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Stored Since ’65! 1964 Pontiac GTO 389 Tri-Power

Sometimes called The First Muscle Car, Pontiac’s 1964 GTO set the definition for its era:  a mid-sized body with a powerful engine from a full-sized car. Amazingly, this one is presented as covering fewer than 1300 miles during its lifetime, and having been stored since 1965! Not only that, but this 1964 Pontiac GTO near Las Vegas, Nevada features a manual transmission and the hot Tri-Power induction system on top of the 389 cid (6.4L) V8. The car has never changed hands since new, so whoever inks the purchase will be the second owner. Applaud the seller for putting a real price on the car, listed here on craigslist, and making it an even $100,000. Thanks to reader dirtyharry for this awesome find!

The Tri-Power setup, a trio of two-barrel carburetors, uses the center carb for normal driving and engages the two outer units only when your right foot decides to pick a fight. Newly available in the Tempest-based GTO for ’64, the Tri-Power 389 produced a rated 360 HP and knocked a second off the 0-60 time of the available single four-barrel 389. Thanks to Gold Eagle for some details.

Sadly some long-stored and rarely-driven classics deteriorate in their isolation, making enthusiasts weep twice:  once because they’re in such bad shape and again because they were never enjoyed. This GTO looks like it just finished a perfect restoration down to the GM hoses. The seller says only the tires and belts have been replaced. Crazy!

The engine-turned dash shows the low-mileage and minimal signs of aging. Oddly no other interior pictures grace the listing, but earnest buyers will inspect the car in person before surrendering a six-digit chunk of their 401k. Shortly after my birth, I rode home from the hospital in a 1967 GTO in this exact color combination including the black vinyl top and redline tires. This one’s out of my league, but perhaps that muscle-car inoculation during my infancy explains how I ended up on barnfinds.com. What’s your favorite GTO memory?

Comments

  1. Avatar Curt

    My jaw just hit the floor, trying to type over it. I converted my ’57 Cheiftain Tri-power to linkage secondaries similar to the GTO style as the vacuum system had a habit of sticking open, backfiring, melting 3 rochesters into the block or burning the entire car down.
    Why is this car for sale on Craigslist? That seems fishy.

    Like 16
    • Avatar Steve R

      Collectors will find the car, even if it’s on CL. This is the sort of car that will be brought up on make and model specific forums. If the ad is accurate, the car is probably already well known among Pontiac collectors.

      Steve R

      Like 7
      • Avatar Robert DUDEK

        🏁348 hp Tri power
        In 64.

        325 HP single AFB

        Like 3
    • Avatar David Ulrey

      Not everything worth anything HAS to go on eBay or specialty sales sites.

      Like 1
  2. Avatar Haig L Haleblian

    Wow wow wow. My first car at 15 was a 63 LeMans with a pushed in front end, 4 banger, and auto. Dropped in a 326, 3 speed, front clip, and glass packs. This thing checks all the boxes in my memory bank. Fairly priced for what it is.

    Like 8
  3. Avatar Will Fox

    No way of knowing for sure, but this HAS to be THE most intact, lowest mileage `64 GTO known! I can’t believe there’s one any more original with lower miles. No wonder it’s $100K.

    Like 12
  4. Avatar Paul

    Hmmm, this car looks strangely familiar.

    Like 3
    • Avatar MrBZ

      …the anticipation is killing me, Paul!

      Like 5
  5. Avatar Todd

    Front carb isn’t even connected to the throttle linkage. Progressive linkage wasn’t used until 66 I believe. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Gorgeous car though. Where else are you going to find a practically new 64 GTO?

    Like 7
    • Avatar Curt

      Rear carb is connected to front carb via passenger side linkage.

      Like 5
    • Avatar Bob Patterson

      I had a 65 GTO with a 389 3-Duce with progressive linkage set up with the Hurst Edition. That was one fast car. If my memory serves me correctly the linkage was on the driver’s side. I adjusted the linkage to drive around with the center carb (save gas even though it was only 0.36 cents a gallon). When I was going to race someone, I would adjust the linkage so all 3 carbs would open at the same time (gas guzzler). Maybe that’s why it came with a 22-gallon tank…lol.

