Muscle Car Holy Grail Hits eBay with No Reserve but One Little Issue…

Tim Odell

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1965 Pontiac GTO for sale1965 Pontiac GTO for sale

eBay is a funny place. Often we’ve found ourselves gawking at great deals, only to watch prices climb exponentially in the last 24 hours or even 24 minutes. Other times we get ourselves all worked up based on the title and pictures, but miss the fine print. such is the case for this ’65 GTO. It’s got all the right boxes checked: 4-speed, 389 tri-power and it’s pretty much all-original. There’s one minor problem…

1965 Pontiac GTO for sale1965 Pontiac GTO for sale

The seller buries this little nugget in an otherwise grammatically inoffensive paragraph:

The 389 engine runs good and starts right up but has a scraping/ knocking noise after engine has been running for approx. 10 seconds after starting warm or cold. Noise sounds like the crank hitting the windage tray or oil pan or even a rod knock but not 100 % sure on what it is so bid accordingly

Eek. Still, it’s at $5100 as of this writing. $5100 plus, what a couple grand on a top-notch rebuild and you’ve got the Jade Monkey of muscle cars. Obviously, we’d get it running and wouldn’t change a thing.

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Tim Odell

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  1. acarr260 Avatar
    acarr260

    That car just looks so badass with the patina. I'd install a more modern suspension and brake package on top of the rebuild… then I would drive it everywhere – work, the drag strip, cruise nights, weekend journeys. It can't get much worse mileage than my 4×4 (3/4 ton Silverado)… right?

    Reply
    1. dculberson Avatar
      dculberson

      It probably wouldn't get worse gas mileage than your Silverado! I used to drive my '66 Bonneville everywhere, and if I really laid into it and drove like an asshole, I would get 9.5mpg or so. If I was more reasonable, I could get up to about 12mpg. The Bonneville was an automatic, and probably outweighed the Goat by about 1,000 plus pounds. I bet you could touch 15mpg with this thing!
      And I can vouch for the 389 making an absolutely glorious noise when you open up the intake a bit. I had an open air filter on it and it would get attention for blocks around.
      And buying a running 389 is not all that costly. But a 421sd would be even better! But I guess with a GTO, it would be worthwhile to stay original.

      Reply
  2. CptSevere Avatar
    CptSevere

    The thought of what that noise must actually sound like raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Yikes. I've spun bearings on a couple of my engines at some point, and it's a painful thing to hear.

    Reply
  3. thomasmac Avatar
    thomasmac

    I wish goats like this were worth $5100, I would enjoy adding this to my garage for that price, unfortunalty thats not the case. I am looking forward to see what this goes for.

    Reply
  4. dculberson Avatar
    dculberson

    Yeah, I just looked over the auction, and that bad boy is going to end at a hell of a lot more than $5100. A bottom end rebuild is nothing compared to all the other goodies it has going for it. It even has posi! And it's not just a tri-power 4-speed, it's an original tri-power 4-speed car. With a little rust repair, a good paint job, and an engine rebuild, this is a $30-$50k car easy. I'm guessing it ends at $15-$20k.
    Just in case I'm wrong, I'm watching this bad boy. I loooove 60's Pontiacs.
    The more Hooniversal choice would be a 60's Lemans with go-fast goodies. Slap in a 455 (same block! Same weight!) and 4-wheel discs coupled to the 4-speed and posi. Yeaaahh.

    Reply
    1. lilwillie Avatar
      lilwillie

      Agreed. This thing will go up in price very quickly once Sunday hits. I think I'd start fixing things up as money permitted, paint I would farm out even though I spray my own cars. I think I'd go for a very, very professional look to it and then could flip the car for the money you mention.

      Reply
  5. dmdukejr Avatar
    dmdukejr

    That thing tickles all the right parts of my brain. Makes me anxious to get the door back on my '67 so I can drive it once it warms up a bit more around here.

    Reply
  6. nofrillls Avatar
    nofrillls

    Yep, still a hell of a deal. There are more machine shops that can rebuild a V-8 blindfolded than you can shake a stick at, and obviously parts are readily available.

    Reply
  7. Tanshanomi Avatar
    Tanshanomi

    I don't see it. Never have. I mean, I know why they are historically significant, but visually they aren't that much different than most other boring '60 domestics.
    I must have been sick the day they covered "early GTO lust" in my Hooniversity classes.

    Reply
    1. Tim Odell Avatar
      Tim Odell

      Honestly, I see this more as an opportunity than an item of lust. As others have said, you could do some pretty minor work and sell this thing for over 30k without issue.
      …at which point anyone here would turn around and buy/build 3 or 4 other classics with the same or better performance (see today's Hooniverse Asks).

      Reply
    2. Texan_Idiot25 Avatar
      Texan_Idiot25

      Boring '60s domestics, does not compute.

