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PHS Certified! 1965 Tri-Power GTO

PHS or Pontiac Historical Society is the authority on Pontiac certifications. They can analyze VIN tags, build sheets and other documentation to provide a detailed report showing the original equipment the car was built with. Similar to a Marti Report for Ford, a PHS certification allows the seller and buyer to be confident in what they are looking at. This car is said to be a real-deal 1965 Pontiac GTO tri-power, 4-speed featuring Tiger Gold paint. It can be found here on eBay with a current bid just over $7,000. Located in Valley Center, California, this car is going to take a dedicated new owner to restore it to its former glory, but the finished car has the potential to be a stunner!

Unfortunately, the photos in the ad aren’t great. Here you can see the tri-power engine. It features three 2bbl carburetors and has seen better days. Rated at about 360 horsepower from the factory, these engines are sharp-looking when restored. There is no information in the ad regarding the condition of the engine other than it is not original, which hurts the sale. The seller says there is a correct date coded WS engine which is available separately.

The interior is really gold! Seats, door panels, dash, steering wheel, and console all feature the same gold tone. It looks like it needs to be cleaned up, but it’s not bad looking overall.

Here is the VIN tag. While GM tags are not as easily decoded as those on Mopars, when combined with an original build sheet, they can give the owner some great information. The seller says the buyer should get their own PHS certification since they are easily faked. That wouldn’t give me much confidence as a buyer, but maybe a serious buyer would be able to get access to a copy of the build sheet. If you were a bidder on this car, would the current PHS certification make a difference or would you make your bid based on other factors?

Comments

  1. Avatar JOHN Member

    Pretty cool, but the seller seems to be honest about the overall condition. And a real Tiger Gold car. This could be stunning with a quality restoration, but it won’t be cheap. No mention if the non-original engine is stuck. Someone added the dual master cylinder for the brakes, good idea, but not original. Rally ll’s, great wheels but should be Rally l’s for this car.Optional wood wheel, console are nice options The fact the car was on a trailer makes it super easy to show photo’s of the frame, floors, etc. We understand it’s rusty, but it should be shown.

    Like 13
  2. Avatar stillrunners

    What John said….neat it survives in treddy California……

    Like 1
  3. Avatar Troy s

    Imagining this car new or at least in the early stages of personal mods, dang what a fine automobile.

    Like 8
  4. Avatar jeff6599

    Yeah baby! I bought one new in May of ’65; tiger gold, parchment, hardtop, 360/390/4 spd/saf-t. My best car ever. And I foolishly traded up to a ’67 RamAir Firebird 400/4 spd/433/saf-t and yes, tiger gold again!
    Yes, regrets.

    Like 11
    • Avatar Jason Murray

      What would it take to buy and get it to Wichita,Kansas so i can give it to my Dad? He gave me his 65 back in the day and I hydroplaned and wrecked it. So I would like to give him this to replace his car.

      Like 2
  5. Avatar TimM

    In my mind it doesn’t get any better than this, convertible,4 speed, tri-powered GTO!!! This is a car I would gladly buy if I had the money to do so!! I’m sure it will reach the high $20 to low $30 at least!!! The stuff on the car that’s not correct doesn’t matter to me!! This is the car to have!!

    Like 11
  6. Avatar Barzini

    The 5N on the VIN plate with a 237 VIN strongly suggests this a real GTO. The PHS will confirm the other options except the special order paint. Nice car.

    Like 5
  7. Avatar Chris M.

    Stay gold pony boy….stay gold.

    Like 5
  8. Avatar Bob McK

    Yet another Barnfind dream…

    Like 3
  9. Avatar rpol35

    Pictorial is rather thin for a car of this provenance.

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Johnmloghry

    At this point it doesn’t matter if the engine is frozen or not, it will need a complete rebuild or replacement. Still you have a great car to start with; convertible, tri power 389, 4 speed. On top of all that you get the gold colors throughout. Buy young man, buy.
    God bless America

    Like 5
  11. Avatar Jimmy

    I had a 65 GTO, midnight blue with dark blue interior, 389 / 4 speed but no tripower. The only thing I don’t like about this car is it’s a convertible and I hate gold cars as much as white ones.

    Like 1
  12. Avatar JOHN Member

    It is going to be interesting to see what this sells for. One thing that concerns me that I didn’t mention in a previous post was that the seller’s ebay name certainly appears that he has knowledge of GTO’s. So why no engine ID, why no additional photo’s of all the problem areas. I’m not saying the seller is dishonest, his ad shows him to be knowledgeable. So why not provide all the information upfront.

    Like 2
  13. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Ended: Aug 29, 2019 , 1:30PM
    Winning bid:US $25,000.00
    [ 52 bids ]

    Like 0

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