High style came with every ’60s Grand Prix, Pontiac’s flagship full-sized sport coupe. Even this dusty 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix outside Fort Wayne, Indiana, barn-bound for years, could make an impressive entrance one day, pulling crowds away from ordinary ’60s cars with its design gravity. This car’s owner seeks another Pontiac lover to make that happen for this barn find GP. The ticket price is set at $2500, and the listing here on Craigslist features additional pictures and details. Missing parts come with the sale as the car was “100% together” when the seller bought it.
The Grand Prix rolled out with flair that made the GTO look like a plain old wanna-be. With power windows, air conditioning, and a full-width chrome and wood dash, this was no bargain-shopper ride. Only the Bonneville got higher billing in Pontiac’s sales literature. Check out a restored dash on Hemmings for a teaser of how snappy this one could look, and the gold upholstery makes a flashy upgrade over black.
The standard 389 cid (6.4L) V8 made 325 HP and a stout 429 lb-ft of torque, and the sporty Grand Prix came with a 3.08:1 rear axle for more snap than the Bonneville. Today’s cars may have techno-wizardry galore, but you have to respect how Pontiac gave buyers a two-page menu of powertrain options for ’65. Only a square walked into the dealership unprepared to discuss gear ratios in the ’60s. Thanks to lov2xlr8 for some details.
Originally Capri Gold with a Beige vinyl top, the GP picked up an interesting bronze paint job at some point. Thanks to tpocr and iegtoclub for helping decode the seller’s nicely-focused picture of the body tag.
Pontiac enthusiasts rarely wait more than three seconds before asking about or noticing the eight-lug wheels, and this one’s got ’em. The interesting aluminum hub features an integral brake drum bolted to a steel rim. As a youth I wouldn’t have given these full-size Pontiacs a second look, but today I’d take a GP over a GTO for sure. Would you dive in and give this low-buck, high-style GP a second chance?
While it obviously will require a lot of work to put this GP back together it looks to be a mostly complete car in decent overall condition without any major rust through at a reasonable price. Would probably he worth checking out if you were close and making the seller an offer. And, with some judicious spending, you could end up with a nice old Pontiac that would be relatively rare compared to the usual pony and midsize rides at most car shows.
I have always preferred these over the GTO.
Real classy cars then and even more now. Oh how I wish I could get my hands on this machine.One sweet ride. No wonder Pontiac did so well in the ’60s.
In the early 80s I had a ’65 GP. It was sea green with a black vinyl roof and black vinyl interior. It only had a bench seat, no console or buckets. That car was quick though, because with these cars you got Bonneville power in the shorter and lighter Catalina chassis.
If it was a factory 4 speed car it would be worth the built. Add a 421 and tri power you got yourself a gold mine.
Lol. Change every aspect of the car shown and im in. Troll.
I never realized how many barns there are until I found this site.
The engine bay looks like they found and pulled this car out of the bottom of a lake. Hard to imagine how to restore the look there, or the wheels.
A “clean and clear title”. That’s a step up from so many almost-not-salvageable vehicles offered on this site. ‘Course, it’s not a California find.
Strange that a G/P that came with the 8 lug wheel option did not come with a 421!