Been owning and restoring 65 GTO's for over 30 years but never, ever heard of a 65 with a bench seat. How about this one. Claims to have documentation.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

Been owning and restoring 65 GTO's for over 30 years but never, ever heard of a 65 with a bench seat. How about this one. Claims to have documentation.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...e=STRK:MEWA:IT

That's crazy. Would love to see the docs on that car (if indeed legit).

Funny that they used the Tempest door panels, though. I have seen split bench seats with the Lemans/GTO covers (diagonal pattern) on them before - were they aftermarket? Or perhaps Tempest Custom? If they existed, I would figure it to be very odd that they were not used in this case.

Just noticed that it is a 5N/Pontiac car...tough to make out the interior code on it from the pic, though.

Never heard or seen of one either, but he claims to have the PHS documentation and the original window sticker and order form.

As with any '64 or '65 GTO, I would have to see the PHS info regardless of whether or not it had the 5N code.

He claims it's rare, but is a bench seat car with column shift desireable???

Desireable? Hell yes.
Haven't you heard that song from "Cake"

"stick shifts and safety belts, bucket seats have all got to go. When I'm driving, I need my baby close to me."

Something about that car just isn't right.

I suppose you could have gotten a car with a power bench seat, but I would have thought that it would have the interior scheme of a '65 Lemans 4 door bench seat, and not the 2tone Tempest interior. Also noted the door panel emblem is from a '64 Lemans.

There really are not enough pictures to tell the story on this car, but I think it started it's life as a Tempest Custom.

Since bench seats were not offered on the Le Mans series, there is definately something wrong with this picture. I really don't like the door panels. Love to see the PHS paperwork on this car.

i just EMed this person on some specific questions and to reiterate in his return EM what the paperwork says to verify the bench seat.My only quess that it may be legit is that it may have been a special car for one of the major autoshows in 65 that showcased the 65 GTO.I know of a Bonneville that had weird options that made the circuit in 65.This sounds VERY fishy to me.If he returns my request,I will post his reply.I am not counting on anything substantive. bigpop

I beleive it could happen.

My borther inlaw had a 69 Chevelle SS, four speed on the floor with a bench seat. He knew it was orriginal because his uncle ordered it from the factory that way.

-------------------------------------------

Bench seat was not an RPO on the GTO in 64/65 as it was in later years (or on 69 chevelles).

Damn it Andre, I scratched my head until I got bald trying to see what didn't look right about that car and think you are dead right on the door panel emblem and interior. Emblem is 64 only to my knowledge and interior looks 64 also.

I believe Mike Cooper (of 63 Tempest fame)
was supposed to have a unique 64 GTO seat
combination too! Don't remember if it was a
bench seat deal or the three on the tree column deal.

As far as being able to put a bench seat in a 65 GTO, my brother-in-law had a FACTORY 65 442
Olds (4 speed naturally) with bench seat so I do know the other brands offered it.

Agree that the car is built with 64 door trim.

Forgot to look and see when the car was made.
Did anyone see that info?

Tom V.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by gtoric:
Since bench seats were not offered on the Le Mans series, there is definately something wrong with this picture. I really don't like the door panels. Love to see the PHS paperwork on this car. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

so what you're saying here is that all leman's came with buckets if i read this correctly?

i know this statement is wrong because there were a bunch of bench cars sold in this area.

as for the column shift, that's not uncommon in a gto you just don't see them much anymore.

the 3spd cloumn shift was the std trans for these cars. you had to order the hd 3spd to get the floor shift.

i agree with andre on the door panels and emblems, they look to be 64 units. the rest of the car is entirely possible i think. i'd like to see the documentation on it tho.

mike

Mike, I meant that the 2-door style Le Mans series did not receive bench seats in 1964 or '65. The only RPO choics that were offered in those two years, that related to seating, was a power assist option and heavy duty springs/cushions. A choice of seating configurations was not on the books. If you wanted a bench seat, you had to order a Tempest or Tempest Custom or a 4-dr sedan Le Mans. If you had to have buckets, you got a Le Mans or special ordered a Tempest Custom 4-dr sedan or Safari with buckets. Have you ever seen a 2-dr '64 or '65 Tempest with factory installed bucket seats?

