Launched as a muscle car in 1964, the Pontiac GTO earned the nickname of “Gas, Tires & Oil” over the years as the leader of the performance pack. Projections for first-year sales were 5,000 units, yet 32,405 GTOs were delivered. 6,664 of them were convertibles, the rarest of the three body styles (the other two were a pillared sedan and a hardtop). Maybe because it was ordered with power windows and seats, the seller says this 1964 project is quite rare, though we weren’t provided with the referenced PHS data. Located in Jonesville, North Carolina, this ragtop has been awaiting restoration for 47 years and is said to be complete but not together. It’s available here on eBay, the opening bid of $5,000 has yet to be cast, and there is also a reserve.
All ’64 GOATs came with a 389 cubic inch V8. 75% had a 4-barrel carburetor (like this car) while the rest had the Tri-Power setup with triple deuces. The seller bought this project 12 years ago after it had already been in limbo for 35 years. So that means the last time this Pontiac was on the highway could have been around 1979. While not obvious in the photos, we’re told the seller has “every part and motor and transmission,” with the latter being an automatic.
Perhaps unusual for the LeMans-based GTO, this one was ordered with power seats and windows, a telescopic steering wheel, and a trunk latch on the dash. The seller says the 389 has “special heads” and a big rear end, but doesn’t tell us what that means. The floors are solid with perhaps some patching, and the original colors were Safari Red (paint), a brown convertible top, and a black bucket seat interior.
The bottom line is that the seller has reached the point in life where tackling projects like this one is beyond his/her reach anymore. Perhaps this will be a cool and rare GTO when it’s fully restored, but that’s going to take a lot of energy and financial resources to pull off. How about you?
Too high a crust-to-cash ratio.
Once had a GF with “…a big rear end.” Not always commendable…
Safari red paint, a brown convertible top, and a black interior has to be one of the rarest combinations. The seller would benefit from including the PHS docs in the photos as well as of the engine.
That one’s a thrasher. Hard pass.
All these old muscle cars are getting up in age…50 years plus….what you see is actually the age showing through….lucky to even see them anymore, regardless of state…..if you dont like it, go and spend 6 figures, sure people will complain about that also….geez
So this guy is giving up the Goat to collect Ford 3000 tractors? Good move! Cleaned up and running well, those tractors will bring 5k or more each!
Not a 4 speed? Thought all 64 gtos were 4 speeds!
looks like some sap took the bait. this thing was left for dead. there are a lot of 1 yr only body parts that are needed to fix this. total shame what somebody did to this car and a convert to boot. i never seen telescopic wheel in any “A” body. i think they mean tilt wheel. somebody will tackle this i am sure. most likely for a labor of love. i feel this will be an underwater project when finished.75k to do at a minimum. PHS docs should be provided and may help the cause.
The problem with a 64GTO is that there are very few after market parts. Dan on Fantom Works fixed a 64 but could not get any body panels so they pound out the whole side from a T-bone accident. Dan said he would never touch another 64.
The market has changed to the point that the new buyer will be under water money wise in no time. Even doing most of the labor,the price of rebuilding the engine,trans,rear diff. Plus getting this rust bucket right is going to get expensive and what the car will be worth when completed,who knows by that time. Too many year’s of I’ll get to it hasn’t done any good. As for being rare? With the options checked off when it was originally ordered,okay it could be considered rare because nobody wanted to add extra weight to their car so they were not ordered. Obviously this Goat was meant to be a cruiser,not a quarter mile bruiser.
I do not totally agree with that opinion…money is in the rarity of the car and the available documentation(PHS) and matching numbers…all need to coincide with the car….regarding the body work, yes and no…there is alot of work to be done, however, the work is very viable, and can be done at a medium cost. In the end, will you be underwater…that really depends on how much of the work can be completed by the new owner or farmed out and completed by connections within the industry, at a reasonable cost….I have completed that process before, A painter needs my expertise in a given area in exchange for a need in his area of expertise…I think there is monies to be made on this project….just my opinion from experience
To Not Again: with your experience you should buy it & make the money
Put it back inside for another 47 years.
crush it in 47 seconds
The seller has reached a point in life where common sense took over and he didn’t want to touch the thing. This is a decent parts donor, nothing more.
This car seller would benefit having the PHS docs for sure although I think my comfort level of this being a real GTO would be very high. I remember going way back PHS was finding about half of the 64-65 GTO VIN’s coming in were Lemans, not GTO’s. But that was early on so many of the people who wanted the documentation at that time were people that really were not sure what they owned.
One thing that caught my eye as a little odd was to see a 4-barrel, 2 speed automatic car having an in-dash tach. Seldom do you see tachs with the lower performance 64’s.
I hope someone does buy this to tackle saving it but there is a fair amount of money sitting in this car parts wise, especially if the driveline is original.
Stored in the rain.
Me, actually that is not too bad of an idea. Normally I deal with Chevelles and Novas, just completed a 68Chevelle SS an wrapping up a 70 Chevelle SS…I do have 2 additional cars waiting, but…mmmm…I may just check it out…take care.
I’ll take the ford tractors for the win Alex
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