Thoughts on Pontiac G8 / GTO's?

In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :

Try 30K, See for yourself.  Autotrader

This one is almost 47K Another listing

EDIT: Those are G8s, but good condition GTO's are definitely in the 25 - 30K range. Manuals appear to be rare and pricey. 

In reply to buzzboy :

I test drove an 05 with the same issue. The owner didn't include any mention of it in the ad but when I mentioned it he said "that's odd, I always have problems with 3rd". Walked away after that and ended up with a 996 911. 

dherr (Forum Supporter) said:

Purchased a 2006 GT6 6 speed  back in 2007 when these were still sitting at the dealerships unsold. I got mine for a steal.  Car was black with the red leather interior. Fantastic car and even in the last model year, still a sleeper in so many ways. Car was so much fun, sold it to Ligenfelter, who was going to put a supercharger on it and put it in his "museum" as it was a low mileage and perfect condition.  

One I would like to have back......

Would this be the car?

I took that pic when I toured Ken's collection about 5 years ago.

I've got a bit of a soft spot for the GTO. College buddy of mine had an 05 6 speed for the last 10+ years. That thing was the first LSx powered car I ever drove and singlehandedly the reason I've had at least one LSx in the fleet for 8+ years now. We took it on a 1000+ mile road trip down to western NC and eventually Charlotte for a NASCAR race once, can't imagine a more appropriate vehicle for that purpose.

I last talked to him about a month ago and tragically the GTO was lost to flooding during hurricane Ida this year .

Don't have much else to add that hasn't been said already. Slow seat adjusters, small trunk, parts availability has been problematic for a while, doesn't swallow as much tire as an f body, but the interior is approximately 1x10^9 better than any contemporary GM product. Definitely more GT than sports car, but it won't embarrass itself in the curves either. Wonderful car as a daily and highway missile.

I have over 220,000 miles and 10 years on my daily driver G8 GT. Still love it. Roomy, quiet, fast, stands out yet blends in, dependable (so far..)

First thing I did was put a tune in the ECU for firmer shifts, more power, and deleted the AFM. Been that way ever since. It will light up the rears all the way through first and well through second, and pul down 23-24 mpg on the highway (not great, but I wanted mpg I'd drive a Camry, or something). Everything still works, replaced a few bulbs here and there, tires and brake pads a few times, shocks and front lower control arms/ball joints once or twice, that's pretty much it. No factory spare, but one from a GTO works just fine. 

Keeping it aligned can be a chore, with so many joints and pivot points in the suspension, but it's worth it. Lots of chassis parts are shared with the Camaro, so stock or aftermarket upgrades are easy to find.   

I haven't had much experience with the GTO, but a buddy of mine has a rare G8 GXP with the 6-speed manual, and I've had some seat time in that. 

Pros: 
-It's a big car, but drives small. Handles great!
-The LS3/6-speed combo is sublime in just about every way
-Looks killer, sounds even better

Cons:
-Typical GM quality interior, which means the leather/fabrics are loose and everything is creaky
-Steering wheel was oddly shaped and too thick, YMMV here
-Rare and expensive
-Parts are hard to find for everything that's not the engine and trans

Overall, they are really cool, quirky cars. I'm guessing all of the above also applies to the later Chevrolet SS and the earlier GTO. I want one of each. 

2004 6spd manual with 83K miles.

Drove nice and accelerated like I would expect it to. None of the Mustang GT's that I drove did anything for me. Granted, I only drove 4.6L models. I'd expect the newer 5.0's to do much better but out of the price range. No squeaks or rattles that we could hear. Radio worked but I'd be swapping in a Carplay unit anyway. The stitching at the top of the rear seats has split so that would need to be fixed.

I'll have to go back with SWMBO'd so she can do a ride along.

Price is $17K.

Not a fan of the fake carbon fiber door handles. Possibly wrapped??

A few small scratches on the top of the rear bumper I'd assume from getting things out of the trunk.

The gap here is a little off compared to the other side but I'm being nit picky

Aftermarket radiator and silicone hoses are a nice touch. The plastic cover that goes over the radiator is in the small truck

Does that look normal of an overhang on the hood?

Does it look like it has headers? It does have a full exhaust on it from Magnaflow. A little on the load side but not terrible. When on it hard, it does have the crackle and pop which would have to change. Not sure if it has catalytic converters either. Didn't see anything when looking under the car. It didn't have any warning lights so it must have some type of tune on it.

Oh another thing is that the shifter would also have to be replaced. At times, it was hard to tell if I was 3rd or 5th gear.

