... PICTURE SET CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE CLICK->NEW POST Under the hood is a 455HO engine. CLICK->NEW POST Jim Wangers signed the interior. CLICK->NEW POST Here are some vintage photos from the previous owner when the car was new! CLICK->
1971 black GTO convertible has honeycombs with happy graduate Leonard Welch sitting in it was Picture Of The Week for 5/31/98. Where did he get the car? He saw it on the cover of the September 1997 Goatfinder Classifieds publication. Then he made contact with the seller in Escanaba, Michigan - and had it trucked to Connecticut in December 1997.
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Here's a whole bunch of views of Leonard's 1971 GTO convertible.
Leonard tells us more about his car in his own words: Bought it sight unseen. Would I do that again? Depends. The
seller was extremely honest about the condition of the car and sent revealing pictures. Problem was, at that time, I had no idea
what it would take to bring the car to the next step anyway. The car had all original sheet metal, excellent frame, floors and
trunk, rebuilt engine, re-chromed bumper, NOS front and rear valances, NOS dash, NOS grill, NOS tail light lenses, new tires
and was from a dry part of Oregon. The paint, top and interior were decent. A good driver. I felt, and still feel that what I paid
- $10,250 - was a good deal. The car is an all numbers-matching 400, M20 4-speed, 8-track with rally gauges. 1 of 79 4-speed '71 GTO convertibles. Originally Quezal Gold, now black. Added options include a formula wheel, AM/FM stereo, sport mirrors, 15x7 honeycombs,
wheel well moldings, trunk light and a hurst t-handle. After driving it for a year, I decided it was time for some work. I replaced the following: carpet, top, front end ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar bushings, engine wiring harness and a 2.5 inch aluminized exhaust. Then I started shopping for a paint job. This is where things started to get expensive. (Those who know - insert groan here!) While the car was in the shop, I bought new hood hinges, NOS door edge moldings (that I'm now too chicken to install), sport mirrors, a few sets of windshield surround stainless, wheel well moldings and learned how to use a buffing wheel. Started if off with a media blast. The drivers side quarter had a filled dent and rust. Had to go. The body man said repro won't do (I took him to look at one). Found an NOS pair of quarters in the boxes. Replaced the drivers outer wheel house and
quarter. Bottom line - two years and way too many thousands. Happy ending - I made a good friend with the body man. He's
extrememly honest and very meticulous. He spent months blocking the car. Came out very well. Black must be done this way.
Awesome sides - smooth with a great shine. Some issues on the hood. '71 hoods are notorious for rust in the front and in the
back near the vents. Funny thing, he and I took the hood off just this morning so he can re-do before Spring. Made me sad to
think that he's going to strip off the beautiful finish on the hood. But, as we know, sometimes perfection takes time and retrial. I got the car back from him August 2001. It was fun to drive. I did some other things to it over the Fall. Had the original 800
CFM Q-Jet rebuilt, recolored and dipped. Nice. Went through the factory Transmission Controlled Spark (TCS) system to
make it operational again. Nice. Replaced the instrument panel dash circuit card and tach lens. As far as value goes, '71s are burdened by the most expensive parts for the least valuable GTOs. Funny, huh? Maybe it's the net horsepower stigma. I don't think I really want to sell it. If I did, then what? Repeat the entire process again??!!! CLICK->
1971 GTO hardtop smokes the tires! from Scott Thamason. This dual image was our Picture Of The Week for 10/4/98. CLICK->
This was our Picture Of The Week for 5/2/99, 1971 GTO from Frank Iaconi in Worcester Massachusetts. CLICK->
This was our Picture Of The Week for 6/6/99. It is Derek Osborn's Orbit Orange 1971 T-37 hardtop. CLICK->
This was our Picture Of The Week for 10/10/99. It's a bronze 1971 GTO hardtop owned by Rob. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, left side view. These images were sent in later. Looks like Rob added a rear spoiler. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, front end view. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, rear end view. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, interior dash view. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, interior view. CLICK->
Bronze 1971 GTO, engine view. PICTURE SET CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ...
Here's a comment from a recent visitor...
Says John Zeek (jzeek.@optonline.net) -"I have just purchased a basket case 69 Judge from Wisconsin. Love your area on most common rust spots."
