The title says it all on our feature car, and shortly you’ll see why. This 1965 Pontiac GTO is for sale here on Craigslist. It is located in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina with an asking price of $5,500. The first piece of bad news is that the title is missing. Perhaps you’d better brace yourself for the next piece though.
In all of my years dealing with cars, I can honestly say that I have never seen corrosion like this on a car. The first idea that popped into my head once the shock had subsided was that perhaps the easiest option was to turn this into a convertible. After all, mother nature has already done part of the job for us. Then I looked at the remaining photos and decided that there is enough rust elsewhere to make this a very bad idea.
As you can see, there is rot in the floors as well. This is a crying shame because this was once an incredibly desirable car, and would still be today if it were in better condition. The seller states that it has only covered 74,000 miles, but has been left out in the elements for years. Apparently, the paint color was a special order called Tiger Gold, which was paired with a vinyl top. The seller has ordered a PHS Report and hopes to have that shortly. Personally, I would like to get a good look at the underside of this GTO to ascertain whether there is any structural rust under there. There are a couple of underside shots, but they don’t tell us anything significant. It is actually possible that the rust has originally started under the vinyl, which has then been removed. Over the years it has suffered rot through and the rust in the floors has started from above as water has been allowed to flow in unabated.
Has the water gotten into the car? Yep, no question about that. Looking at this interior shot leads me to believe that the interior would probably be in pretty decent condition if the car hadn’t become a miniature version of nearby Lake Toxaway. The dash and pad don’t look too bad, nor do the door cards. However, given the amount of sunlight that you can see on the sun visors, you can be pretty sure that there has been plenty of water flowing in here (there are pools of it on the back floor). That will have done all manner of nasty things to upholstery, padding, instruments, and wiring. I think that there are potentially a lot of things in here that will be nothing but scrap once it’s all dismantled.
That’s the 389ci V8 backed by an automatic transmission. The GTO also features power steering and air con. The first thing that I notice is that it looks remarkably clean under here. Compared to the state of the rest of the car this was a pleasant surprise. There is no word whether or not the engine turns freely. I do find it delicious irony that the throat of the carburetor has been sealed with gaffa tape given the amount of moisture that has flowed through the rest of the car. However, it is possible that someone has at some stage realized that the engine was okay, so has protected it as best they knew how.
Leaving aside all of the possible jokes about convertibles, lightweight muscle cars, and air con, this car really needs some serious evaluation. The early GTO is a really desirable and significant car. This one has a lot of issues that need addressing to bring it back from the dead. The rust and rot that we can see are horrendous, without considering what we can’t see. Potentially the majority of the interior components have suffered irreparable damage from extended exposure to water, and the drive-train is an unknown quantity. I won’t say that this is a lost cause, but I suspect that it must be close. And if that’s the case then it’s really sad.
Pull any good parts off and crush the rest. Not worth the time or money to fix. You can buy a decent driver for under 20K and have fun with it now, and not in 5 years and 50K later when the restoration is done.
That is taking Factory Lightweight too far
OMG, anyone who would let a car like this degrade into it’s state of demise should be shot. My first musclecar in 1971 was a 65 GTO 389/4 speed in midnight blue in pristine condition for $1,325. This feature car is nothing more than a parts car sadly.
This is a sad case,isn’t it.?That is some of
mother natures worst ,up against one of Detroits best,
and the “Tigers” lost again..!
At least the data plate is not rusted.
This seller’s a dreamer. I don’t even want to know where he pulled that figure from. This is a first for me–I’ve NEVER seen a roof so badly rusted like this before, short of a submerged car that got towed out somewhere. $5,500.? Uh, no. tops, I’d offer $1000., and that’s just for the engine, wheelcovers and maybe bumpers. The rest goes to the scrapper.
Missing rear bumper
Yup common problem with factory vinal top vehicles with factory a/c rots the roof panel out due to condensation build up under the top over the years. Not much you can do with it now & not worth replacing the roof panel with all the other rust issues it has. Like a previous comment take out whats good & scrap the rest would be the only option here.
What 74000 nautical miles ?
Time to pull all the GTO specific parts as well as the vin plate and go Lemans shopping .
Be willing to bet years of bird crap might be the culprit. I agree, too far gone and DEFINITELY a dreamer.
If you could find a roof panel you could R&R it in a few days, those old vinyl tops are like sponges, the big problem could be the chassis, I’ve seen these rust from the inside so bad the doors would not close properly from the body sagging. What shape is the trunk floor? Rockers? This would not be an easy job, more like a career…
I agree with you 100%. I’ve changed a couple roofs and it’s not that bad of a job as long as like you said the frame is in decent shape and you have that car level. Floor pans and trunk floor a little tougher but still not that bad. If someone could get it for a decent price it would make a great father son project.
As someone who has been working on a rusty 1967 GTO for 20+ years now, I have to agree. Heck I even had a roof panel that would fit this car. Based on the pics alone everything but the floors and roof could be patched, but frame rot on these cars is a death sentence. Specifically the frame rail right under the door hinges, where water from the vents dumps out right on top by design. It is further made worse by the fact that these frames crack in the front horns if the car was ever launched hard.
This brings back memories. My husband was offered to buy one of his co-workers cars. Before committing we drove to Reno NV ( in the outskirts ) and my husband said yes. It’s a 1968 Pontiac Firebird, the original color was a Reddish Orange color but this something else. there were weeds growing through the floors, front & back, and serious holes in the trunk. Looking at the GTO, which is actually the year he’s looking for, just brings back memories of the banging in the garage, and his first experience learning to weld! It makes him happy, and our Firebird should be back from paint soon, so maybe it’s time to start again?!
this is a flipper , just makes me wonder what he paid ? is he trying to triple hie money ?
If he is trying to triple his money he paid too much!
Poor pup looks as though it’s spent the majority of its sad life submerged in a vat of acid.
. “It is located in Lake Toxaway” but has since been removed for pictures.
For $8,500 I would be all over this instead!!!
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/1965-pontiac-tempest-gto-clone/6665056915.html
Wow A/C and the next best hub caps you could run on a car for 1965 !
It’s really a shame how much it sufferd from all the moisture! This is a true GOAT! It would take to much to do anything restorable to it, I would think that the engine would definitely be worth money by itself!
No big deal,automatic is bummer.body work not that hard,been there done that.
I’d be interested in buying the dash and, if in good condition, the vinyl top molding.
Makes me think of the “Swiss Cheese Catalinas”……