Pontiac LeMans GT-37

GT-37 at a glance

The T-37 and the insurance problem

In February 1970 Pontiac introduced the T-37 hardtop coupé, which also took over the Tempest name on the two-door pillared coupé. Pontiac called it General Motors' lowest-priced hardtop, a claim that lasted a few weeks until a base Chevrolet Chevelle hardtop undercut it. The name was internal shorthand: T for Tempest and 37 for Pontiac's hardtop body code.

By 1970 the problem for young buyers was the running cost of a muscle car, above all the insurance premium. A GTO hardtop cost US$3,267 in 1970, and the Judge package added US$337.02. The Plymouth Road Runner had shown in 1968 how much a cheap, plain car with a big engine could sell, and Street Muscle describes the GT-37 as Pontiac's mid-year answer. The Tempest-based name and classification were meant to look tamer to insurers than a GTO badge.

The 1970 package

Wikipedia calls the GT-37 a "stripper" muscle package, and the list of parts shows where the money went. The 1970 car had:

• Rally II wheels without trim rings and G70-14 white-letter tyres;
• chrome-tipped dual exhausts leaving through the rear valance;
• a heavy-duty three-speed manual with a Hurst floor shifter;
• bonnet locking pins, sport mirrors and vinyl accent stripes taken from the 1969 GTO Judge;
• GT-37 decals on the front wings and boot lid.

The 400 four-barrel came with dual exhausts. Street Muscle, which decoded the engine codes, says manual cars used the GTO's regular 400 and not the Ram Air III, while automatic cars received a small-valve 400 from the Catalina. Street Muscle counts 1,419 GT-37s for the half-year of 1970; The Autopian says the 1970 total is not known.

1971: lower compression and the 455

For 1971 Pontiac dropped the Tempest name, and the T-37 became the bottom of the A-body range under the LeMans. The GT-37 kept the 1970 recipe, with GTO split exhausts through a steel rear valance, dechromed Rally II wheels and new body-colour mirrors. Its striping changed twice: eyebrow stripes modelled on the GTO Judge at launch, then from mid-March 1971 a reflective full-length sword stripe in black, silver, blue or gold, which collectors call the 1971½ GT-37. Honeycomb wheels were new that year.

GM lowered compression across its 1971 engines so they could run on lower-octane fuel, and the 455, a GTO-only engine in 1970, became available in the T-37 range. Street Muscle gives production by engine:

The 455 HO had 8.4:1 compression against 8.2:1 for the regular 455, according to autoevolution. Few cars had the Muncie M22 close-ratio four-speed; the same source estimates fewer than 40 across the T-37 and GT-37 together. Brakes were 9.5-inch drums.

GT-37 against the GTO and the Road Runner

The GT-37 sold the GTO's performance without the GTO's badge, and in 1971 it took sales from it. That year 641 GT-37s left the factory with GTO engines: the 400 four-barrel, the 455 and the 455 HO. Pontiac sold 10,532 GTOs in 1971, against 40,149 in 1970, and Street Muscle reads part of that fall as the GT-37 taking buyers from the Pontiac GTO. The GTO Judge that lent the GT-37 its stripes sold only 357 cars in 1971.

Its intended rival was Chrysler's low-price car. Street Muscle puts the Plymouth Road Runner under US$2,900 at the time and the GTO and the bigger Mopars around US$3,000. Within GM, the Chevrolet Chevelle both undercut the T-37 on price and offered its own SS models on the same A-body.

The end and the LeMans GT

The GT-37 was not offered for 1972. Its place went to the LeMans GT option on LeMans pillared and hardtop coupés, which kept the sword stripe and the handling parts, could be ordered with any V8 from the 350 two-barrel to the 455 HO, and was also available as a convertible. Street Muscle gives 8,880 LeMans GTs. The GTO itself became an option package on the LeMans and LeMans Sport coupés in 1972, and the LeMans line later carried the 1977 Can Am.

GT-37 today: what to check

A T-37 is easy to dress up, so the details carry the proof. A genuine car should show GT-37 badges on the front wings and the boot lid, bonnet pins, the exhaust exiting through the valance and Rally II wheels. A 1971 car with the sword stripe should be a late build.

• The engine matters most: 5,015 of the 5,802 cars of 1971 had the 350, so a 400 four-barrel or a 455 needs supporting paperwork.
• The 54 cars with the 455 HO and the few M22 four-speed cars are the rarest combinations.
• Hagerty's valuation tool lists the 1970 GT-37 as a two-door coupé with the 350 and 255 hp, and The Autopian (April 2024) put typical sales at about US$25,000 to US$40,000.

The Pontiac catalogue lists the T-37's relatives, from the Tempest to the LeMans.