Many people believe that the term “legend” is heavily overused in the classic car world. However, the 1964 Pontiac GTO rightly wears that tag with pride. This GTO rates as one of the most amazing classics that we’ve seen here at Barn Finds. The original owner parked this classic when it was mere months old, and it now has a genuine 1,321 miles showing on its odometer. It is as close to a brand new ’64 GTO as you will find today. It seems that somebody’s lucky day has arrived, as the owner has decided to list the vehicle for sale here on Craigslist. He is located in Pahrump, Nevada, and the owner has set the sale price at $125,000. That’s a lot of money, but somebody will be getting a lot of car for their cash. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder rex m for spotting this absolute pearl for us.
The back story of this GTO is a fascinating one. The original owner took delivery of the car in December of 1963 and drove it sparingly until February 1964. He then placed the vehicle in climate-controlled storage, and it remained there for decades. It only recently emerged from hiding, and that’s when it was revealed to have an odometer reading of 1,300 genuine miles. Since that day, the figure has climbed to the current figure of 1,361 miles. It presents superbly in its original Silvermist Gray paint with a Black vinyl top. The vehicle has never undergone any form of restoration work, and the paint and panels are as they were when the car rolled off the production line. The lacquer paint still holds an impressive shine, while the vinyl top is in as-new condition. There is no evidence of dings or dents, and this car remains 100% rust-free. The underside reveals the occasional light dusting of surface corrosion, but there’s nothing that is likely to cause the buyer sleepless nights. When you consider this classic’s history, it is no surprise to find that the trim and chrome shine beautifully, while the glass appears to be flawless. There’s no doubt that this GTO would still turn heads wherever it went.
Opening this Pontiac’s doors is like taking a step back in time. It is upholstered in black vinyl, featuring bucket seats and a floor console that houses the shifter for the transmission. The vinyl shows no evidence of wear or deterioration after years of sitting in hiding. The carpet has no fading or other flaws, while the dash and pad are perfect. The gauge cluster looks clean and crisp, with no visibility of clouding on the lenses. The wheel has avoided the cracking that can afflict these cars, and while this is not a highly equipped interior, the original AM radio should provide tunes on the move for the next lucky owner.
Pontiac offered potential buyers two versions of its iconic 389ci V8 for the 1964 GTO. The original owner of this car selected the Tri-Power-equipped motor that gave them 348hp. They also chose to bolt a four-speed manual transmission to the back of this beautiful V8. That combination allowed the GTO to cover the ¼-mile in 14.4 seconds. Many people believe that the GTO was the father of the muscle car era. When you consider the available performance levels, it is no surprise that they hold this view. The engine bay of this classic presents in as-new condition. If you consider the low odometer reading, this is hardly surprising. While it spent decades in storage, that doesn’t mean that it remained neglected. The original owner used to kick it into life regularly to keep the lubricants moving and keep the car in a mechanically sound state. The current owner purchased the car and sent it to a Pontiac GTO specialist to ensure that everything was in good working order before returning it to the road. Considering how long it had been sitting, it needed very little work to achieve this state. It now runs and drives extremely well and is ready to be enjoyed immediately. However, it does have one interesting little quirk that causes me slight confusion.
My confusion with this GTO stems from two of the engine photos that the seller supplies. If you compare the two that I have included in this article, you will find that the first one shows no power steering, while the one above reveals what appears to be a power steering pump and reservoir. The owner holds the original Window Sticker, but it is illegible in the supplied photos. Therefore it isn’t 100% clear whether this GTO rolled off the line with that option fitted. That is a question that would seem to be worth asking. The seller includes a fair collection of documentation. As well as the Window Sticker, there is the original Owner’s Manual and documentation from the PHS verifying and certifying this classic.
Classic muscle cars like this 1964 Pontiac GTO probably only come along once in a lifetime. To find a vehicle like this that has been so beautifully preserved and unmolested is a rare treat. That raises the question of what the buyer is going to do with this survivor. It could never be considered a cheap car, but the asking price is not unprecedented. However, part of its intrinsic value rests in its odometer reading. There’s the genuine chance that every additional accumulated mile is going to affect its overall value adversely. I would love to think that this car will find its way back onto our roads where it belongs, but I suspect that it will spend most of its life either in storage or as a display vehicle in a museum. To me, that would be a tragedy because that is not what its creators set out to achieve when they built this classic. If you were to buy this GTO, what would you do?