      Reply
    3. KillerZomBee Avatar
      KillerZomBee

      In the year 2525, a bunch of animated heads suspended in jars of liquid will be in a mind-meld chatroom, and someone will say "I don't get what the fuss was about those turn of the millennium transport pods with those goofy "wheels". They aren't that much different than my baby sister's antique autostroller. I'll take my personal time-bender X-3501i any day, plus with fusion warp you don't have to deal with any of those obnoxious "fumes".
      It's all about context and mystique. Having spent time as a small kid in the back of multiple nearly new GTOs, Roadrunners and 'Cudas, I guess you kinda had to be there. Aunt Shirley had the LeMans, Belvederes and Pintos; Uncle Norm had the "Hot" cars. Uncle Norm is a little old now, and the world is a much smarter faster place. But that doesn't make him any less cool in my eyes.

      Reply
    4. blueplate Avatar
      blueplate

      Visually, yes. Performance wise, well, let's just say this was the Monaro SS or G8 GXP of its day.

      Reply
      1. Tanshanomi Avatar
        Tanshanomi

        Not a very accurate comparison. A Monaro or G8 has suspension and steering that's a match for their big engines. Unlike a GTO, they won't put you into a guardrail if you try to use all the power available.

        Reply
  8. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Gee, I can remember when you could buy something like this for $500 or less. Back in 1980, a friend of mine bought a '68 GTO for $750, and it was optioned really strangely – Ram Air III (installed by the dealer in '70, when the first owner blew up the original Ram Air II), bench seat, auto with column shift, PS, PB, PW, cornering lights(!), power antenna, power trunk, AM-FM stereo, front disc brakes with 4-piston calipers, 3.90 Safe-T-Track (posi), but no air conditioning (car was from Denver). Palladium Silver with black interior. Insanely fast, it would get rubber on the 2-3 shift. Ahh, those were the days.

    Reply
    1. Novaload Avatar
      Novaload

      In 1977 I got a 66 Plymouth Fury with very low mileage, about 48k, from a car dealer friend-of-the-family for $500. It had one owner, an old guy who apparently spontaneously combusted in the front seat one day but kept meticulous records. So the inside had some issues and it the paint was dodgy (hah!) but I drove it for 9 years and never did a repair except for one chewed up rear end, which was a junkyard fix. It's probably still out there somewhere!

      Reply
  9. Buickboy92 Avatar
    Buickboy92

    Wow, it is perfect! sure it has a little problem with the engine, but that is easily fixed. I would so buy this. If only I had the money, and I'm not much of an GTO fan either!

    Reply
  10. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    My guess is it has a rod knock. If it gets louder when you get on it, that's definitely it. The engine's been repainted, so I wonder if someone rebuilt it, or just pulled it out and re-gasketed it. Somewhere along the way, somebody added a set of Rally II wheels (they weren't available until '67).

    Reply
  11. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    That patina! It's so beautiful! In a steam punk sort of way. Screw you, rich dairy kids in high school with your cherry GTOs and Chevelle SS'. I'd rock this with my socks on!

    Reply
  12. BPR Avatar
    BPR

    Sometimes I wish eBay had a "Buy it Later" button.

    Reply
  13. RSDeuce Avatar
    RSDeuce

    Sweet! I think I just found the right project for this crate motor that landed in my driveway!

    Reply
  14. soo΄pәr-bādd75 Avatar
    soo΄pәr-bādd75

    $5,500 so far, and OMG it's awesome! GM really had their styling mojo in the mid '60s, and this handsome ride is no exception. My personal favorite is the '65 Riviera, with its clamshell headlamps and a dash that swept down into the center console. I can't honestly say that I wouldn't kill for a '65 Rivvy GS.

    Reply
    1. Mudslider Avatar
      Mudslider

      65 Riv GS 425 dual quads. I had one when I was 24. Sure wish I had it now. Damn marriage and kids.

      Reply
  15. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I am entirely down with steampunk muscle cars. I get the feeling that if you did it right, you'd raise the ire of two fanatical groups, and I sort of like that.

    Reply
  16. Jimmie Lee Avatar
    Jimmie Lee

    I want to know if the above GTO is still For Sale?
    Jimmie Lee
    lee.jimmie3@gmail.com

    Reply
  17. robert flynn Avatar
    robert flynn

    Looking for 65 gto project………..flynn69@verizon.net………..

    Reply
  18. Jayson Watz Avatar
    Jayson Watz

    yes ill buy it off you!!!! my dad had a 65 GTO that he sold in 69 to buy a 4 door imperial for the family…. he passed in 09 and i want a 65 for my 15 yr old son and i to restore together in honor of my pops

    Reply
  19. Rusty Avatar
    Rusty

    Do you still have the Gto for sale?

    Reply
  20. Rusty Avatar
    Rusty

    If so call me 573-546-7012 thanks.

    Reply
  21. hector Avatar
    hector

    Do you stilk have the 1965 pontiac ? If you do fill free to email me at hectorsalcedo@ymail.com

    Reply
  22. DClan Avatar
    DClan

    I had a similar issues with my 1964 lemans with a 326, you'd start the car and within two minutes you would hear a reasonably loud scraping noise from the back/bottom of the engine. It turned out to be a cracked flex plate. I realize this is a 4 speed, but I thought I'd share anyway.

    Reply