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Haig L Haleblian

    @ Curt, you may be on to something

    Like 2
  7. Avatar Mitchell Member

    This should not be on Craigslist. It should be at Mecum or Barrett-Jackson or some other top-tier auction

    Like 6
    • Avatar Haig L Haleblian

      so they can get 16% ++++?

      Like 11
      • Avatar Steve R

        For all it’s faults Craigslist still attracts a lot of eyes. It’s on this site, you can bet this ad is circulating around Pontiac enthusiasts as well as collectors of low mileage survivor muscle cars.

        Major auctions are being cancelled, where do you expect sellers to turn when they want to sell their cars?

        Steve R

        Like 18
  8. Avatar CaptObvious

    Gorgeous.

    Like 2
  9. HoA Howard A Member

    Hard to tell. If true, it is quite a find, BUT, restorations today are almost better than new, right down to the radiator clamps. With the shysters today in the classic car market, ESPECIALLY from Las Vegas, not exactly the most honest town in the country, I think it’s a restoration. Still very nice.
    Re: cars like this on CL. Like Steve says, with auctions being cancelled, and people needing money more than ever now, it must kill these folks to advertise on lowly CL. How will their millionaire buddies ever see it there?

    Like 9
    • Avatar Steve R

      A buddy of mine recently listed his R-code 427 Galaxy on Craigslist, I’ll let him know that platform is beneath him. Somehow I doubt it would have occurred to him on his own since he’s fooled himself into thinking he’s a regular guy.

      Steve R

      Like 10
      • HoA Howard A Member

        So,,,what are you saying, and what does it have to do with this cherry Goat? You think these people are going to get top dollar advertising on CL? Clearly, this is an auction car, they’re desperate, and need the money fast. I like CL, but you aren’t going to get the “Staluppi’s” reading CL. And yes, if they get $200grand at an auction, more than pays for the auction fee. In light of current events, they can’t wait, house payment is due now. I think we’ll see a lot more of this.

        Like 4
      • HoA Howard A Member

        And another thing, that’s what will probably happen to this car. Someone with disposable cash will buy this for the $100g’s, sit on it until winter, and turn it for $200g’s. It’s how these people make out on these deals and I suppose that’s okay, for them. It’s just it deprives “Joe Lunchbox” of ever having something like this.

        Like 5
      • Avatar Steve R

        What I’m saying is that your nasty comments about millionaires was nothing more than virtue signaling. It had nothing to do with this thread.

        You don’t know their motivations, yet you treat your assumptions as if they are facts.

        Steve R

        Like 6
      • HoA Howard A Member

        Okay, okay, clearly we aren’t in the same gear here, never have been, never will be. I’m sorry if I offended you, people who don’t have money have sneered at the rich for eons. I don’t want to waste anymore of peoples time with our class differences. You just keep trading your 6 figure cars amongst yourselves. I suppose all the rest of us can do is just talk about them now. It’s just a car, not a kidney, for crying out loud.

        Like 4
      • Avatar Steve R

        Please, I’m not offended, just annoyed but the constant harping about overpriced cars and the phony rhetoric. I like this site, but am tired of the constant whining about people making decisions on how to spend their hard earned money.

        Even in this response you pass off you faulty assumptions as fact.

        Steve R

        Like 3
      • Avatar triumph1954

        Steve R- you are right on about the constant complaining on here about people with money buying cars like this or other ones for sale. I enjoy looking at the cars for sale on here no matter if I can afford it or not. If you have the money go for it. If not be glad for the people who do. There is lots of room in the old car hobby for everybody. Constant whining on here is what ruins the hobby and BarnFinds.
        .

        Like 3
  10. Avatar Cadmanls Member

    And the brakes all work just as delivered, na not buying it. Gas tank would have been a mess. Smells fishy

    Like 4
  11. Avatar Jim Miller

    Overpriced goat

    $30,000 tops

    Like 2
    • Avatar Rob

      Don’t think so, it’s the 1st year, virgin, whatever the market will bare.
      Had a buddy bought a 65 Black on Black 389 trips, what a ride! rode in it a few times

      Like 3
  12. Avatar Neil

    Howard A,
    Joe Lunchbox ain’t buying at 100 K either.