I found another set of pictures I have a question about. The view from the drivers side there is no console, but the view from the passenger side there is one.
Maybe it was added? Or taken out to be detailed?
looks like two different year engines….breather on valve cover on right an left sides….alternator adjusted in different spots, one has tag, one doesn’t…..heater hoses routed differently…upper radiator hoses, one shiny, one dull, clamp not the same…carbs different color in each picture…….
With a claim of 1,361 original miles, you better believe we’re all going to be scrutinizing all these photos.
It is a beautiful car though.
The numbers on the odo don’t line up…evidence of tampering perhaps? You bet! also, there’s fresh paint over old paint in that engine compartment.
The digits have play from the factory/new.
Geez, when will people stop with this old wive’s tale. This is absolutely NOT true.
I emailed him about the fact that some pictures show a power steering pump and others dont…..his excuse is that it was late at night and he put up pictures of 2 different cars,by accident…..
There are some problems with the photos and it’s a great looking car. Here is my question, how can you buy a new GTO in 1964 and drive it less than 1400 miles? Come on really this is when it was starting to get good. Grab a burger at the drive in, all the big boys cruising through and your goat is in the garage?
I’d greet the mileage claim with a healthy dose of cynicism. Back in early 1964, who would have thought to put a sporty LeMans into climate controlled storage when it was just 2 months old? For that to make any sense, the original owner must have been a direct descendent of Nostradamas, and thus able to forsee muscle cars taking off as a segment and Boomers growing up into unprecedented prosperity and getting very nostalgic for them starting in the mid-1980s.
That, coupled with the discrepancies in the photos, ample underside surface rust, and engine bay that looks better than new, calls for an expert to look this over stem to stern.
I heard he was related to Nostradamas and PT Barnum. :~)
That’s another thing that’s great about this site, going to have to do better than this to fool this crowd. It’s a great restoration of a low mileage car, but not that low. Their pictures kill it every time. Underside certainly not 1400 miles, and numbers not lined up in the speedo indicates some tomfoolery went on, and clearly, the BarnFinds “team” doesn’t buy it either. See, they got greedy, rather than give a plausible number on the mileage, say, 31K maybe, but no, they have to go for the 1400 baloney, trying to hook a sucker. It’s still a great piece of history, whether it’s worth the 6 figures, well, I give up on that one.
No American car , even if it genuinely has a little over a thousand miles (and you can bet this one probably has closer to 60-70k miles before it was turned back) is worth six figures.
@ Terry: you are right! how ’bout i sell you my Duesenberg for $99,999?…..this car does seem a bit suspicious to me.
@Terrry, there are a lot of Boss 429’s, Camaro Z/28’s, 63 split window f.i. Stingrays, etc that would dispute your claim of no American car is worth 6 figures. There are more than a handful of them
Nothing quite like arrogance and elitism smothered in ignorance on full and unbecoming display, eh Terrry?
Howard A, I dont know what article you’re reading, but it sure looks to me that barn finds swallowed this hook, line and sinker!!
I can’t fathom listing a car on Craig’s List for 6 figures lol. That is like putting a royal princess in a trailer park. It might technically work, but it just don’t fit!
Nice restoration of a cool car.
Hey, SG, I’ve met some royal princesses in trailer parks, or that’s what they told me, anyway,, :)
Yeah, my ex wife was a real princess too lol.
Folks here already caught what I did in this car, and it didn’t work. First & foremost, you don’t buy the legendary first-year GOAT & mothball it for almost 60 years. Nobody does. (I was waiting for the ‘he died in Vietnam’ BS) And the chassis is NOT 1360 miles worth of wear–not by a long shot. This IS a nice GOAT; just not $125K’s worth to me, or any GTO fan that knows `64s!
Thanks for the sharp eyes folks. There are a lot of red flags here for certain. Even the seller’s “story” as to how he gained ownership, sounds like just another CL scam. The car looks great, just not buying it or the guys story on the history here.
