A Plum Interior? 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix

Choosing a favorite Grand Prix from the 1963 to 1967 model years is hard, but there’s a lot to be said for the freshly restyled 1965 models. From its unique vertical grille motif to its special roofline (in the Pontiac line, at least) to its Grand Prix-only taillights and rear trim, there’s an air of exclusivity that even the Bonneville and 2+2 arguably couldn’t match. Add eight-lug wheels, rich Burgundy paint, and a rare interior color, and you have a big Pontiac that still turns heads 60 years later (even if some of those gawkers don’t know what a Pontiac is anymore). Brought to us by illustrious Barn Finder T.J., it’s now for sale here on eBay in Brick, New Jersey. The current high bid of $8,600 is clearly nowhere near its reserve.

The Grand Prix and the Bonneville shared a standard engine when they were ordered with the Turbo Hydra-Matic, and that was the 325-horsepower 389 seen here. Considering the Grand Prix’s more sporting image, it came standard with a shorter rear axle ratio than the Bonneville’s: 3.08:1; however, the seller says that this burgundy beauty has a 3.23:1 Safe-T-Track out back. It also has dual exhaust, power steering, power brakes, and air conditioning, so it’s a fairly well-equipped example of Pontiac’s glamour boat.

Although the Grand Prix was available with a bench seat, you know you want the buckets with console and floor shift. The woodgrained dashboard trim was standard, and the dashboard vents suggest that this was an AC car from the factory. The number of options available on big Pontiacs in the 1960s was staggering, and while this one certainly isn’t fully-loaded, it has what most people would want (including a tilt steering wheel and vacuum gauge on the console). Interestingly, the interior is apparently not black, but rather “Plum” Expanded Morrokide (a fancy way of saying “all-vinyl”), which was a factory combination when one ordered their car in Burgundy. Kind of neat.

The trunk looks nice, and there is no evidence of the trunk floor rust that sometimes plagues these cars when the rear window starts to leak (or when they’ve been subjected to salt).

The undercarriage pictures also show a solid Grand Prix from a bug’s eye view.

Aren’t these sixties Pontiacs great-looking cars? I’ve long been torn between the crisp 1963 models and these curvy 1965s, but there’s something to be said about just about any Grand Prix from the mid-1960s. I imagine that it will take a fair bid to drive this one home, but if you have the scratch and a space in the garage, you could hardly do better.