1971 GTO Project

The road to finishing a project car is always paved with good intentions. Mark Oberkircher found this out after purchasing a 1971 Pontiac GTO way back in 1993. Mark paid only $700 for the GTO. It was only a body in primer. It didn’t even come with an engine or transmission. He saw it as a blank slate to do whatever he wanted.

“Since it was never going to be a correct vehicle, I decided along the way to make it into a Judge tribute.“

Mark Oberkircher

Yet, after nearly three decades, finding the time and space to finish the GTO had never panned out. So Mark turned to us at Karl Kustoms to get the job done for him. And we sure did! Check it out in this video:

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Karl Kustoms Makes a Lifelong Vision For A 1971 GTO Become A Reality 

Over the years, Mark came to know Carl Moyer personally after GM transferred his job to the area in 2004. He would visit our shop and appreciate the workmanship that went into our projects. One day many years later, Carl reached out to Mark with an offer to help finish the GTO. Mark felt his GTO wasn’t up to Carl’s standards, but Carl assured him that the team would do a great job finishing the project. 

We arranged to pick up the car from Mark’s current home in Chicago, including the many boxes of parts he had stored. Finally, “The Judge” tribute that Mark envisioned for so long would become a reality. After the project began, Mark enjoyed all the videos and other updates we provided throughout the restoration. As you’ll see in the video, he was very pleased with the end result. 

If you enjoyed Mark’s story in the video above, then check out this post about a special Mustang Boss 429 we had the privilege of working on in the shop. Also, don’t miss this post about the opportunity we had to restore a rare 1970 Buick GSX.