If you look at picture #24, the underside of the engine it clearly shows 1 fan belt, and take a close look at the bell housing, the dust cover is missing, and the crossmember has some dings and the back of the oil pan to, another point is look at the engine block numbers and you can see this engine has had a respray, did I miss anything else
Original tires, belts & hoses would be a sight to behold.
I’ve seen a lot of cars with stupid low-miles claims, but this one takes the cake. It’s a nice GTO to be sure, but just as surely, the clock has been turned back. Way back. As it truly is, the seller is smoking ganja if he thinks he’s getting anywhere near six figures for it.
I mean, it could well have been scrupulously well-maintained, fixed when needed with no deferred maintenance, always garaged, kept out of road salt and look like this after 101,361 miles and maybe some repro seat trim.
What’s with the three JC Whitney air filters on this car? Originality would be nice on a car that’s “barely broken in”. The whole ad looks fishy.
I’m not buying it, nor the car either.
The knowledge on here is just remarkable to me, you guys spotted stuff that I missed totally , and then had to go back and see.. keep up the great work.
Looked at the pics said to myself BS went through comments. Say no more
I agree – this looks like a scam.Those pictures WERE NOT
taken in Nevada.
The business listed on the sign are located in Libertyville, Ill. What a joke.
What Bick Banter said. Nobody except Steve Banks put a car away like this in the mid 60s. Banks heard GM was dropping fuel injection on the Corvette. He bought a Glen Green 65 FI conv from Reedman Chevy in Langhorne, PA. Never titled it. He drove it 1,500 miles and put it away. Today it has 1,670 miles. It Coming up for sale at Mecum in Jan. I would examine this GTO closely.
I would pay $12,500.00
Wow, 19 comments and counting. I’m learning a lot on here!!!!! And I’m still wondering about that disappearing console!!!
For sure different engine pictures. The alternator in one has a sticker on it, the other does not. Carb bases are gold in one pic, gray in the other. Hose clamp on the radiator hose is bolt up, not so on the other pic. And to get really picky, wing nuts on the air cleaners are all lined up in on pic and turned 90 degrees in the other.
Someone else saw the wing nuts on the air cleaners are turned differently, and I might be wrong here but in one of the engine compartment photos, the voltage regular has a white resistor next to it and I cannot see it in another photo. Isn’t it a shame that someone would even try to get something past real live car guys? It is so shameful.
This joint is FILLED with Columbos!
Has it been lightly tapped in the rear also? The bumper seems lower on the driver side and the trunk gap on the back is wider on that side as well:
https://images.craigslist.org/00F0F_54g4vorNsT6z_0CI0t2_1200x900.jpg
As soon as the Nigerian prince that I have been corresponding with sends me the 15 million that I have coming (I have only sent him 10,000 dollars to process it! Score!), I will purchase this rare collectible.
Just one more thing ma’am……
Peter Falk was great!!
This post and the comments are hilarious!
In 1964 I bought a brand new Chevelle and let me tell you for spending that kind of money back then you didn’t let that car sit for a minute. I find his whole ad B’S.
One more thing, the factory never put the balance weights on the outside of the wheel.
So here we have a “time capsule” claiming to have “1321 genuine miles”, with a Pa. tag on it, being staged in a driveway in Libertyville, Ill., while claiming to be in Pahrump, Nevada. I suggest the owner start all over again…clean up the phony pics….stage the car in a proper setting…and above all, be truthful. This crowd is way smarter than you. And Barn Finds needs to look at the obvious when featuring a car like this…IMO.
I think the confusion with the pics is there are some before & after shots mixed together. The CL add states that the car was shipped from PA to a Pontiac shop in Chicago where it had some maintenance done, including new hoses & work on the carbs. Probably a bit of other things too. Then it was brought to Nevada. Could be legit, but I would believe it more if it was on Mecum or B-J rather than Craigslist.
The pics remind me of those picture books with slight discrepancies from picture to picture for comparison. Not hard to spot the differences here though.
I’m calling BS on this “original” 1300mi 64 Goat.
