I admit I know as much about baseball as rocket science and brain surgery. However, even I know who the legendary Reggie Jackson is. His illustrious career spanned twenty-one seasons, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. Like many successful sportspeople, Jackson was passionate about performance cars, and this 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix stands as rock-solid proof. The seller offers it as part of a deceased estate, but they hold documentation confirming its famous owner to be included in the sale. The Grand Prix is listed here on Craigslist in Pismo Beach, California. It could be yours by handing them $32,500. A huge thank you goes to Barn Finder MattR for spotting this beauty.
Pontiac released the Grand Prix in 1962, and a sales figure of 30,195 vehicles was impressive for an entirely new model with no history. This car presents fairly well in Mandalay Red, although there are imperfections requiring attention. None are severe, but with panel damage on the passenger side front fender, I won’t be surprised if the next owner considers treating this classic to a fresh coat of paint. The best slice of news for potential buyers is that this Grand Prix spent its life in California. That makes its rust-free status no surprise. The exterior is clean, while the floors and frame are solid. There may be imperfections in some trim pieces, but the glass looks flawless. Rounding out the exterior is one of my favorite Pontiac options from this era. The 8-lug wheels add a classy touch, and I rate them as one of the best-looking wheels to ever grace a production car.
Pontiac offered Grand Prix buyers a selection of engines in 1962, and Mr. Jackson went for the best with the 389ci Tri-Power V8 producing 348hp. He teamed this with a four-speed manual transmission but elected to forgo the power-sapping luxury of power assistance for the steering and brakes. Had he pointed the car at a ¼ mile, it would have completed the journey in 14.5 seconds. The Grand Prix could potentially top 140mph, but wind resistance may have seen it fall short of that figure. The motor wears a few aftermarket dress-up components, but the seller confirms it is numbers-matching. We’re told it runs and drives exceptionally well, with no mechanical needs or problems. If you seek instant gratification, this classic delivers.
The seller refers to the Grand Prix’s interior as updated, which I assume means it received a retrim. The White upholstered surfaces look nice, as does the console with the factory tach. The wheel suffered the common cracking issues, and some bright trim pieces show deterioration. I think the window crank is missing from the passenger side, but the interior appears otherwise complete. If considered a driver-grade classic, it would cause its next owner no shame. Mr. Jackson didn’t load the interior with luxury features like air conditioning, but the original Wonderbar radio is intact.
We’ve frequently discussed classic cars with famous owners at Barn Finds and whether such a history increases its potential value. I stand by my belief that the question must be considered on a case-by-case basis. For instance, a black Trans Am owned by Burt Reynolds or a Cadillac used by Elvis will undoubtedly enjoy a premium. Others are less obvious. Typically, I’d place a question mark over this Grand Prix, although you can be sure there is a Reggie Jackson fan out there desperate to get their hands on this solid survivor. Recent sales results suggest the seller’s asking price looks competitive, especially considering its lack of rust, originality, and specifications. That ownership history could prove the icing on the cake, although many enthusiasts will see it as an interesting sidebar in this Pontiac’s story. Do you agree?
Nice, nice, nice! Jackson was a fantastic ball player, and his car collection was almost unknown, to me anyway. I read, in 1988, a fire destroyed 35 of his then 97 classic cars, luckily, this car wasn’t one of them. While the small amount power P/S zaps, what, 4% on this powerhouse? and P/B is just a vacuum assist, in the name of safety, they should be installed. This is how many of these were ordered, all guts and little flash. You didn’t buy a tri-power, 4 speed monster like this to cart your prospective new boss around, it was all about having the biggest stick, and none better than right here. With the 421 coming out this year, even more so. Pontiac was king,,,for a while. $35gs? Again, that can be debated, I still don’t think the celebrity status should be any plus, but as probably the most wicked car made, it will cost you TEN times what it cost ol’ Reg, if that’s an issue. This setup added almost $2,000 bucks to a “standard” Catalina, so we never saw many. Very cool find, just a basic car, just the way I likes them.
My friend was a big car collector in Long Island. He had a very rare 1970 Chevelle Super Sport LS6 Tripple Black with hardly any miles. Jackson had unlimited money and offered him 150k back in the 80’s. This car was a 10 plus totally mint car. Reggie pissed off my friend and he told him to take a walk. All the big car guys on Long Island heard this story and they laughed. I met a guy selling a 67 Oldsmobile this past summer in Liberty who is a big classic car restorer on Long Island. I told him the story he told me he heard it. Funny.
Reggie was only 16 when this car came out, he is a major car collector , I believe years ago there was a fire and he lost over 100 cars.
It appears the writer thinks Reggie Jackson was the original owner of this car (Mr. Jackson went for the best with the 389ci……. He teamed this…Mr. Jackson didn’t load the interior…..). Reggie Jackson was 15 or 16 in 62, so it’s highly unlikely he had anything to do with how this car was ordered. Instead it’s just one of the hundreds of cars that have pasted through his collection over the years. It might be a nice talking point at the next Cars & Coffee, but it hardly adds any value to the car.
In 62, Pontiac’s with the 3×2 389 and 4 speed combination were fairly common, with production pretty evenly split between manual and automatic. Mid thirties seems to be about the average for this vintage GP. But while this one does appear to be a decent example, I’ve seen nicer ones for similar money.
Craigslist clearly states that he purchased it in 1996.
I agree years ago At the Kruse auction Jackson would buy cars at auction title in his name and re sell at the same auction or others and made money doing so .this may be one of the cars barry
Why care who a previous owner was??? Judge the car for what it is….beautiful
The car was part of collection of Mr Jackson and he owned many collector cars. Does this add value? I happen to agree with the author there is little provence to this. Nice car and probably worth the asking price but just because it was part of a large collection na doesn’t mean anything to me, just another nice old Pontiac for sale.
