September 14, 2010 – Milford, CT — The shoes may now be banished to the darkest corners of attics and garages across the country, but shoes aren’t necessarily the first thing to come to mind when people think of Thom McAn, anyway. Instead, the name of the now defunct shoe company invokes images of the quintessential American muscle car: the Pontiac GTO. Now, one of the only two of these surviving 1967 automotive icons is available for private purchase for a limited time on eBay Motors (NYSE:EBAY) in what is already one of the most popular automotive auctions of the year. […]
September 14, 2010 – Milford, CT — The shoes may now be banished to the darkest corners of attics and garages across the country, but shoes aren’t necessarily the first thing to come to mind when people think of Thom McAn, anyway. Instead, the name of the now defunct shoe company invokes images of the quintessential American muscle car: the Pontiac GTO. Now, one of the only two of these surviving 1967 automotive icons is available for private purchase for a limited time on eBay Motors (NYSE:EBAY) in what is already one of the most popular automotive auctions of the year.
This piece of American muscle car history looks just as it did 43 years ago when it was delivered to the Thom McAn Sweepstakes winner:
• Body: 2 door Hard Top
• Engine: 400 H.O. V-8/360HP with 4BBL (WS)
• Exhaust: Dual (Standard on GTO)
• Transmission: 4-Speed Manual (784)
• Rear End: 3:55 Safe-T-Track-HD (731)
• Exterior: Tiger Gold – Special Paint (#1)
• Interior: Black (223)
Factory Options-
• Special Paint (SPS)
• AM Radio (348)
• Door Edge Guards (382)
• Rally Wheels (454)
• Custom Sport Steering Wheel (471)
• Electric Clock (474)
• Front Disc Brakes (521)
• Red Inner Fenders (522)
• Wood Shift Knob (524)
• Ride & Handling Package (621)
• Front & Rear Mats (633)
• F70X14 Redline Tires (MC)
• Safe-T-Track-HD (731)
• 4-Speed Transmission (784)
• H.O. 400 V-8 (802)
• Hood Tachometer (Dealer Installed)
Cowl Tag Breakdown-
(10D-5 67 24217 PONT5173 TRIM223-2L97904)
• 10D: Built in 4th Week of October
• 5: Sequence Number
• 67: 1967
• 24217: 2-Door Hard Top
• 3: Special Fleet Order
• -: Special Color
• TRIM223: Black
Related Links:
Short video of the Thom McAn GTO:
Auction listing (#150491748763) for this car on eBay Motors:
In an effort to promote its new line of GTO shoes, the Thom McAn shoe company gave away brand new, limited edition 1967 Pontiac GTO hardtop coupes through a nationwide sweepstakes. All contestants had to do to be eligible to win the car was visit a Thom McAn shoe store and enter the sweepstakes. While there were originally several extremely lucky prize winners, only two of these special cars are now believed to still exist. “The Great One,” as it was named, was originally awarded to a Colorado woman who ended up selling it to its second owner.
The Thom McAn GTO remained with that owner until it was stolen in 1979. It was discovered 18 years later near a salvage yard until it was discovered by a private car collector who didn’t realize the car’s full value until much later. The collector’s immediate goal was to restore the car as correctly as he could, right down to the custom Gold paint that was specially ordered through Pontiac. His work was a resounding success. Forty years after its original release, the Thom McAn GTO received the Concours Gold Award in 2007 from the GTO Association of America after its complete frame off restoration was complete.
“This Thom McAn GTO Contest car is a colorful piece of automotive history,” says collector car expert Mark Knass. “It’s one of the crown jewels of a priceless era of rare classic Pontiac muscle cars, and this legendary model is a dream car for the serious collector.”
The documentation on this extremely rare Thom McAn Sweepstakes GTO is as thorough and pristine as the car’s award-winning restoration. The winner of the eBay Motors auction will receive the Pontiac GTO’s order sheets, the Concours Gold Award from the GTO Association of America, and signed letters from both the Rocky Mountain Concours d’Eligance and Pontiac Historical Society president Jim Madison. Recordkeeping is obviously vital when it comes to classic cars, and this 1967 Thom McAn Sweepstakes Pontiac GTO is extensively documented.