Do you want a new project car but don’t want to be like every other guy at the car meet? Or something with LS power, that doesn’t require you to wear Filas and jeans shorts like the Corvette owners? Want to be the most obscure and esoteric (annoying) in your friend group? Well, we have a project car for you! You already know what it is, it’s in the title. We’re talking about the thunder from down under; the 2004 to 2006 Pontiac GTO, Holden Monaro, or possibly Chevy Lumina Coupe, depending on what region you live.

‘What’s under the hood?’ You ask

The classic GTO was all Detroit steel. But for the 5th generation (3rd in other places), Chevy decided to let the Aussies, who have been ripping skids in these cars for years, build this one. And build it they did. This generation got an LS1 backed by a T56 Magnum manual or automatic 4L60. ‘05 and ‘06 models received an LS2, coming with newly designed headers, a bigger cam, .3 liters more displacement, and better flowing cylinder heads. This updated LS netted about +50 HP over the previous.

The history of the GTO

You’ve probably heard your dad, or grandpa, or uncle talk about how this one could hop a Coke can. The 60’s GTOs were thought to have started off the muscle car era in 1964. They were originally a package for the Pontiac LeMans and Tempest that upfitted them with a 6.4L V8 flanked by a 3-speed manual transmission with a Hurst shifter. This made a whopping 325 HP, man, did we ever know how to build some inefficient motors back in those days?

The GTO sold like crazy. Through the 60’s and 70’s the engines only got bigger and bigger - but still literally made the same HP for some reason. The final boss of the GTOs was the GTO Judge, equipped with a highly compensating 455 cubic inch big block … that still only made 360 HP, but at least made 500 lb/ft of torque (at least we figured out how to make torque with all those cubic inches).

10 years after its launch, in 1974, gas prices started to soar, leading to the rise of sports compacts. The GTO, for the time, was discontinued. It was discontinued for 30 years until ‘04, when the model this article is about came into play. The modern GTO wasn’t really a GTO, just kind of, sort of a GTO. While Pontiac was busy stuffing big engines in small cars, the mad lads down under were doing the same thing, mainly Holden. The Holden Monaro was a prime example.

If you’re not familiar with the Holden brand, they deserve an article of their own. The TL;DR is that they’re an Australian subsidiary of GM with the autonomy to make their own badass sh*t. They’ve produced muscle cars that rival those of their American counterparts.

30 years later it’s reintroduced

For the 2004 GTO, GM executives said ‘hey, those Aussie boys know how to rip some skids’, let’s give them a shot at reintroducing the GTO. They flew down to Australia, ripped some burnies in Monaros, drank some VBs, fought off hordes of venomous insects, then flew back to the US ready to bring the Monaro.

The Monaro had been in production since 2001, but the US market had no idea what they were. GM rebranded the Monaro to the ‘GTO’ and off they went. At launch, they were a huge failure. As usual, corporate greed, idiot car dealers, and a sprinkle of bad luck ruined everything. The GTO was released at $34,000, way too much for the market at this time. Not to mention, it was considered to resemble an economy car compared to the other muscle car offerings at the time (think of the Mustang, Charger, or Magnum).

The GTO sold very poorly, which was bad for GM, but good for us sh*tbox enjoyers because the lack of interest translates straight through to the prices of today. Let’s not forget this car comes with an LS1 or LS2, a robust 6-speed manual or 4-speed auto, a Dana 3.46 diff, and an independent rear suspension. Nothing to sneeze at. They were some heavy-boys at 3,700 lbs, but could still get down. Straight out of the box, you could do a 13-second flat quarter mile. The key? That badass bald eagle factory under the hood, aka God’s gift to mankind - the LS - the greatest series of engines ever made. This platform takes mods well, with 400 HP being achievable with minimal investment.

What's the retail on one of those?

Talking about saving money, this is the main selling point. They come in around $6000, which is what they’re actually worth, all the way up to ‘y'all are smoking on that goofy pack’ listed at $12-15K. We expect to pay about 8 grand for a decent example, and that’s a reasonable estimate.

What can you do with this platform?

More horses

These things are pretty choked up with modern emissions equipment, so let that puppy breathe with a cold air intake, long tube headers, and catless exhausts. But why stop here? You could throw in a Texas Speed cam to get some chop - or if you’re broke, tweak the idle until you get a ghost cam. You can also port the OE heads, which already flow pretty well, or replace them with aftermarket units and throw on a Fast intake manifold. At this point, you’re flirting with 500 @ the tires. Not enough? There are a million supercharger, turbocharger, or even nitrous kits on the market. Your budget is the only limitation with the LS platform.

Putting power to the ground

With added power you're gonna need more traction. This is where we at Threepiece come into play. If you’re looking to build a daily, 18’s or 19’s are a great option. Check out these budget-friendly options:

MMR FS6

ESR RF2

 

These cars look really good with mesh or wide split-5-spoke wheels. All these brands have fantastic options for this car. It does use a weird 5x120 PCD, but that shouldn’t stop you from running some sick wheels as we can custom drill anything.

Wheels that come in 5x120

For tires, you’ll want some Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S or possibly Continental DWS06.

If you really wanna do it for Dale, and cut some 9’s at the strip, you’ll want to swap those rears out for Forgestar D5 Beadlocks and wrap them in Mickey Thompson ET Street Rs. This is what’s gonna help you drop that clutch and pray that nothing snaps in the driveline.

Should you buy one?

Well, YEAH! For the right amount of money. These things don’t really have a ton of issues. If you turn the power up you might start breaking things, but it's the same for any other car… ever. Out of the box, all the driveline components are more than capable. This platform has infinite room to grow as the aftermarket support is next to nothing. The biggest issue with the GTO, and it’s purely subjective, is the styling - some love it, others hate it.

If you can get one for under 10K, go for it, but don’t overpay. If it's more, just get a Vette instead. These aren’t the classic and collectible GTOs of the past; there are Monaro sh*tboxs. Buy it, mod it, thrash it, then pass it onto the next sucker as a ‘clean title, one owner car’ (then let them do the same for the next owner).

You can’t argue with an LS and T56 rear-drive transmission. If you got a GTO, feel free to add it to our Fitment Gallery - a great place to share your build or get inspiration