Nice model and options, but 35K…
Looks like Mr. Jackson owned it for a week!
Unless CA doesn’t mark titles as duplicate.
Maybe he was a flipper on the side.
Reggie grew up in the Philly area. Played high school and local ball in the Baltimore and Philadelphia area before he was drafted. Doubtful that he made the journey to California to order and buy this car at 16.
Why? Would you assume Reggie Jackson bought this car when it was new. I agree it is an interesting fact that he did own it, but that really doesn’t increase its value to most buyers.
I saw an interview with Reggie Jackson, and he said he began building his collection in the late 70’s, and bought many of his cars for almost nothing! at that time, most people just wanted to get rid of them. Mr. Jackson loves cars, but he also anticipated what would happen to their values, in the coming decades.
REGGIE JACKSON owned this car?!!! – I’ll pay double for that! (NOT!).
I’ve noticed that Reggie would sell cars at the Barrett Jackson auctions,but
not buy their.Smart guy.
That said it’s a nice car regardless,although I’ve never liked the look of
putting mirrors on the front fenders.To me,it ruins the clean lines of the car.
Beautiful looking car! IMHO, it’s the best looking car until the 1967 through 69 Pontiac model years. Given its beautiful condition, I’d pay closer to $25k for the car.
I took a very close look at the title that was in Reggie’s name.
Unless CA didn’t mark a title as a duplicate, he owned this car for a week…
Maybe a quick flip?
The car is probably a decent driver and rust free. I’m not sure 35K but who knows these days.
That’s the second reference to $35k. It’s selling for $32.5K.
Asking price.
I’m guessing it wasn’t originally a California car,..no A/C. I thought Reggie Jackson primarily collected very accurate examples of high end muscle cars (Yenko’s) etc. The gloss red firewall and painted M/T valve covers do it no favors. Nice car, but I wouldn’t pay a dime more for a car because it was allegedly once owned by a celebrity. Just my opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions.
The firewall on these cars is body color not satin black. I have a mostly original 1962 Grand Prix and the firewall is body color. You can still make out factory chalk marks on it.
My 63 Catalina was born in LA and lived in Cali all it’s life with no A C. I don’t think it was mandatory that Cali cars had to have A C.
I’m a grammarstomper, but/and also a comedian, so forgive me please as i point out the place (if not, in our dynamic, bullets-flying new age, “need”) for punctuation or/and proofreaders: the fourth sentence of the always-excellent BF prose tells us the Grand Prix’s seller “hold[s] documentation confirming its famous owner {Reggie Jackson] to be included in the sale.”
My garage is spacious, but content as i am at home i doubt if even in my “main house” Reggie would find everything of the manors to which he’s accustomed.
Had i 32,000 flingable dollars, i’d have to take only one or the other. Much as Reggie Jackson might draw bigger crowds to my little barbecues, i think i’d take the car, an indeed premier premiere Prix.
Hi angel, “yes,, Miss Landers”,,,while I can appreciate your passion for clarity, it has little, if any place among motorheads. Generally speaking, we’re self-made people, not a lot of education, save the “School of Hard Knocks”, and most did poorly in school. This computer is about as advanced as we got. There would be a lot more mistakes if the screen didn’t indicate a misspelling. Taking apart a SBC, or a BC Cummins was all we needed to know, grammar came 2nd, if at all. We knew what we meant, and the same holds true here. Thanks, tho,,
I find that,as I get older,my spelling is getting worse.
I actually bought a Webster dictionary at an estate sale-
(1967 edition) for $1 to replace the 1953 edition that I
bought at another yard sale years ago (not ’53!).
I sold my 389 tripower 2 spd. automatic, 8 lugs, PS & PB, factory A/C, Seafoam Aqua/White seats 2 yrs. ago for $10,500. It was driveable with a little rust, but pitted chrome. Unless the 4 speeds were built with more HP, that car has 318 HP.
Mine would get some front body-lift on launches and pulled strongly. While they have a lot of stainless trim, they also have a lot of chromed metal, so your rechroming bill could be huge.
Same power i believe. Great cars
R Jackson purchased cars at auction titled them in his name then ran them back through the auctions for profit he purchased one of my cars many years ago At the Kruse auction in Indiana the following year it was back at the same auction and was sold for 12.000 above what I sold it to him for of course it was now owned by r Jackson barry
I hope this brake mast cyl cover is now secured since this pic was taken! …
https://images.craigslist.org/00O0O_ly5iXtD9IPjz_0iE09m_1200x900.jpg
The fact that Jackson once owned a car is not as important as the fact that the ones he invested in were some of the best money could buy at the time.
Firewalls on these cars were body color. My relatively original 1962 GP has a body colored firewall that still shows evidence of the factory chalk marks.
Reggie has had to have owned 1000 different cars lol. Nothing wrong with that, and he has always had good taste.
I don’t care who owned the car, if it is something I like and want then so be it. A name means nothing to me, plus I don’t know how it was looked after!
Needs $15 grand to make it worth $35k
From what I see at least 15000 to make it worth the asking barry
There have been a lot of comments on who cares that RJ once owned it and I agree. However some fools will overpay for that at a recent Mecum Auction someone paid $225K for a nice 70 K5 Blazer because Steve McQueen’s Race Team once owned it he very well never drove it. The owner bought it for $2K from them when it was 2 years old.
No way Reggie Jackson bought this car new, as inferred in the article. He would have been a 16 year old high school nobody living in Pennsylvania at the time.
Most likely he bought it from a auction put his name on it and flipped it its worth what it is worth and no more thanks