Some classic cars take your breath away when you look at them, but they are even more breathtaking when you delve below the surface. This 1965 Pontiac GTO demonstrates these traits perfectly. Not only does it present beautifully, but its drivetrain is enough to make you go weak at the knees. After pouring his heart and soul, and quite a bit of money, into this 1960s classic, the owner has chosen to place the GTO on the market. Located in Stockton, California, you will find the Pontiac listed for sale here on Craigslist. The owner has set the price at $34,500, but he may consider a trade for the right vehicle. Mind you, he is pretty selective about what that trade will need to be. I have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder MattR for referring this magnificent classic to us.
It isn’t easy to know where to start with this Burgundy Pontiac. The paint shines beautifully, with no flaws or defects. The Black vinyl top is claimed to be original, and it is remarkably well preserved. The stunning good looks are no coincidence with this car because the owner has spent a lot of time and money to get it to this point. He has replaced the driver’s side quarter panel, the floors, trunk, lower passenger side quarter, and any other steel that didn’t meet his exacting standards. He then sent the vehicle to a professional last year for a complete repaint. Once again, there were no half-measures in this process. he had the door jambs, the dash, trunk, and the under-hood area all refreshed. The car now presents as-new, but he wasn’t finished yet! Most of the glass was fine, but he fitted a new windshield. There’s no point in having paint that sparkles magnificently if the trim doesn’t meet the same standards. He wandered out with a healthy wallet and returned home with new bumpers, a new grille, along with new badges and emblems. He decided that American Racing wheels would add the perfect finishing touch to the exterior, so he treated the car to those. The only task left for the buyer to tackle is to fit new weatherstripping. However, that won’t cost a cent because the owner includes a new set in the sale.
The owner tackled his project as a total package, which means that the interior looks just as impressive as the exterior. He splashed out on new front seat foam, new covers for all seats, new carpet, a headliner, and door trims. The woodgrain inserts in the dash are also new, leaving the interior looking factory fresh. The only aftermarket addition is a single gauge mounted below the dash. If you lobbed at a Cars & Coffee with this car, you wouldn’t get any negative feedback about the interior.
When you lift the hood of this GTO, things start to get serious. The bad news here is that the vehicle is not numbers-matching. The engine bay originally housed the entry-level 389ci V8 that would have produced 335hp. This has disappeared, and in its place is a date-correct 389ci Tri-Power engine. This V8 features the correct Rochester carburetors and would have pumped out 360hp when it was new. However, when the owner had this motor rebuilt, he also added a more aggressive camshaft. That means that there should be a few additional ponies available under the right foot. Because the Pontiac isn’t numbers-matching, the owner decided that a transmission upgrade wouldn’t be out of place. Shifting duties fall to a TH-350 transmission with a shift kit and a 2,000rpm stall torque converter. The final piece of the mechanical puzzle was completed when the owner fitted all-new drum brakes. He says that the Pontiac runs and drives perfectly, and he also provides a link to this YouTube video. It gives a walk-around and allows us to hear that mighty V8 running. It sounds perfect, with no smoke or odd noises.
The Pontiac GTO is a motoring legend, and good examples are highly sought by avid enthusiasts. This one presents superbly, although it isn’t 100% original. That might be the only thing that could potentially hurt this classic’s overall value because its condition doesn’t let it down. There will be purists who pass this one by due to the changes, but I’m sure that we will have many readers who would love to park this classic in their garage. It will be interesting to see whether any of them take it a step further by contacting the seller. If they do, I would hardly blame them.
What, no 4 speed? You know, I rip on the folks of California ( I should talk coming from Colorado) but I will say, they really know how to make a car look nice. Perfect color combination, top and mags, none better looking, I think. Today at auction, every muscle car that comes down the pike, HAS to have a 4 speed, when, in reality, 4 speeds were pretty rare. Americans in the 60’s were still hailing the marvels of automatic transmissions. 4 speeds were for unruly motorheads, not librarians or secretaries,or dad that generally stayed away from stick shifts, but still wanted power to pass.
I watched the “Cars that made America”, like I said before, full of glaring mistakes, but the part I liked, was when they focused on John DeLorean and what a jerk this Ed Cole was and Ford was a spoiled idiot ( catastrophic Edsel failure). DeLorean and Iacocca knew what it took to sell cars, and focused on the young market, and it was clever marketing that sold the GTO/Mustang at all, accounting for 100’s of thousands of sales, finally even GM and Ford gave in, and pulled out all the stops. It was no big deal for Chrysler, as it seemed they focused on hp all along. It was a wild time in auto history, one we’ll never see again,and I’m glad I was right there. Very nice car.
