[rusty old car]

NEWBIE HELP ON 65 GTO.... PLease.

Hi all, This is my first post. I am looking at a 1965 GTO or what I think is a GTO. Tell me if I have this correct? The 1965 GTO came as an option on the Lemans (meaning there is no way to tell if it is correct for 1965). The Z in the door plate tells me it was made in CA. Are there any tell tale signs other than calling PHS to tell if it did not have the GTO option making this a true GTO? When I say tell tale signs I mean something that the GTO option package would have that I can look for (ie posi traction or certain #'s that I may be able to tell something from)? This is a time sensitive question as this oppurtunity just presented itself to me. I am afraid that PHS will take a while to get back to me to confirm if it is correct. I am new to the old car hobby so PLEASE bear with me, if I ask dumb questions. I will post up what I have for vin and tag#'s and motor numbers on Monday, but from what I can make of this it may awhile to get a reply (05 GTO has been a huge help). I just don't want to make a purchase and find out later it is not a true GTO. Sorry for war & peace for my first post but any help would be VERY MUCH appreiciated. Thanks RUSTY OLD CAR! :cheers

 

[rusty old car]

But wait, there's more.....

I was searching around the forum and found the following older post:

http://www.gtoforum.com/showthread.php?t=3542&highlight=acc+code

The post discusses in detail (thanks 05 GTO) the accessory codes on a GTO's body tag.

I do not have the specific numbers from the data tag in front of me, however, I do recall some of the information from memory. Interestingly, the accessory codes that are listed in the post show letter/number combinations. However, on the data tag of the GTO in question, the accessory code appears to be a string of numbers, with no spaces and no letters. Where I would expect to see, based on 05 GTO's post, a combination as follows:

X A1 C2 D3 etc.

my body tag shows

12345678

The above are random numbers and letters, my intent here is to show that the actual format of the information is different. If this is the case, how does this numeric string translate to option codes?

Thanks...will add info as I get it.

rusty old car

 

[05GTO]

Since the car was manufactured in CA it will not have the acc. code of 5N on the data plate. I would suggest looking for all of the codes and dates on the block, heads, data plate, carb and transmission. If the dates are within a few days of each other, chances are you will have a numbers matching GTO.

Post the codes and dates when you get a chance.

 

[arch&69]

Do you have any pictures that you could post up, such as one from the front of the car, one from the back, one of the engine, and one looking at the dash inside the car. There are a lot of little details that you can use to tell, if it has a 389 is the quickest, especially if the #'s match. I suggest taking a look at the following website when you get some of the numbers(data plate, vin, engine id #, engine code, and head code):

http://ultimategto.com/cgi-bin/statsexplorer.cgi?year=1965&f1=style+popgto+clrpaint+dtmatrix+vinmatrix+dataplate+price

Keep us informed.

 

[rusty old car]

I have been able to decode most of the data plate (build date, interior code, factory location, paint codes, etc.). Everything obvious to the car that can be compared to the data plate matches.

The only code that was really throwing me was the accessory code, since it didn't follow the format of any searches I've done (on this forum and elsewhere) on how to decode the data plate. And since for 65, the GTO was an option, that's really what I was looking for to confirm whether it was real. (The Fremont plant just HAD to do things differently, right? Just to mess me up... )

I'll try to get as many codes (engine, carb, etc.) as possible and post as I can.

Thanks for all your input! :cheers

ROC

 

[rusty old car]

Bear with me on this as I am trying to do this from memory. I remember that the rear had no bolts around it. If a GTO package, would this differential of had a 10 bolt rear (or at least bolts around the rear diff)? Also when I tried to spin the rear wheels on the lift it was not a posi. The car in question is an automatic.
What exactly did the GTO package at its minimum include ie wood grain dash, emblems on interior door trim, grab bar(?) with GTO above glove box, etc.
Sorry to keep beating the horse here, however just found out someone else is interested. Thanks All. (once again). :cheers
ROC.

Did a search on the ebay. This looks exactly like the rear that is in the car in question. Item number: 160026616502 can this be correct?

 

[arch&69]

Nope, that is definately not correct. I don't know how something like that would end up in a GTO. That diffi is actually about 1 to 2 inches longer than the GTO diffi, requiring a different driveshaft. And the whole rear end is actually shorter than a GTO's. So I think you might be mistaken on that picture.

http://i9.ebayimg.com/04/i/08/29/5d/57_3.JPG

That is what the diffi on a 65 is supposed to look like. Notice the front part of the case has no bolts around it. All of the GTOs and lemans had the bolts
rear facing. I'm 90% sure on the lemans.

Compare this car to the one you're looking at. Ebay #280024133201

This has several pictures from many different angles, and is a correct 65 GTO (except for the new paint).

Get some pics of the car pleeze. I will be much more help with even just a couple.

 

[rusty old car]

I let the car go.. The price was 15k. Someone purchased themselves a true something? It seems that someone had taken this and dolled it up with the sort of correct stuff. I took someone to have a look and it was never a GTO optioned car.(the owner was there and he fessed up to this at the end). It seems someone shot another frame under a Lemans, as it was not as clean on the outside as it was underneath. I spent a lot of time asking questions and I am soooo happy that I did! Thanks to EVERYONE that helped me!!!!!
Oh it Sold, just not to me I never have been happier about losing a car before in my life.

ROC. :cheers

 

[arch&69]

Good job. See how a little bit of patience and asking questions will keep ya from making big, and potentially expensive, mistakes.

I hope you find the right car for you. Keep us up to date on your quest.