling price) when you get done? Maybe you can buy it for $300 and let it set till you can find a donor parts car? If you need further advise ask your wife. I am sure she can help you make the right decision.

[Rick Lightfoot]

SOMEBODY needs to restore this car. There have been too may that have been parted and rusted out over the years not to..ESPECIALLY seeing that it is a 4 speed.

['ol Pinion head]

Parts are out there for '73's, just have to know where to look & be patient if you want good stuff @ a reasonable price. Demand...Couple years back parted out a 4speed '73 GTO & a 4speed '73 LeMans Sport Coupe. Most of the pieces were slow to leave, thogh they were #1 used pieces, & I had them priced very reasonably. Will agree, some pieces are really tough...nos grilles, nos bumper filler, & nos stripes come to mind...talking nos here... Unfortunately, every Pontiac has it's tough pieces, if you are building a #1 car or anything close to it.

The common problem I run into with folks wanting parts for the 73-77's today, is they want a rustfree body with nice interior pieces & they want it super cheap..."oh, the car's just a '73, whine, whine, I need a good $400-800 parts car". The odds of this happening are near nil. A quick dose of reality is in order...if a car was that nice, someone would have slammed it together for the "carlot" market.

The search...buy your sheetmetal from those of us in SW that deal with solid straight sheetmetal, bodyshells, etc. Many times we can drop pieces off when up north. Then buy all the interior plastic from northern rustbuckets or from Pacific NW. The interior plastic usually always fares better up north, than from the "oven" enviroment down here. As a rule, when I'm up north hitting yards, I'm usually looking for #1 plastic, trinkets, & specialty core parts. The obvious stuff is almost always gone, & the sheetmetal, LOL, well for the most part, it's history.

[ May 04, 2002, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: ol' Pinion head ]

[Brian Baker]

Having taken apart a '73 Luxury LeMans myself to the bare frame, and searching for parts for it since 1989, I can tell you they are tough. If this GTO has the large rear quarter windows instead of the louvers, it needs to be restored. Rick will probably know the exact number, but of the 4806 total GTO's made in '73 (which is the lowest production year for the GTO, by the way) I think something on the order of only 300 or so were made with the large rear quarter windows instead of the louvers.

The replacement quarters and other panels from Sherman and Assoc. are junk. On the quarters, the panels are thin and aren't quite exact as to the originals. Ames sells floorpans and trunkpans, but the floorpans don't cover up past where the floor curves up to meet the firewall (under the gas and brake pedal) and this is where most of them rot out from collecting water. Your best bet is to find a rust free body from the southwest.

Place an add in Smoke Signals for parts, and be patient, they're out there but they'll be slow to find you. It took my father and I 4 years to find the correct NOS "Lemans Sport Coupe" emblems for the fenders on his Can-Am.

There's also a place in Minnesota that sells NOS GM parts and I've had good luck with them (but I can't remember their name...help, Rick).

Too bad the SD-455 never made it into the GTO as originally planned. It would have made the '73 GTO the best one ever (it was already the best handling GTO).

[mike nixon]

brian, have you used the trunk pans from sherman and ass? i'm looking for fit finish comments on them as i'm collecting parts for a 74 g/am. i've had bad experiences with their exterior metal parts. mike

[Brian Baker]

The floor pans and trunk pans I purchased were from Ames. Where they got them, I have no idea. I did purchase some quarter panel patches from Sheram and Assoc. and they were awful, very thin and didn't match the wheelwell opening.

[mike nixon]

so how did the ames parts fit? what's your opinion on their quality? thanks,mike

[Rick Lightfoot]

Any updates pertaining to this car?