Muscle Car Review – September 2019

RIDING A TIGER

28 SEPTEMBER 2019

Full

Boat

FFuullll

GTO Ragtop

Swimming in

Factory Options

I

t’s hard to believe today, but when
Stephen Martin first learned of this
1969 GTO convertible in 1981, he
wasn’t particularly smitten. “I’d been
looking for a ’69 ragtop for a while,” he
says, “and was on the verge of purchas-
ing a white car in California. At the last
moment that deal fell apart, so I figured
I might as well take a look at this one,
which had been listed locally for a couple
months.”
What wasn’t to like? For Martin, it was
the “orange” paint. In the end though, he

By Eric English

realized he could paint the car any color

he wanted. After all, it did need paint. And

the rest of the car was great: a loaded and

original-owner SoCal GTO that had only

been in Washington State for two years. A

deal was made, and Martin’s long history

with this convertible began.

Martin drove the GTO regularly for three

years, and then did just what he figured

he’d do when he bought it: He changed the

color to Porsche Guards Red. At the same

time he had the original Ram Air III engine

rebuilt, installed new carpet, and was good

to go for many more years.

“While I knew quite a bit about GTOs

already, I joined the local GTO club, North-

west GTO Legends, and realized how much

I didn’t know,” says Martin. “Once I got to

know the club members, I learned that sev-

eral had been interested in the car when it

was for sale before I bought it.”

The club turned Martin on to the rarity

of the “orange paint,” better known among

the Pontiac faithful as Carousel Red, and

also to Pontiac Historic Services. Once

Martin heard back from PHS, he knew the