    Like 3
    • HoA Howard A Member

      Exactly. Being a “Joe Lunchbox” all my life, I just think it’s sad, someone that works their tail off, can’t enjoy a car like this, and they SHOULD be able to. When this car was new, the paperboy could practically afford one. Now, it’s, “I have one, and you don’t, sucks to be you”,,,real nice. At 65 years old, folks our age have the credentials to say we practically invented the old car hobby, and now we can’t even participate in it. That’s what’s sad.

      Like 2
      • Avatar DayDreamBeliever

        Howard,
        As someone who has been priced out of the identical car I owned in the early 70’s, I can understand what you say.

        But consider this: Without the moneyed set participating, a very low percentage of the cars which now bring the cash would still be around. Most would have been scrapped long ago. Because of what it takes to bring a car back from a deteriorated condition, those who make a living restoring them have to be paid, and the value of the cars reflect that.
        No one is going to spend $50K doing a frame-off, then turn around and sell to you or I for $5K or $10K because that is what our level of purchasing power for hobby cars is.

        Even an engine overhaul is tough to accomplish without spending 10 or 15 grand. Pistons, bearings, rings, and the machine work all add up, and fast.

        Without the money in muscle and other collectible cars, there would be no restorers, no restoration parts makers, no nationwide network for rare OEM stuff. Lament all you want, but without the money crowd, the only cars around would be true survivors, or ones which could be made presentable with a minimal amount of work. 90% of the cars would be gone.

        As tough as it is for those who like them but cannot afford them, the current situation is preferable, IMO, to the way it otherwise would be. One plus for the lunchbox crowd who wisely held on to the cars of their youth, is that now in retirement, they have a valuable asset, worth more than just their own pride of ownership.

        Like 4
      • Avatar Haig L Haleblian

        Well said Day Dream

        Like 2
  13. Avatar Jimmy

    Being Craigslist I would say SCAM, no one in those days bought a new tri-power GTO and drove it less than 1300 miles then stored it to never touch it again. They were not thought of as collector cars in those days they were street fighters made to be driven. JMHO take it or leave it.

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Bobby Miller Member

    This car is grossly underpriced.

    Like 3
  15. Avatar Stu

    Man, I’m only $90,000 short. Maybe Go-Fund-Me?

    Like 2
  16. Avatar Eric Heitman Member

    I agree with the “fishy” comment. Even if it had been stored in an absolutely perfect environment, it sure seems to me like the plastic and rubber and chrome components would have shown signs of aging after half a century. I mean everything looks sparkly brand new to me. Does that upper radiator hose look 56 to you?
    I wish I could go back to the sixties with the cash I have now and buy all sorts of cars and put them in storage for 50 years. But, even in my fantasy, much of the sheen would have worn down with time. Just my 2 cents…
    Eric

    Like 3
  17. Avatar pwtiger

    A trained eye should be able to tell if it has the original lacquer or a urethane clearcoat…

    Like 2
    • Avatar Robert DUDEK

      You live in Nevada that would be easy

      Like 0
  18. Avatar Kenn

    “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” said someone who I don’t remember. But I do remember that, when I was rich, I was sneered at by others IN THE SAME INDUSTRY (emphasis mine) who weren’t willing to sacrifice the time and effort to accumulate the money doing exactly what I was doing. So the sneering and jealousy were the result of – unconsiously – looking in a mirror and realizing that they, too, could become wealthy if they had the drive and ambition. I’m not wealthy now, for reasons having nothing to do with ambition but with health. And age. And divorce.

    Like 4
  19. Avatar RayZ

    For a one owner car there appears to be a lack of documentation. If the story is true wouldn’t the car be worth more showing it’s pedigree? Without it you could be buying a pig in a poke.