I worked in a Pontiac dealership in 1968 servicing these cars. Correct air cleaners were the foam units that you cleaned and re-oiled when servicing the car. Lots of great comments on this one. Love to know the real story.
Well after reading the CL ad twice it seems to address some of the complaints or confusing text. Says it was bought on East coast and shipped to Chicago based Pontiac experts for a look over and refresh. Then says brought to West coast where it now resides. Talks about items replaced like filters and new tires, which account for wheel weights on the outside of the rim. Says they scuff padded frame to minimize appearance of rust. Pics show it on a rotisserie stand to access the chassis. Also states PHS has documentation as to lineage and mileage. So that’s part of it explained. But…Not sure about being in a climate controlled facility and still seeing a chassis that looks this weather worn. Oil pan shows chipped paint where it’s been repainted in the past. Drivers seat bottom cushion looks like it has indentation from object resting on it? A few other pics are confusing like the difference in carb base colors etc. Hard to tell what sequence the pics were taken. Are some pre clean up and others after work done? So yeah there are some questions to be asked for sure. If you are presenting a 60 year old car in “new condition” with 1300 miles, it should appear factory fresh, not convoluted with odd pics and descriptions.
Getting back to the tires. With just 1300 miles the tires would most likely still have the little nubbies on them. There would be a photo of those original tires right besides that car and included in the price. You don’t just scrap important history like that.
I’m not a ’60’s Pontiac expert, and maybe it’s because most have after market tires but, do those wheels belong on this car?
I always say when they can prove the mileage, I’ll believe it. I would think anyone who would have the foresight to do this with their car would also have the foresight to retain the appropriate paperwork to prove it.
Otherwise, it’s just idle talk and a group of numbers.
At least 3 different engine images. A PCV valve in the right valve cover – what a joke. Why is the right head removed in the picture of the block code? Probably because they pieced together an engine to replace the 326 that had been there. If this really has PHS docs, I’d be checking to see if they were thorough enough to transfer the frame partial VIN when they cloned that thing.
What an observant bunch ~ and I thought *I* was “detail-oriented”. I will throw in my .02: painted dipstick vs. unpainted. Whew, I feel better now. Carry on !
For that kind of money it should have the quad tailpipes that exit below the rear fender sides.
If this car were bought in 1964 and claimed original, that is the wrong license plate as well. Up until 1965, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would have issued a 1958 style which is DARK BLUE with a YELLOW border and lettering (embossed 1958 – the exact opposite of this color scheme). It would also have a green-over-white 1964 “update” registration sticker in the upper left.
Moreover, as has been alluded to before – if the original owner were this picky and had such foresight, this car would have copies of the original title, mileage statements, and other items to back up the mileage with certainty. Lacking these, my BS detector is off the charts.
All 1958-1964 passenger car and station wagon plates were replaced during a general reissue in 1965. Suburban plates were discontinued and station wagons again received regular passenger car plates. The 1965 base plate was undated and was valid during its first year without stickers; it was then renewed with stickers through 1970. It again featured the state map outline border, this time with dark blue characters on a dark yellow background. For the first time in Pennsylvania license plate history, the state name was spelled out in full. Correct sticker placement was again in the upper left corner, although there were no aids such as sticker wells or boxes to guide the motorist with sticker location.
Sequentially-issued serial formats were similar to the 1958 base, except that an additional format was required. First, all-numeric, six-digit plates were issued, followed in order by six-character serials with a letter in position 1, position 6, position 2, and, for the first time, position 3.
Btw, I have a beautiful set of pristine original Bill Parker 4spd license plate frames that’d look really sweet on this GTO – or an old second hand expertly documented ride by Yenko Sportscars for that matter. Beats the heck out of the oceanside Arizona property one of your acolytes is hawking on here…
I would not be so quick to rule it out. The condition of the chassis is viable. If it is original, the engine bay detailing is unfortunate, but also the most common violation of survivors by people who don’t get it. Other underhood anomalies harder to explain. Would require thorough inspection by marque experts. If it is what he claims, the obvious thing to do would be to have it Vintage Certified at MCACN. Not everyone wants to take the financial hit, nor risk shipping a car cross country, but since he’s already shipped it to Tri-Power Automotive, another trailer ride to Rosemont, IL would be the next logical step for an owner claiming to have the lowest mile first year GTO in existence and asking $125K. If this car is everything he claims, it could’ve rightfully brought even more had they not detailed the engine bay and ruined the factory finishes. One could also verify the originality claims by calling up Tri-Power Automotive and asking some questions.
