newb intro and need advice please - 68 GTO project

[jasonmrenda]

hi everyone
this is only my first post as i am new to the GTO scene. I have a chance to trade my sporty bobber i built for this straight-up. i have about 6500 into my bike.

i am 34, always liked muscle cars but never really had an opp to get one before. i started building bikes a few years ago and now have a few in the garage. truth is, with a baby now and a girlfriend who really only rode because i did, the bikes are now almost always going to be solo trips so i am thinning the bike-herd.

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says the car runs/drives/stops good
has new harness
has a new rubber bumper not installed
a new hood not installed
new rear glass
2 decent rust spots
45k miles
4 spd muncie
10 bolt posi
thinks it is the original engine but not sure

i have too many bikes and am looking to sell / trade one of em for an older classic/muscle car. i know the GTO's hold value well plus i just plain like em. i know this will need work. i just dont want to short change myself.

the man says he cant find the #'s on the engine so i will assume it is not original. he said he was told it was the original 400 motor but he wont state that for positive so i appreciate him not lying to me.

here's where i am at.
we would be doing a trade so no money is involved - minus the gas cost to drive 350 miles for each of us to get to a central point. i have spent literally about 6 hours on the phone with this guy and while i could never be certain (and sadly have been screwed before), my "gut" tells me he is a pretty stand-up guy. he's disclosed a lot of the issues already mentioned by friends/family/forum people.

i guess what i am trying to discern is - in it's present condition, is that GTO worth about 5k which is what my bike seems to command on ebay. I am very happy to keep my bike and try to sell/trade at a later date, but if I have a chance to get a GTO even though it needs work but runs drives and stops, is it a fair deal.

the worst that can happen is i drive out there and realize it's just too far gone and at that point i have just taken a 2 day, 400 dollar road trip. but in the grand scheme of things that's better than trading for a boat anchor. plus i get to tide the sporty around in PA, CT, and wherever else to just do some riding ((which is not a bad thing!!)

my bud said he thinks it may have been in a wreck as the core support is new and looks like some front end sheet metal was replaced. the owner hasnt mentioned this but saying that it was in some sort iof accident, how much does that diminish the value? i am looking to restore to a daily driver standpoint, not a 100 point restore though i will only add things that will help the value. not going to go the rat rod route or anything. just replace as nec with quality components and work through it over time while driving it.

figure it's worth a day trip to determine it as that's really the only way to see in-person how good/bad it really is.

thank you for any advice

- jason