This 1965 Pontiac GTO was owned by the one family from new until it was recently purchased by the current owner. He has decided to part with this project car, and you will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, it is offered for sale with a clear title. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $8,001.99.
The GTO is a strikingly attractive car, and this one has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, there is also a fair amount of work required to revive this beauty. All of the external trim and chrome appears to be present. Also present is some rust that will need to be addressed. There is a fair helping of surface corrosion to be dealt with. There is also rust present in the trunk floor, around the rear window and the lower driver’s quarter panel. However, all of this should be able to be addressed.
The interior of the GTO is in good condition. The carpet is definitely headed for the rubbish skip, but the seats look quite good, as do the door trims. New carpet and a thorough clean will do it the world of good. There are a couple of small parts that need replacing such as arm-rests, but generally, it appears to be okay.
The original 383ci engine is long gone after it broke a rod. In its place is a 400ci service engine from Pontiac. This has been fitted with 670 heads and ram-air exhaust manifolds, but the seller is also including the original heads and manifolds. The GTO has been the subject of a fair amount of mechanical refurbishment in recent times. It has had the brakes completely overhauled (new master cylinder, wheel cylinders, rear shoes, and hoses). The front brakes are now discs from a ’67 Firebird that also sport rebuilt calipers. The car also has a new starter, new gas tank, cooling hoses, front shocks, 15 X 7 Rally wheels with center caps and trim rings and new tires.
There is some work to do on this GTO, but the bones of the car appear to be solid enough to warrant the effort. This is a nice looking car, even in its current state. When completely restored it has the potential to be a stunning car that others will envy. Including me.
You mean flip, I’m sure..and wouldn’t it have been a 389?
At least they took it of the trailer this time.
NM, I see i”s just a typo. I do enough of those meself. What is meant by a 400CI service engine? A truck, perhaps
I would guess “400ci service engine” means the original engine gave up the ghost after 1967, when the 389 was no longer in production. So the service department installed a 400 instead.
I think it’s a great car! You can’t find a better deal than this anywhere! The new will love it! Priced very fairly! Good bones!
LOL…
– John
Hmm lots of work , Think its worth it?? Resto might put u upside down. Good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
My first musclecar was a 65 GTO, midnight blue with black interior, 389 / 4 speed. I would love to buy this and make it my first musclecar all over again. But I have other priorities at the moment.
Being a Pontiac guy, with a LeMans in my garage, I’ve always wanted to get my hands on a solid GTO to restore myself. My preference would definitely be 1964-67 models, and a four speed stick would take the cake! That being said, there’s too much rust for a DIY guy like myself to ever be able to tackle. Rust is in the usual spots for these, around the body where the trunk closes to seal, the trunk itself, etc, and unfortunately, around the rear window. That last one is a deal breaker for me. The trim and interior pieces, and everything mechanical, are all readily available to get her back on the road and the interior looking great again. And the 400 engine change certainly isn’t a problem, but does effect the value a little. Whoever takes this project on will most likely own a restoration shop, or a buyer with deep pockets. Because with no pictures of the underside (a pet peeve of mine!), and this level of rust everywhere else, you’re probably looking at new floors too. I hope it goes to a good home and put back on the road!
Dang, and I once owned a tri-power manifold from a ’65. No, not the tri-power system on new GMC and Cheby trucks! So much fun to drive around in these original musclecars. A friend of mine had a ’65 that had a non-standard Pontiac 421 in it…ran like a scalded ape!
This car here will make a great restoration in my opinion.
My father in law owned a 65 post coupe gto with tri power and the four speed. No options, just a brutal manual steering, manual brake car. He sold it when he left for Vietnam, and he still misses it. If I could restore something similar for a reasonable price for him, I would love to do it. But the $1500 ratty gto is a thing of the past. Last one I owned was a 70 nonrunning car that I bought for $400 in 1996 and sold a few years later.
Lots of parts available, you’ll be a bit upside down, but the post coupes are The rare ones. Lighter than the hardtop, the racers liked them.
Pontiac didn’t make trucks.
Who said they did
Good to buy and drive.however if you were to bring it back 95 percent ‘restored you would have so much invested their would zero pocket money left .love the car though.
Only the very well paid and the rich may enjoy what us older folks brought to the table.
Everyone always talks about being upside down in a car if they restored it. Jay Leno once said that “if you make money restoring a car then you didn’t do it right.” Restoring a car should be a labor of love because you enjoy the process in your own garage or shop. Your labor is free and you will never get it back when you sell. If you are concerned with being upside down, then you should buy something already done. It would be a bargain in comparison to paying people to do it for you.
That’s so very true !!
Before these became investment grade commodities we were always upside down on these cars, those of us who spent some coin upgrading and customizing which never seemed to be good enough, fast enough, so more coin and time, Still not quite good enough, etc,etc…
Only time someone would have referred to one of these as being upside down back then is if wild man would have rolled it making a pass…
The only problem with doing a full blown resto on this is once you commit to a high level engine and paint job you won’t want to reuse any of the worn original parts. You will have a bundle of money invested in it. But we still do it!