    Like 1
  20. Avatar Russell Ashley

    I bought a new 1964 Sport Fury convertible with a 426/4speed/sure-grip 3:23 rear early in 1964.. A friend bought a GTO, 389/4spd at the same time. I could out run him so it always irritated me that they say the GTO was the first muscle car. I had a friend with a 59 Dodge with the 383 with the long ram intake, the Sonoramic Commando it was called, and I think that car would out run either of us and it was an automatic. I have often wondered why the GTO is often called the first muscle car when fast Chrysler products were available several years earlier.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Rayz

      Pontiac had better PR People and made more then a few examples. I couldn’t find any production figures for 64 Hemi Fury’s

      Like 1
  21. Avatar 3Deuces

    If it truly is as described, a “near new” 3X2 GTO (in Code D Silvermist Gray nonetheless) is worth every penny they’re asking … even if I myself cannot afford it. I passed up 92K mile ’65 3X2 4-Speed GTO hardtop with its Protect-O-Plate from the ORIGINAL LADY OWNER 2 years ago for $90K (thought it was way overpriced), it sold 7 months later at Mecum in Kissimmee for $105K! Never underestimate the value of a real 3×2 Goat!

    Like 2
  22. Avatar TimM

    I just want to see what it goes for!! It truely is a perfect example and a total shake to my system it’s even on barn find!! I’m not saying anything bad about barn find I’m just saying that there are probably Pontiac guys that know this car exists and I’m surprised no one coughed up the cash to make it theirs!!!

    Like 0
  23. Avatar Gray Wolf

    You won’t get the money unless you ask for it! He might get more who knows? Being it’s in Vegas, the rubber would dry due to low humidity, paint would check. My son bought a very low mile ‘67 Dodge Monaco, paint checked, vinyl top and interior all cracked along with dried out rubber. No rust, was in a garage, but who knows!

    Like 0
  24. Avatar Bob C.

    As a child growing up, there was a family 2 houses up. Mother, father, and 3 teenage boys. The oldest had a 65 GTO with a 4 speed and tri carbs. Being a long single driveway, it was if someone had to go out, they used whatever was last. It was a riot watching the 50 something year old mother going through the gears like it was a 1940s car.

    Like 0
  25. Avatar Carl Denny

    If anyone actually READ the ad for the GTO, they would know the car came to Nevada via the 84 year old original owner from Pennsylvania. It was sold new at Union Park Pontiac in Wilmington , DE in December 1963 and parked in March of 1964 when the son of the owner was killed. They were planning on drag racing the car but that chapter ended with the sons death. The father parked the car and there it sat up on cinder block in his heated and air conditioned garage in Havertown, PA. The father owned a speed shop well known back there since the late 50’s and recently ret5ired. The person who owns it now was “like a son” to him since the early 70’s when they met and he worked for the owner for many many years. The father wanted the current owner to have this car so it was never offered for sale or shown to anyone until March 2020 when they met and did the transaction. All you speculators really need to get a life and stop trashing something and/or someone you know nothing about. There’s not only a verifiable story here but a real human interest story and history that totally define this car. Its the real deal. Perfect, no. What is unless its been restored? Its lacquer paint, I’ve seen it up close and personal. The original PA 1964 inspection sticker is still on the windshield. The original window sticker has been laminated. Its been in Nevada for 8 months. Hardly time to dry rot as some say. Stick to the known facts and dont create rumors from your speculations. PHS verified the car.

    Like 5
  26. Avatar Robert J Whitfield

    I purchased an original 1964 GTO tri-power 4 speed from the nephew of the original owner who passed away just weeks before. I paid $4000 for it, put one motor mount and a battery box in it and drove it a few weeks before selling it for $6500. I had calls from all over the nation, but only one looker showed up from Nashville, TN. He bugged me for a week or two and I wouldn’t budge off the price and he finally bought it. This was in 1987.That GTO was fun to drive, but like all blue collar married men with kids and a mortgage I needed the money. Owning and restoring muscle cars isn’t fun unless you have deep, deep pockets. I’m 74 now and old cars are just that to me now, old cars.

    Like 0

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