1964 GTO Barn Find: Original Paint, Interior & A Street Racing Past

Technically this muscle car was found in a garage and not a barn, but this original Tri-Power 1964 Pontiac GTO is a bit of an oddball in this day and age. It is unrestored, with factory paint and interior, and it will soon be up for sale. Remarkably, once an investigation began, it hardcore history revealed itself — including the ’68 Ram Air II V8 under the hood.

The widow of the former owner brought it to Motorcar Market in Ramsey, New Jersey, for a freshening and sale. Vincent Kung, president of Motorcar Market, said the paint is original and measures three mils thick. The GTO had been sitting in a garage for at least seven years. Kung added that based on the date code of the tires, it was may have been put away 20 years prior to that. 

The car sold new at Triangle Pontiac in Astoria/Long Island City, New York, according to the record from Pontiac Historical Services, and it spent most of its life in Queens, according to the owner. Her husband bought the car in Queens, where his wife grew up. The car had not been driven in the past seven years because of her husband’s health issues.

The odometer is showing just 29,000 miles and Kung thinks this is correct based on the overall condition of the Goat. Three of the original T3 headlights are present and accounted for, and best of all, the engine actually runs and “the undercarriage shows incredibly well.”

As for said undercarriage, Kung said it rust free, but you can see on the rear axle where it has brackets and weld spots on the frame that were ground down for a ladder bar suspension that was never installed. It does have the original rear, though the OE Muncie M21 is relegated to history.

There is a New York City’s Connecting Highway “Street Race Winner” decal on the car, which means it must have an interesting history in clandestine nighttime encounters (though these stickers actually only date back to the 1990s).

The pictures tell the true tale. The interior and underhood area reveal that this car had been put away — and not in kind fashion. It definitely bears the grime of an unprofessional storage. There is no sign of infestation, which is a plus. 

The car started life, as we noted earlier, as the top-dog Tri-Power 389, which left GM making 348 at 4,800 rpm and 428 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,600. Compression was a healthy 10.75:1. The 389 was mated to an M21 four-speed with the factory Hurst shifter. That mill is long gone and somewhere along the way it was replaced with the 360-horse Ram Air II 400 that lives there now.

“We hypothesized that this clean, original car sat for many years, and somebody was going to turn it into a drag race car for a street racer,” said Kung. “We think somebody aborted the project and side it was a nice, original GTO, they put it back as a street car, perhaps sometimes in the ’90s. But it is so rust-free underneath.”

The fact that the undercarriage is not full of cancer means this convertible lived a mostly inside existence for much of its life. The top is an older replacement and does show signs of age — the unzipped plastic rear window is yellow and lying in the boot. Some would call that “patina,” but we think it simply needs replacement. 

The Trim Tag is intact and tells a great tale. It got the four-speed floor shift, tinted glass, radio, rear power antenna, and the GTO option. Pontiac Deluxe wheel discs (option 462) are sitting in the mildewed front seat as of this writing, and this muscle car got the seat belt delete box checked). Option 602 (outside sideview mirror) is present, mounted here, as many were, on the front fender. It also has the extra-cost passenger side mirror — also fender mounted.

The plan is of Motorcar Market is to fully detail it, clean it up, and leave it as is, and help the owner sell it. The car will eventually be listed on Bring A Trailer.