Original tires would be highly sought after, but after this many years, they’d be for show only and US Royal 7.5-14 redlines are readily available through Coker Tire, so again expert assessment and date coding would be needed to confirm originality claims.
Cars like this do exist. There was a claimed 1.1K original mile 1969 Torino Cobra Jet 428 and a 2K mile 1970 Chevelle SS 396 at MCACN this year, the Chevelle totally original down to the valve stems and caps on its original set of Uniroyal Tiger Paws. They don’t reproduce those. Paint left in its pock marked original condition and the engine bay undetailed as it should be on a 2K car, corrosion and all. Ours is not to deny the possibility that some cars are bought and never driven. Enough of them have been confirmed to exist that every legitimate claim deserves to be investigated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0md7cBjR9nQ
Good catches guys👍
The one ya all missed was that damn pesky pic #9 with two coats of engine paint, a cylinder head that went missing, rusty cylinder wall, and carbon on the top of the piston that I’ll guaran-damn-t wouldn’t be there after 1300 miles… Just sayin…
1800 W Peterson Rd, Libertyville, IL 60048 That’s where this car is.
One picture has a straight truck across the street with a car trailer.
This car has been driven and spent time is a shop for an overhaul.
The speedo has been tampered with for sure.
I think the power steering was added, bottom pulley can handle 2 belts.
The carbs do look different and is it just me or the front carb have no linkage?
Yes there are cars like this that do exist. There is a man in our area who bought a 1967 GTO new. White with black vinyl top, black guts, 400, 4-speed. I went to look at it a few years ago. At that time, it had 7,987 actual miles on it. And it was very obvious these were the correct miles. Also, he made it clear when he allowed a friend of mine and me to come see it, that the car was NOT for sale and if that was our purpose to come look at it, we couldn’t come there.
He had it in a nice garage which was attached to his house. Also in that garage was a large sized pleasure boat which he had bought new and only used for one summer and then no more!
I asked him why he bought the GTO and the boat and then used them so little and he said he hated to wear things out that he bought. And that was how he prevents that from happening.
Sort of a strange reason but I understand it.
Indeed there are ultra low mile cars that do exist out there… I have some of them. This isn’t one of them. Or, if indeed the mileage is correct, the seller is not being even remotely truthful about what has been done to the car after its discovery…
Someone should call up Tri Power Automotive and inquire about what was done to the car…
As said there’s a sucker born everyday
I have a Silver Mist Gray Coupe that I will sell for half that !!
B Brady
1800 W Peterson Rd, Libertyville, IL is obviously where the car was parked when these pics were taken. Is it impossible that the car might’ve made it back to Nevada since then? Isn’t it also possible that the car may’ve sat because the original engine is long gone having been replaced by a 421 or whatever that’s now also long gone for some early drag racing purpose that was either short lived or never materialized? And now you have a hodgepodge of unoriginal parts under the hood? Could it be that the car was never driven because it sat for decades with no engine in it? And just maybe that unconvincing trunk mat came from an online store because the original was missing? I can tell you my ’73 Camaro RS 350 is in its present state of preservation exactly for that reason – the car was saved because I removed the front clip in 1992 to “restore” it and never got it back together, only bolting the subframe back on to move it from my previous house to my current garage where it still sits in limbo – and remarkably original.