Howard, I have for many years enjoyed you point of view and comments both here and Hemmings. I am 71 years old and much of what you say mirrors my opinion. I for many years thought DeLorean was a cool straight up good car guy. It was sad when I learned about many of the people he cheated and lied to. As I recall he even sold a ranch to a family that he didn’t even own. On Ed Cole. I never understood how a man who gave us the small block chevrolet could EVER think the vega engine was a good idea. You’re exactly right. we both lived through a period in automotive history. We have our memories
Well said, Howard. The auto trans. would be a deal breaker for me–maybe just too old school.
My favourite picture? The one that shows the “OH $#!+” handle installed above the glove box. The temptation to force your honey to use it while you are driving would lead to a lot of broken up relationships I would think.
Day two in looks, and yes Howard, youll find lots and lots of cars like this in California. Just not in my driveway, unfortunately.
Sharp, very very sharp.
This one brings back some good memories. Back around 71, one of my high school buddies had the twin to this car, right down to the American Torque-Thrusts. The only difference was his had a console and a 4 speed.
Love it. Nicely done. My favorite part? It isn’t priced into the stratosphere. What, this dude never watches barrett jackson?
Lots to see on this one, where to start? Missing parking lights. Awful fit and finish throughout the car – cowl panel, hood, trunk, passenger fender – none of them line up well at all. Poor rust repair on valance.
Cool car yes, but needs a very close look, not as represented here at all. Would be afraid to see what surprises the undercarriage holds.
And why isn’t the accelerator linkage attached to the front carb????
The center carb butter fly runs out the other side and the front carb is connected on the other side.
All that torque and no overdrive, missed opportunity. Aesthetically sexy like a jaguar from the 60s. Just beautiful !
Thank goodness it has the correct exhaust pipes instead of a goofy pair sticking out the back.
If you look closely, I don’t think they are. They appear to be the later design used on early 70.s Firebirds. They were rounder. The GTO splitter was long and straight
The owner is a bs’er. He also said new windshield wipers and I don’t see any!
I purchased a new 1965 GTO convertible in the same color combination for $2,950.
Let me assure you the 389 had 325 HP that year the 335 HP base engine came out with the 400 CI Engine in 67.
I’m going by memory here, but I think the 64 GTO had 325HP with the 4 barrel and was bumped to 335 in 65. When the 400 came out in 67, it was 350HP base
The standard engine for a 64 GTO was rated at 325 HP and the Tri-Power was 348HP. 65-67 standard engines were 335 HP while 65-66 Tri-Powers and the 67 HO and Ram Air were 360 HP.
Nice ’65 but see a few things that need to be sorted one being the turn signal- parking light assemblies are missing, also the interior looks good but the front seat cushions are reversed, the bottom pleats always point toward the center and not toward the door panel as seen here.(if you want to be factory correct).
The deal breaker here for me is the auto trans, I own a ’65 and I would never buy one without the 4 spd manual, for me it is the M21, true muscle feel rowing thru the gears. Price on this is not bad and like KC john has stated here… what, he doesn’t watch Barrett Jackson?
Have to agree that an inspection would be wise. Lots of fitment issues and missing pieces (is the passenger side door lock not there?). I had a ’66 convertible in the same color (white interior though). 4-speed and auto weren’t the only choices. Mine had a 3-speed and a console. With the torque available with the 389 (mine was a 335hp 4-bbl) it moved along just fine.
One thing I always think about these days. While I agree that the 4 speed was the one to have in 1965, I was only 16 then. As teenagers we thought that was the one and only true way to have a muscle car. Now I’m looking at this car and thinking, well hey I could still have fun with that and my shaky old arthritic knees would be happy !
this was a tempest turned into a GTO. The emblems on the side and back show it was a tempest I had on back in 65 with tri power
How so? He says he has the PHS.
I was kinda thinking this might be a clone. Not sure because no cowl tag or Vin# shown. I thought the paint looked like it had oversprayvon trunk and hood. This car needs a console and floorshift.
Hi that is a real nice Gto a friend of mine has one like that same year his is so hot he had to take it off the street he can’t pass inspection and that’s been about 40 years ago still in his garage