Yes, I know the shifter being bad had already been mentioned.

In reply to GPz11 (Forum Supporter) :

The front bumper cover does not fit like factory and looks to be a slightly different shade in the photos. Couple that with the radiator and I'd say it's a safe bet that it's been in a slight nose hit in the past. 

Definitely headers. The stock manifolds are cast iron with heat shields. Headers cause steering rack issues on GTO's.

Still looks to be a pretty good buy.

In reply to GPz11 (Forum Supporter) :

Man, cars have gone up in price. I remember shopping Mustang GTs about 5 years ago and seeing some smokin' deals new but those days are long gone. I did find this for $20k that I think is near you:

On Cargurus

Maybe you could test drive it to see if you like the 5.0 cars better. They're so different from the 4.6 I would want to at least experience it if I was shopping.

dculberson said:

In reply to GPz11 (Forum Supporter) :

Man, cars have gone up in price. I remember shopping Mustang GTs about 5 years ago and seeing some smokin' deals new but those days are long gone. I did find this for $20k that I think is near you:

On Cargurus

Maybe you could test drive it to see if you like the 5.0 cars better. They're so different from the 4.6 I would want to at least experience it if I was shopping.

Hah, I’ve already been there to drive a 4.6 one they had. Passed on it since it had a airbag light on it.

In reply to NickD :

People say it's the worse Intake used on LS motors. That's not quite true. Dyno testing has shown the LS1 gives up a little to the LS2, mainly attributed to the larger TB. The manufacturing changed from Ls1 to LS2 and the LS1 is built better, but the LS2 still makes more power. LS6 beats them both.

Back in the day people were opening up Ls2s and porting them and removing the supports and seeing large benefits.

I took an Ls1 off my C5 and put a aluminum BBK on and it made a bigger difference than headers or the tune, the LS1 intake really isn't great for power.

The FAST intakes make the most power but I hate them. I bought a broke one and tried to repair it, can't be upset about that one but every other install I've done on them, they either didn't fit, required more modification or finishing than I'm comfortable with on a thousand dollar manifold. I don't think a GTO has cowl clearance issues though so if I had one I might consider a LSX 92 or an original 90 if I found one cheap and I'd run the stock TB.

So the Missus has made a statement in that if we get another toy car that I'd have to decide do I keep my XR or keep whatever new one we get. She did say that I could keep both for a year or so and then have to decide.

This is hard for me since my buddies and I built my XR from the ground up. Also, at the last track day, I'm pretty sure I hurt the motor so that's gotta get repaired / replaced.

Here's some pics from that track day one of my buddies took.

https://michaelbarton.smugmug.com/Gingerman-2021/XR4Ti/n-JV7BRs/

FWIW: My XR has a mildly built 302, T5z trans, MS3 Gold box, 8.8 IRS, upgraded suspension, Merkur Scorpio hubs (larger bearings) and rear disc brakes, Wilwood 6 pot front calipers with oversize rotors, Autopower roll bar, 5 pt harness's, BRZ seats.  Now, my biggest gripe with the car is we can't seem to get the AC working well even though multiple shops have played with it. So during the summer, I have to park it. Another isue is that half the parts on it have to be custom made and no one makes off the shelf performance parts for it.

Could a GTO fill those shoes or what other car could??

Ah fudge, I've got some thinking to do.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

I have no idea, I sold it and when the shipper came to pick it up, he said it was purchased by them and would go in their collection. Had 22K miles on it, black with the red leather , just like this one, so could be my old car. 

GTO will not fill your full on track car shoes.

clutchsmoke said:

GTO will not fill your full on track car shoes.

It would probably just do a few track days a year as well as some autocross to be honest. We’d be more able to enjoy just driving it during the summer. 

In reply to GPz11 (Forum Supporter) :

No way in hell I'd give up that Merkur for a GTO, but I'm a little nuts for Euro Fords.

You have all winter to get the a/c working, or maybe look into a Vintage Air setup (hot rod a/c)?  A GTO may be better at some things, but it will never be as unique as your XR4Ti...

bobzilla said:

parts availability for OE is pretty much non-existent.

this is why my best friend sold his.. everything was falling apart and it was very difficult to get parts..

i even saw this at the shop when we were trying to buy a radiator fan 4 years ago.. we had to source one from ebay!

Between the opportunity to have that GTO and the V8 swapped sorted XR I would close the browser and go beat on the XR forever. 

And I am the guy that sells everything.