There’s a lot that can happen to a car over 58 years. It’s funny how most commenters here are so certain that this is pure fraud when everyone knows that lots of cars were purchased and immediately modified – some more than others – and not everyone thinks or does exactly as YOU would think or do which is why survivors exist to begin with. So you drove the pi$$ out of yours and sold it for peanuts years ago to buy a Datsun and simply cannot fathom how everybody else didn’t do exactly the same – and now you’re outraged that some dude who’s now dead might’ve had more prescience and/or garage space than you and some other not so super sharp dude is asking over six figures for it? Whether or not other’s choices seem rational, the cars parked for whatever reason for decades are the ones that survived with their original finishes (if not all their original parts) intact. That includes Day 2 cars and modified or incomplete survivors pieced back together all too often by flippers. If this guy has any confidence in his own claims, he will at least attempt to have it Vintage Certified with full disclosure on the engine room anomalies and set the record straight.
Maybe the real “suckers” are those quick to deny the possibility that such survivors actually exist because they really don’t know half as much as they think they do…
@Idiot Boy – I see no “outrage” as you put it in any of the comments here. Only sharp-eyed observations of real palpable inconsistencies in a supposedly original, no-stories car. This is not to say it’s fake, nor do these inconsistencies mean that there aren’t other cars that were put away early in their life – that is missing the point (and a bit of misdirection – just because others exist does not somehow make THIS car legitimately original).
Again, those cars certainly do exist, but whether THIS car is one of them is, at the very least, debatable. Yes, things do happen over the years no matter how careful the storage, but certainly enough questions arise, perhaps many of them just due to very poor and inconsistent presentation by the seller of such a high-dollar car.
sYc…Very well said! Every issue brought up on here by very knowledgeable car guys is valid. The owner needs to go back to the drawing board with his presentation, but then again it’s probably too late. The cat’s already out of the bag regarding this car and it’s “1321 genuine miles” claim. I’m sure someone out there is gullible enough to believe this car is legit…but if they are also gullible enough to give this owner anything near his asking, let me know. I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona I want to sell.
Is that a real poncho… I mean
Is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
Hmmm… no foolin’…
I spy with my little eye…ps pump and belt missing from under the engine shot. Tranny inspection plate missing too.
whats with the claim that it was so new, GM didn’t even install either of the side mirrors? HUH?
Forget it, Jake.
It’s Craigslist.
1321 miles, maybe 1/4 mile at a time.
Neat ride for sure, if the mileage claim and all the story is correct it will exist on a trailer for show, hidden away in a climate controlled garage all over Again when not shown, but forget seeing it blasting down the highway.
There are so many different reasons it could have been parked all those years ago, maybe it scared the owner, was raced sparingly, just wanted it, etc etc…but never about sitting on a future fold mine. Who really knows and yes, it could be all just BS. 125 thousand dollars is serious money!
Future Gold Mine, spellchecker
As nice a car as this is, I can’t believe on a GTO that you got idiot lights instead of gauges. A sporty car like this should have full instrumentation – but they didn’t do that then, I guess.
It may be a nice restoration attempt and questuion the super low miles. The engine replacement and many other things should say the buyer should be very careful.
Nice GTO, kind of overwhelming that some of the pictures dont jive with whats presented. All the differences throws up warning flags as to the cars past and its present. What cracks me up is the last line in the CRAIGSLIST ad, “The car deserves to be preserved like it is now. Im not interested in selling it to anyone that is going to drive it daily or use it as primary transportation.” If I am going to spend six figures for a car I fully intend to use the car as I dam well please, daily driver, weekend cruiser, weekend warrior with slicks & headers, or run it off a dam cliff if the mood strikes me. Nice car like I said but it would require an experts inspection before any logical person would spend that much money.
I think many of you could be very wrong. For starters…imperfectly aligned odometer numbers are NOT a sign of tampering, lol. That is an old wive’s tale that armchair experts swear by. Is it possible that it’s actual miles? Of course it is. Of course, on the contrary, it’s also possible that it is not. When a reputable GTO restoration shop has worked on it, why not just call and ask them? Is that so difficult?
Not an old wive’s tale. Spinning the odometer was very common… but not everybody noticed the numbers were misaligned. They eventually came out with an odometer that would show white lines between the numbers if it were spun.
The seller does seem to not want people to point out the questionable things about this car in his ad and for us to shut up by his attitude. Even if this detailed restoration were real it would not be that desirable to a lot of people. It is way overpriced.
Learned to drive in 64 Pontiac Catalina 2+2