1965 Pontiac GTO Tri-Power

The GTO - so named in respect to the Ferrari 250 GTO by Pontiac chief engineer John DeLorean - was launched in 1964 to mixed appeal but restyled for the 1965 model year, adding 3.1 inches to the overall length and creating a sportier car to compete with what Ford were achieving with the Mustang. It did of course retain Pontiac's characteristic vertically stacked quad headlights though.The 389 engines received revised cylinder heads with re-cored intake passages and high rise intake manifolds. This improved the breathing and saw a power increase to 335bhp for the base 4-barrel engine and 360bhp for the Tri-Power engine as fitted in this car."Car Life' magazine tested a 1965 GTO with Tri-Power with what they considered the most desirable options , close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, power steering, metallic brakes and rally wheels. With two testers and equipment aboard, they recorded 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds; the standing quarter mile in 14.5 seconds and a top speed of 114mph at the engine's 6,000 rpm redline. The Ford Mustang had a true contender and the buying public agreed as unit sales grew more than two-fold from that of 1964.The fully restored Pontiac GTO offered here is a rare sight in the UK. To many it epitomises true muscle car motoring, and why wouldn't it? The 6.4L big block V8 engine was made more powerful with "Tri-Power' carburation (3 two-barrel Rochester 2G carburettors) and mated to the four-speed manual gearbox it is capable of getting that power down. The carburettor set-up and linkages are all new and have been carefully tuned to ensure the car runs faultlessly. With the help and support of recognised marque experts, Ames Performance, the vendor has very accurately restored this car.The paint is completed to a very high standard in a metallic Green that changes colours in different light. All the chrome work has been removed and has either been re-chromed or replaced for new, as were the casings around the headlamps, door handles, mirrors and trim. New rubbers have been fitted to all the doors and shuts; the windscreen has been replaced (eventually! - it did take a few attempts to get it exactly right) and the car sits on original rally wheels shod in performance steel radial tyres. In the interior, the front seats have been re-padded and recovered whilst the rears are original, the dash is all-original and is not cracked or tarnished, there are new carpets and mats throughout, a reproduction deep-dish steering wheel and even the heater and the interior light actually work! Finally, the vendor sourced the correct 1964/5 Radio at a cost of $900 alone.Mechanically, the chassis was found to be in superb condition, so to preserve this it has been Waxoyled. The gearbox was rebuilt as part of the restoration and new exhaust system, excluding mufflers, was fitted. Braking, a common weak-point of early Pontiacs is courtesy of disc brakes to all four wheels. It has a full MoT as you would expect and is sold with taxes paid and a V5C registration certificate.

This truly is an exceptional motor car, far rarer than anything from Ford and the true embodiment of what a muscle car should be...