I purposefully avoid covering muscle cars! Why, you ask? Most are ridiculously overpriced, or have had absurd restorations in which the width, texture, and hue of assembly-line chalk marks seem to be job one. At the opposite end of the spectrum are those that have been run hard and put away wet and horribly modified by shade tree wrenches. And then, of course, there are the out-and-out frauds that aren’t close to what they purport to be. Today’s discovery, a 1964 Pontiac GTO, courtesy of Patrick S., is an exception – and yes, there are always exceptions! It’s real, original, hardly perfect, but has been well cared for and maintained. The seller refers to his car as “unmolested“, and I’d agree. Those with an interest will find this beginning-of-the-movement GTO located in Orlando, Florida, and it’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $29,900.
The history of the GTO and John DeLorean’s involvement in its creation has been covered here on BF many times before, so I won’t belabor that story again. What I will say is that this GOAT, assembled in the fourth week of June 1964, is one of 18,000 two-door hardtops to hit the street that year. Total GTO body count for the ’64 model year was about 32,000, with 7,300 two-door sedans, and 6,400 convertibles rounding out the total.
This example looks great! The Cameo Ivory lacquer finish has held up surprisingly well, the chrome-plated bits still shine, and rust, the nemesis of these GM A-body cars, is nowhere to be found. I must admit that I’m surprised to see this GTO still wearing its original equipment wheelcovers – those were usually among the first original items to get 86’d. With the exception of the hood pins, the entire presentation does appear to be stock.
The interior is fair, but not without its problems. The blue Morrokide vinyl upholstery covering the front bucket seats is giving it up, the door panels have gotten dowdy, and the console appears to be missing some of its trim. Originality-wise, the steering wheel has been swapped (and is missing its horn button), the Hurst shifter is wearing a T-handle, and auxiliary gauges have been added to the bottom of the dash – all minor deviations from delivery day. A real surprise was to see A/C in place – often not the case in muscle cars from this era. I wonder if it works?
The original orderer of this Tin Indian went big in the engine compartment, specifying the optional three 2-BBL. carburetor-equipped, 348 gross HP, 389 CI powerplant. The seller claims, “starts, runs, and drives.” I was actually hoping for a more enthusiastic appraisal. Also added is, “I even have the original fuel pump, water pump, and master cylinder, all of which were recently replaced by me.” A four-speed manual transmission makes the rear wheel connection.
So, after reading the listing and checking all of the images, am I any less enthusiastic about this 1964 Pontiac GTO than I was at the start? No, this is an original, unmessed-with, very genuine car that was present right at the start of a big domestic, automotive moment. Considering what I’ve seen similar GTOs trade for, this car’s ask doesn’t surprise me; how about you?
Like it 👍 J.O. Bit of a sleeper too in that color, hot motor setup, 4sp, and the stock wheel covers 🏁
( drum roll) Little GTO, you’re really lookin’ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ, that’s enough of that, HEY, that’s my new record,, BUT, this is the car Ronny and the Daytonas sang about. I doubt theirs had A/C, don’t recall that in the song, and that last picture is probably what most remember most about that little modified Pon-Pon. They sold over a million copies of that song, and never had to work again, although had some success later as the “Hombres” with “Let it all hang out”, that my old man HATED, turned it right off, he would! I read the A/C added almost $400 to the cost, the most expensive option.
Again and again, I just don’t see it, with just about everyone that wants a car like this, can’t push the clutch in( don’t laugh, it’s real, you’ll see, I hope) as iconic of a car as it is, it should still look a lot nicer than this for $30grand,,,for the ages, you know.
Right you are. This unmolested 1964 GTO is nicely equipped with Factory Air Conditioning. Somewhat rare on the first year GTO. Nice catch for Ronnie and the Daytonas.
Remember the VW television ads that copied the “Little GTO” melody with “Little GTI” lyrics and showing a hot Volkswagon GTI coupe leaping up and off all 4 wheels?
German imitation…
FWIW, Hagerty is at $35,500 in #4 condition with 4 speed, factory a/c, and the triple deuces. Based on that they probably aren’t far off the mark price wise. That said, these cars sure ain’t cheap anymore. I like it and wouldn’t be ashamed to have that in my garage.
Bona fide. Everything you need, nothing you don’t. Not a hangar queen but quite serviceable as is with minimal fiddling if the new owner chooses. Surprised it hasn’t yet been snapped up.
