I love cars like this; I refer to them as ‘honest.’ There’s no trying to put lipstick on a pig with a bad paint job that looks good at 10 feet. There’s no long, useless description that conveys generic, historical information about the car, but none of the critical specifics. If you’re buying a car sight-unseen based only on pictures and words, you’re essentially a detective. And if you’re the seller, you want to maximize your chance of putting the car into good hands for the right price, giving someone a critical mass of solid evidence to build a case to buy. This 1965 Fontaine Blue Pontiac GTO time capsule found here on eBay, with the bidding at $12,000, is the perfect confluence of evidence and excitement, suggesting that we’ve found something special.
It’s all about patina. A current trend among enthusiasts and collectors is to make cars like this roadworthy without putting them through a rotisserie restoration and creating a trailer queen (Sam Smith over at Hagerty did it with a much worse 2002tii!). Now, just look at this interior. It’s amazingly preserved. If it were me, I’d simply enjoy it as is because, in this condition, this is not just an interior… it’s actually a time machine. (Love the ignition switch tucked way up on the left side of the dash, by the way!)
Go ahead and pop the hood. One look at this engine bay and you can imagine all your friends huddled around it, admiring its simplicity and ferocity after finishing burgers, fries and shakes at the drive-in. It’s like your very own slice of American Grafitti (younger readers should put that movie on their to-watch list!). The seller’s write-up gives a full build sheet breakdown, with specifics circled in red, which I think is a nice touch. He confirms the car is equipped with the 335HP 389 4bbl with Safe-T-Track rear and three-speed automatic transmission. I believe GTOs were equipped with the two-speed Super Turbine 300 auto — I’m just quoting the seller. But frankly, if this is a numbers-matching two-speed, it’s a bit of a unicorn. I suspect few, if any, ordered two-speed autos and if they did, they were probably not rebuilt after they failed, but simply replaced with a three-speed Muncie or Turbo 400 from the period. Someone school me if I’m wrong, please. Certainly, this would be one area where I’d be pressing the seller for more details to ensure accuracy.
This GTO has been in dry-storage since 1977, locked away in a tractor trailer body near a local air force base. (Given the bumper sticker, probably the now-defunct Griffiss AFB near Utica.) It’s also apparently a one-owner car (Mr. R F Hanauer) and has a Pontiac Historic Services documentation report included with the sale. From what I can see, much of it checks out. Oh, just one more thing (if I can quote Colombo): the downside seems to be the need for some frame repair due to rot. So the question then becomes, is that enough evidence to close this case?
Gone…..16k
A lot of years of condensation. Bummer about the frame. It’s all very fixable though.
Neat car
Very odd where the igntion switch is. I just can’t see myself using my left hand to start the car, or operate the HVAC controls(on some other cars), even tho i am left handed.
If my memory is correct, Pontiac put the ignition switch on the left in an attempt to convey a more sporting feel, based on the practice of European manufacturers. I think Porsche was the first to put it there, to save a second or two during races with a “LeMans start”, where drivers would line up across from their cars and sprint to the cars to start the race. The left-mounted key supposedly allowed the driver to use his left hand to start the car, while using his right hand to engage first gear. Of course, I always thought it would be preferable to have the car in first when the driver arrived, so he could simply disengage the clutch, start the car, and go, but maybe a fraction of a second was saved by reaching for the key before pressing the clutch pedal. My ’65 Barracuda has the ignition switch relocated to the left side. If nothing else, it provides easy access to the key from outside the car in the event of a crash during a track day event.
This old man had two 1965 GTO’s 1st one was w/ 3 speed #2 was a 4 speed on the floor both had ignition switch to the right of steering wheel on dash both where Gold lacquer with black vinyl roof, both came with 3.23 positrac.
The left side is where Pontiac put the ign switch on 64/65 A bodies. I can’t address either previous or subsequent years, but those were all LH switch as far as I know (and I drove several of them back in the day–a friend had two of them).
Was there another company that had tougher vinyl than Pontiac back then ? It seems no matter how rusty, battered , or weather beaten a Pontiac is, the seats still look good
Pontiac sold more of these with the two speed automatics than you would believe, if I remember correctly, very good friend ordered an identical one to the picture and had it till he died. His brother ordered one with a heavy duty three speed all synchronized, Came with a hurst shifter. Pontiac dealer told us that day he ordered ten more at same time convertibles and hard tops and two more were automatics