1965 Pontiac Le Mans

Lemans/GTO Coupe

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

237375B108047

Gasoline

First of all, this car is a Lemans that has been re-created as a GTO. I would think that with the factory options this car came with as a Lemans, it is probably rarer than most GTO's. Most of the options, except for some lamps and floor mats, are still on the car. Regardless, a lot of money has been spent collecting quality parts for this car and it absolutely looks GREAT. According to the PHS build sheet, this car came with the following factory options: AM Pushbutton Radio and Electric Antenna Underhood Lamp Wire Wheel Discs Windshield Washer and Dual Speed Wipers Instrument Panel Pad (Dash) Remote Control Deck Lid Release Back-up Lamps Luggage Lamp Glove Box Lamp Courtesy Lamp Ash Tray & Lighter Lamp Parking Brake Lamp Power Steering Power Brakes Door Edge Guards Custom Sport Steering Wheel Soft Ray Glass Rear Window Defogger Power Seat (Driver Side Only) Custom Air Conditioning Console Floor Mats (Front & Rear) Safe-T-Track Rear Axle 7:75 x 14 Whitewall Tires Automatic HO-4 Barrel V-8 - 326 C.I. In 1965, according to the PHS documents, of the 307,000 A-Body (Tempest, Lemans, GTO) cars built, only 7,539 came with the 326 HO. Unfortunately, this car no longer has the original engine, but now has a 389 from a 1964. Following is a description of the car, to the best of my knowledge. Mileage listed is what shows on the odometer. ACTUAL mileage is unknown. Actual mileage on engine is also unknown. GENERAL BACKGROUND: I purchased this car in 2005 as an unfinished project. At that time it was about 70% completed. The previous owner had started the restoration a few years prior to that, but lost interest. I was faced with the decision whether to start over or finish it. So I chose to finish it. It is my understanding that the previous owner had some NOS parts which are now on the car. However, keep in mind that NOS parts are still 45 years old so they may still have some pitting from age. EXTERIOR: (I would rate it as GOOD Driver Quality, as is) Paint is 8 - 10 years old. I've always stored the car inside since I've had it. However, the car must have sat under a tree since the paint has some blemishes in it, maybe from tree sap. There are also other blemishes such as a few chips, several scratches in the clear coat, and 2 or 3 rust bubbles. Paint appears to be a base coat / clear coat which has not been wet sanded. It may be possible that some of this may be touched up, then wet sanded out. It might ever be worth the effort to touch up, clear coat, then wet sand since the paint does not appear faded. Overall, I would consider the paint as fair to good driver quality. Bumpers were re-chromed by the previous owner. The front bumper is in good condition. The rear bumper has some surface rust, but looks OK. The tail panel and taillight bezels are original with the typical pitting. Fair - Good condition for original. Wheel well trim, rocker molding, and window trim is all in good condition. Headlight bezels, grills, and emblems are in very good condition. Drip rail chrome is somewhat wavy. Vinyl top is in good condition with little or no rust underneath. Rally I wheels appear to be aftermarket. Center caps have some pitting. Lug nuts have some rust. Trim rings have the typical curb rash. Body work has been done on the right side rear quarter. It is mostly visible from inside the trunk area or from below. You can see it in the picture of inside the trunk area. At some point, if the car is repainted, I would replace the trunk floor pan and the lower rear section of the right rear quarter. INTERIOR: (Driver to Show Quality, as is) Seats were already recovered when I bought the car. The passenger seat had a little paint on the lower center panel. This panel was dyed. Bucket seat chrome is in very good condition, with minor pitting. Track is new on the passenger seat. Drivers electric seat is functional, but seems weak to me. Door panels, arm rest bases and pads, and ash trays appear to be new from the previous owner. GTO grab bar is in excellent condition. AC vents and duct assemblies are all in place. AC vents appear to be new. Electric windows are all functional, but appear to be weak going up. Going down is no problem. They may need to be adjusted or lubricated. Carpet is newly installed. Floor pans are in very good condition and were coated with Ospho prior to installing carpet. Dash pad is good driver quality but has two blemishes. One is at the top, barely visible. The other is above the glove box and has been repaired. The repair is OK but still noticeable. Console is in good condition. It may have been restored 10 years ago, not sure. It looks great but does have some pitting in one area. Wood grain steering wheel is in very good condition to be an original. Dash electrical / Instruments may be where the previous owner gave up on the project. When I got the car the dash was loosely in place with a new underdash wiring harness. I fixed a few problems. However, there are still a few to solve such as a few lamps not working, some lamps missing (based on the factory options), antenna power switch is backwards, original radio has power, but doesn't work. I will include the original harness. Glove box is missing switch and light. Trunk release cable is tight. It was working but feels like it is in a bind. It is not mounted in bracket. Headliner was replaced by previous owner, but has two holes in it from a mouse. One is near the overhead light. The other is above the sun-visor. ENGINE COMPARTMENT / DRIVE TRAIN: As far as I know, the rear-end is the original posi that came from the factory. Front drum brakes have been turned with new shoes installed. Appears to have some new brake lines. It appears the previous owner replaced many components under the hood. The engine appears to have been rebuilt. It looks like most parts were replaced, painted, and installed after painting. Detailing under the hood looks good. The main problem is some surface rusting on some bare metal parts and some of the chrome. You can see this in the pictures. Air Conditioning is not hooked up. Compressor is installed. Belt is missing. Some other components may also be missing. Maybe you can tell from the pictures of the engine compartment. A new battery was installed. The engine is a 389 from a 1964. Engine casting number is 9773155, code 26K. Heads are probably original to the engine, casting number is 9773345. Intake is probably also original to the engine. Intake casting number is 9770274. Carter carb appears to have been rebuilt. This engine came from the factory with 303 HP. The engine runs strong and smooth. I'm not sure if the transmission was rebuilt. It drives and shifts smooth. It is a two speed, probably original to the car. I've noticed there is a power steering fluid leak. I cannot tell if it is a seal or loose clamp or fitting. It is not bad. There is no noise in the pump. BODY TAG INFO: Build date is 12C (3rd week in December) ST 65 23737BAL 3423 BDY TRim is 213 (Black Interior) PNT is W6 (W is Bluemist Slate), (6 is Beige Vinyl Top, PHS says it was a 2, black) It does not appear that the tag has been tampered with. I'm guessing that maybe the body tag was stamped wrong at the factory for the vinyl top code. FINAL COMMENTS: In my opinion, this car just needs to be driven and enjoyed as is for a while. Although it is not perfect, it really does look good just like it is. When I first bought the car, I'll admit I was tempted to take the car apart and start over. But, I already have three of those projects. This car is fun to drive. It definitely gets a lot of looks. If the bids do not meet reserve, then I plan to just enjoy the car this summer until it sells. If It sells, then I'm on to the next unfinished project. I have a couple of other projects to soon list on Ebay. One is a 68 GTO Hardtop. The other is a 69 GTO Hardtop. If you win the bid on this car, please contact me within two days. Deposit of $1,000 (Paypal or money order) is due within 3 days. Car can be stored up to 30 days, but pick-up / storage has to be discussed after the auction ends. Also, if you have a feedback less than 1, please contact me before you bid. Car is for sale locally. Shipping is also the responsibility of the buyer. If you have ANY questions, need additional pictures, or want to check out the car in person, please email me or call 828-421-7023. If you want to see the car I am located 2 hours North of Atlanta, in Western NC.