Fresh pro-touing build with 421 TKO600 Vintage AC, Baer, Hotchkis, and more!

1965 Pontiac GTO Description

Up for auction is my 1965 Pontiac GTO which I've been building since 2004. It's completely fresh with under 400 miles on the whole build, 200 of which was an overnight trip last month where it performed flawlessly, even in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I have an enormous pile of receipts and approximately $80k invested, maybe more, I'm afraid to add it all up. Priorities are changing, I've got too many cars and it's time to downsize. I've sold both of my Mustangs and now I'm selling this and my frame-off 1964 GTO.
First off, this is a TEMPEST sedan/coupe fully cloned to a Royal Bobcat GTO. It is NOT a real GTO and it was not built to fool anyone. I have several real GTOs and I would not have done this to a true GTO. It is my own combination restoration and resto mod.

New Mayfair Maize paint, I'd rate it 7/10. Very straight and nicely done, not perfect. I did not want to be afraid to drive it. It does have a replacement door and fender and a few patch panels that were properly installed. New trunk pan, driver's floor and partial rear floor, and I had some window channel work done while the glass was out. All trim has been restored, new emblems and rechromed original bumpers, all weatherstripping and window felts are new. Very nice tailpanel and taillight grilles with New Old Stock lenses. Xenon headlamps. I used a real GTO hood with factory scoop and a Ram Air scoop, both painted to match. So you can run whichever depending on your mood or the weather.
Inside there is a new black interior with mint 06 GTO front seats, wired for power. A 2006 rear seat is included, as I hadn't gotten around to making that work yet. There is a recovered ’65 rear seat currently installed. G-Force 5-point camlock harnesses up front. Real ’68 wood wheel (smaller than the ’65 so more room around the seats) with ’65 horn assembly. Rally gauges, padded dash, restored gauge bezel, new dash harness, full dynamat, custom center console from a 3rd gen Camaro. Vintage AC and heat. Very nice custom stereo with Pioneer Premier headunit, kickpanel speakers, Phoenix Gold amps, and a single 12” sub. All of the stereo and vintage AC controls are in the console so glancing across the dash it looks original. I also cut in the factory side AC vents so it looks original. AM radio and original climate controls are installed just for looks, but are non-functional.
Now for the best part - a completely built 421 tripower by Spotts Performance with all of the best parts. $18k+ in the engine alone. 9:1 motor so it's safe for pump gas and ready for a power adder. Forged crank, rods and .030 over 428 pistons for a total of 433ci, custom-ordered Comp roller cam, ported 6X big-valve heads, '65 tripower built by Mike Wasson with ram air pan, lots of ARP bolts. The Tripower has the checkball system that isn’t made anymore, much more reliable than the needle/seat setup. Complete polished March serpentine kit and conversion to more reliable 11-bolt waterpump. Rodney red radiator with ’66 style inlet/outlet for better cooling. RobbMC and Magnafuel fuel system with AN fittings, stainless lines and return. Canton road race oil pan. Custom M&H engine harness with HEI and a modern high-amp 12SI alternator, IMI ministarter. Ram air manifolds to a Pypes x-change exhaust with electric cutouts and factory-style splitters. Sounds fantastic! All correct factory Ram air brake lines and battery cables were used.
Behind the 421 is a brand new Tremec TKO600 with a Keisler hydraulic clutch kit, McCleod SFI bellhousing and clutch and an Inland Empire custom aluminum driveshaft. Rear is a 10-bolt with new 3.90 gears and a safe-t-track. It’s also got 4-wheel Baer disc brakes with all new hardlines and braided flex lines, AGR power steering, and the suspension is completely rebuilt with Hotchkis springs and sway bars, Blistein shocks, SC&C front upper control arms, and BMR rear upper and lower control arms with support braces. Has a great stance. Probably my favorite part of the car are the wheels and tires - wheels are custom Intro Vistas to mimic a classic Hurst wheel. 17” fronts and 18” rears with custom BF Goodrich G-Force t/a KDW redlines from Diamondback (with the awesome "flame pattern" tread).
I also have a custom-fit California Car Cover and it was recently detailed. I have probably a thousand pics of the restoration, so feel free to send me a message and I’ll link you to a Snapfish album.

In the spirit of full disclosure, here are the issue's I'm aware of and would want to know if I was a potential Buyer:

Horn - the horn stopped working when I switched from a '65-style to the currently installed '68 wood wheel. The brass plunger is probably too short for the different wheel, and I have a brand new horn contact kit to fix it. I will install if there's time, otherwise it's included.

Paint - As described above, I'd rank the paint 7/10. It is a nice, presentable paint job - it is not perfect. It had just been painted when I bought the car in 2004, and I had the front fenders redone when the GTO hood was installed, and a few areas touched up at the same time. There is bondo in a few spots (behind the driver's door and corner of the hood in particular) but the car is very straight and overall has nice gaps and panel fitment. There are a few minor nicks and touch-ups. You'd certainly not be embarrassed at a show and you can drive it as-is without worry. The rest of the car is basically like new, so if you're going to pick on something, I suppose it would be the paint.

Console - I haven't completely finished the custom console, as I planned to add a cupholder where the Camaro window switches were located. I have the parts to do so and they are included. I also planned to swap the emergency brake to the center console, and can include the parts (including Lokar cable kit) to make the swap as well.

Brakes - Based on lots of research that I did prior to the build, I went with manual 4-wheel discs. The car stops very well (much better than with drums) but doesn't have the positive feel that you get from power brakes. If I were going to keep it, I would probably install a power booster. I can include the line for center carb vacuum if you want power brakes.

Tune - The 421 isn't broken in yet and could use the carbs calibrated after a few hundred more miles. The carbs are jetted based on the engine build but should be fine-tuned once the engine is broken in.

Exhaust manifolds - The reproduction ram air manifolds were high-temp coated when new but the coating didn't hold up. Again, they are not that bad, but not up to par with the rest of the detail under the hood. Pontiacs are known for burning the paint of the intake, heads, and exhaust manifolds rather quickly. No real way around it if you're going to drive it.