Memory is a funny thing. A buddy of mine in high school had a sixty four GTO, not with the triple deuces though. I just remember it looking more purposeful and well, cooler than this example. Don’t get me wrong this is still a great car but now it just looks, old. Back to my friend, he eventually broke the frame doing home shots.
Friend in high school had a 64 convertible, 4 speed with tri power. Different cam and gears and was surprisingly fast considering the weight. He cracked his frame 3 different times also. Did a LOT of street racing with it. Must have been an issue with the frames. Heard this quite a few times now.
It was 1974, the gas crisis was in full swing, prices had quadrupled since the end of ’73 and there were long lines at the stations- guys were fighting and rules were in place- odd numbered plates some days and even numbers others. It was a culture shock of monumental proportions for people who had thought 35 cent gasoline was somehow written in the Constitution. I had a ratty ’63 VW and an aquaintance had a nice ’64 GTO- we swapped straight across. I hung on the the GTO until the panic subsided and gasoline was back in supply and had settled at about 70 cents and guys being guys were still into cars began to accept the new norm. I sold the GTO at a fair price, far more than the old VW was worth.
looks decent and factory a/c. a lot of overspray though where it doesn’t belong. i would want to see some P H S docs before handing over 30k though. most everyone of these early gto s seem to have tri power on them.
I am not a muscle car guy, however I grew up in this era of American cars and this was a favorite. I had a friend whose brother bought a triple deuce 64! They were much rarer than the 4 bbl units. It was a special car even back then! This is a good survivor however, it could certainly show better with a few minor appearance cleanups. The Grant wood steering wheel is period for the car, but it looks bad without the center cap and needs some wood oil to dress it up. The engine compartment would look fine if just cleaned up a bit more! I did quite a lot of car detailing in my day for car sellers and from experience, doing many minor cleanups brings much more money to the table! Appearance is 95% today to the uninformed car public!
I would definitely lose the hood pins.
Lovely looking car. This has always been my favourite version of the GTO, with horizontal headlamps. I prefer that over the vertical used on 1964-67 GTOs.
I think that you mean ’65 thru ’67. This is a ’64. Also kind of a cool find.
Very unusual to see AC in one with 3x2s and 4 spd. Be a great ride for me and my buddy to ride about being super cool old dudes. Remembering when we were, or something. I forget.
The body of this 64 looks pretty straight, and the seller says it runs and drives. It has some needs, but I think the price is pretty fair considering it’s overall condition. A factory a/c, 4 speed, tri-power 64 GTO is pretty rare. An in-person inspection would be worthwhile.
1964 has always been my favorite year GTO.
In general 64 gto is the least popular,sorry but that’s how it is .of course for some people it’s their favorite especially if they own one.this one is not even close to being worth 30 grand.not even close.i wish him a lot of luck.
I agree with your assessment. While I can appreciate the fact that the ’64 GTO was the beginning of one of the coolest times in automotive history, I just never found them very attractive. ( The ’65 on the other hand was gorgeous)
For some reason that hood doesn’t look correct to me.. don’t remember the ‘64 having the dual hood scoops..but could be wrong.. definitely no hood pins.. those would have to go.. for sure needs some work and TLC… tad high priced IMO
Scoops are correct. Hood pins, no.
Seems to be missing it’s original wheel opening mouldings. Vacuum linkage still intact though.
Any rust on the underside
Looks like that Poncho needs a timing chain LOL!
How rare is that fender mirror? I bet people were messing with it a lot in parking lots, etc.
I’m not sure why you would think people would mess with the mirror unless it would be knock it out on adjustment. With this particular mirror that wouldn’t make any difference because it is remote control.
This is the car that brought performance to the masses at a very affordable price. No wings/stripes/spoilers/weird colors and names. Just a pretty quick car and loads of fun to drive. Leave it the way it is and enjoy!!!!!!
Actually the car that brought performance to the people.(not the masses) at an affordable price was the ’63 Max Wedge Dodge.
A tri-power 4-speed GTO without a bunch of body rust and with A/C that’s still for sale for less than $50k almost sounds like a scam. If I bought it, I’d replace the seat covers and make it more livable, new exhaust, repaint/repair the cabin, trunk floors, and any body/chassis rust and just enjoy it. Original paint would stay.