Part of the reason that the GTO option was not offered on the Tempest or Tempest Custom was that bucket seats were part of the GTO RPO, and bucket seat interiors weren't to be had in the 2-dr Tempests. By '66 the notch-back strato bench seat became a special order RPO for the Le Mans and GTO.

I'm not saying that there is absolutely no possibility that a 1965 GTO did not get built with a bench seat. We all know that some pretty strange equipment got installed into cars 40 years ago. If you knew the right strings to pull, you could get just about anything that you wanted. Pre-production and concept cars are another matter. I am saying that a bench seat in a '65 Le Mans/GTO was not an offered option.

If a broadcast sheet or PHS documentation can dispute my contention, I will stand corrected.

Hum,no reply from the seller on my request for documentation.Draw your own conclusions.In my EM to him,I stated that I was very serious about buying this car if he could provide the information to show it's uniqueness and rarity..My conclusion,a bull**** artist trying to make a fast buck from an unaware buyer,pitiful.

There is a guy on the MA./CT.border with a 65 bench seat GTO.It has the GTO/Lemans seat pattern with a fold down center armrest.I didn't see any paperwork,but if someone made this seat,they did a great job.
He bought the car this way and is a legit guy.

I looked at my original literature for the 64 Tempest/Lemans
seat offerings again last night and the pattern looks like a Tempest Custom S pattern for a 64. Same deal for the door trim.

The pic I have shows the Wide "bars" in the seat pattern for the 64 seat.

I thought a couple of times about having a GP fold-down arm rest built into a rear seat along with a proper rear speaker deal for a 64 Convertible (vs the mickey Mouse cardboard box inder the cloth deal. Never happened.

Tom V.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by stevep:
There is a guy on the MA./CT.border with a 65 bench seat GTO.It has the GTO/Lemans seat pattern with a fold down center armrest.I didn't see any paperwork,but if someone made this seat,they did a great job.
He bought the car this way and is a legit guy. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

SteveP, the gentleman you are referring to is Paul. He is a friend of mine. He does in fact have what you describe, however I have not seen the documentation. He does claim it to be legit and he owns over 10 GTOs with most being 65. I have some pics of his car, but nothing substantial on the interior.

Yes I have and the owner claims it is factory.
I also have seen back in 1967 A friend of mine ordered a 1967 GTO H/T and it came with Lemans Interior. Including the grab handle. Obviosly a pontiac screw up.

No one is questioning that it was available in 67. That is commonly known. It is even listed as an option. However, it was never listed as available for 65.

In response to Stevep if the guy your talking about is Paul I seen the car too. Its a floor shift and radio delete.

While on the subject of weird stuff on 65 models,I saw a 65 Lemans 4 door once in a wrecking yard that had Parrisienne emblems and the seats and door panels looked like corduroy fabric.If someone did install this interior,they did a great job.It looked factory.It had factory A/C and had a tilt wheel and power steering.I believe i remember it having a bench seat.Has anyone ever seen one of these? Was it a Canadian model or just some guys attempt to make a car Pontiac never produced? It sure looked like a real production car.INJUNBOY

If it had a 409 engine in it or a BB Chebby
engine in it it most likely was from our brothers in the North!

Saw a very nice dual quad 409 65 lemans type
car on I-401 one night in the early 70s.
BIG CAM! http://forums.performanceyears.com/g...icon_smile.gif

Tom V.

Hey guys......I just bought this car last weekend!!!! I thought it was great to find a thread talking about the interior. I was intrigued by it also. I checked all of the paperwork from PHS, dealer sales invoices, window sticker and everything....the car is a legit GTO which has a bucket seat deduct and bench seat addition on the production card from PHS.

Guys,yes I am referring to Paul Menin.He is a stand up guy.I have known him for MANY years.I would not question what he says.
I also learned something a long time ago:when it comes to what was available in the 60's,NOTHING IS WRITTEN IN STONE!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by pontiachp:
Hey guys......I just bought this car last weekend!!!! I thought it was great to find a thread talking about the interior. I was intrigued by it also. I checked all of the paperwork from PHS, dealer sales invoices, window sticker and everything....the car is a legit GTO which has a bucket seat deduct and bench seat addition on the production card from PHS. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'd like to find out if there is an RPO connected to that bucket seat delete, or if it is a special engineering order, or perhaps a zone-ordered car. Was this car built in Pontiac? Is it an early built car, or even a pilot car that may have been intended for design feasability? How original is the car. Can any deductions be drawn from the way these options were installed, or does it look like the interior was restored or modified in the past? It would make more sense to me if it had a '65 interior instead of '64 pieces. Never say never.

