15-03-2025
1964 Pontiac GTO Being Sold by the Original Owner's Family on BaT
The '64 Pontiac GTO is the first of the muscle cars, and this one features a window-rattling V-8 and a four-speed manual transmission.
The options on this example are extensive and include suspension and frame upgrades.
Impressively, this car has been in the same family since new.
For many a gearhead, automotive enthusiasm is a genetic trait, something passed down from your mom or dad. So just imagine being in grade school in the early 1970s and this black-on-black Pontiac GTO rumbling up on a Friday afternoon, just as the school bell rings. Hop in, kid, we're going for ice cream and Hot 1964 Pontiac GTO, up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), is just about the coolest dadmobile ever. Bought new by the current seller's father in New Jersey, it's a great spec, with a four-speed manual, a heavy-duty frame, and a limited-slip rear was the first year for the GTO, which technically was an option package you could order on the Pontiac LeMans coupe. The LeMans was an intermediate-size car that should have been restricted to a maximum engine size of 330 cubic inches, based on GM's internal regulations. The rule was, a car had to have 10 pounds of weight for every cube of displacement, as this would keep things from getting too gnarly.
Pontiac was, at this time, establishing itself as a performance-oriented brand under the GM umbrella, and that image was not being helped by GM's 1963 ban on racing. So a young John DeLorean headed up an engineering team that aimed at squeezing out maximum street performance, hoping that would get buyers into showrooms. At the suggestion of Bill Collins, a member of the engineering team, the 389-cubic-inch engine from the larger Grand Prix was swapped creation is today considered the first of the muscle cars. DeLorean and his team got around GM's rulebook by offering the bigger engine as an option package, which included stiffer springs, an upgraded fan for better cooling, dual exhausts, and hood scoops that hinted that something fun was going on in the engine bay.
This car has the triple two-barrel carburetors, which means it was good for a stout 340 horsepower and 428 pound-feet of torque when new. A three-speed manual was the base offering for the GTO, but this car has the aforementioned four-speed stick shift. There was an engine rebuild 25 years ago, and a tuneup done in 2019. The odometer shows 88K miles.
The original owner of this GTO appears to have been a pilot with Pan Am, and the car comes with the kind of meticulous logbook you'd expect from that profession. The car itself also has an unusual specification in that it was ordered with the heavy-duty frame, quick-ratio power steering, and an additional handling package with stiffer shocks. Altogether, it's a true gearhead spec.
You'd be hard pressed to find a better-optioned GTO, so it's little wonder that this one stayed with the original owner so long. The winning bidder on this Pontiac is getting a very original car with excellent specifications. Should that be you, you'd better roll up to your own kid's school on Friday. Ice cream and burnouts for everyone.
The auction ends on March 18.
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