The car is in super condition. There are a few things on the body plate that I've never seen before. The car is a PON car. The window sticker and invoice originally spec'd out a power bucket seat. The written dealer invoice for the car had "bench seat" as a spec. The factory production card reflected a "- bucket", "+ bench". The peculiar thing about this notation is that the date on this activity was 2 months after delivery to dealer in Detroit, MI. One conclusion that you can draw from this is that the origianl owner bought the car and did not want the bucket seat and took it back for a bench seat install?? I was told that the owner wanted a bench, not bucket....so maybe he bought the car and Pontiac ordered the parts and retrofitted later for the purchaser?? Could of happened many ways....believe me this is a factory fit interior in superb original condition. I seen a '65 Tempest that has the same type of door panels.

Depending on WHO the purchaser was, and (WHO HE KNEW) can have a big impact on this vehicle.

I have seen similar things when I worked for my uncle's Pontiac dealership.

A guy limps in to the dealership in 1971 with a 1969 Judge with a
Ram Air 4 engine: (Aluminum intake and headers on the car).

Deal is the intake is an Edelbrock installed by
the receiving dealer in Chicago and the cast iron round port headers are now tube headers.

I told my uncle the car is modified and no way was the factory going to stand behind that car (it can in with a rod knock).

Boy! Was I wrong!

This guy knew someone!

A Factory rep was sent out by this guy's friend. The rep looked at the car.
I mentioned the aluminum intake and the tube headers. The rep said the
car was sold with an aluminum intake and headers from the factory and
any good lawyer in the country will be able to make GM pay.

The factory sent out a complete long block, I installed it, with the
Edelbrock intake and tube headers and the guy went on his way.

True story!

Tom V.

I firmly believe someone who had connections could get anything he wanted installed (on the factory's tab) by a dealer, including the mentioned
interior (bench seat).

Tom V.

Bench seat was ordered in this tripower and column shift 1964 GTO:


https://www.hemmings.com/listing/196...iac-gto-720473

PHS docs confirm the change

That is a revelation for sure.
Sort of a shame it has taken such a hit in value with the engine swap.

I'm finding the ID tag from the dealer engine in 1967 to be Very Interesting.
Note the YK code on that tag from the 67 428 - leads to believe it really was a complete crate engine or LongBlock.

Neat car and neat history with it.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1964-pontiac-gto-3/ I think this the 64 that was on bring a trailer in 2016 which shows the phs and the not for the benchseat

wow even has tri power with 2 speed.

FWIW, in 69 a bench seat was standard in the Chevelle and buckets were optional even on the SS396. The SS396 option did not automatically include buckets.

Another FWIW, in 64/65 the Malibu SS package DID include bucket seats but they could be deleted for a bench seat. A floor shift with a console was included in the Malibu SS package if you also ordered the Powerglide or 4-speed. The standard 3-speed got you a column shift regardless of the seats. If you got the weirdo combination of a bench seat and wanted a 4-speed, you of course did not get a console but the shift was always on the floor. Bench seat and Powerglide got a column shift. The vast, vast majority of 64/65 Malibu SS cars got buckets, consoles, Powerglide or 4-speed.

I also dislike the term "radio delete". Radios were always an option so not getting a radio was just the standard version without an optional radio.

Good research to find that old Bring a trailer listing.
Gives more insight to how it really lived.

Besides the oddity of bench seat , it was also a Flat Hood Car.
Think one or two others have been documented with Flat Hoods , that actually said Tempest Hood, or to that effect, on their PMD documents.
Suppose that data was involved with its special order bulletin P1934.
Would have been awesome if they had that document too.

The next owner replaced the hood .

https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content...size=620%2C465

https://bringatrailer.com/wp-content...?fit=940%2C669

my bad, shows the buildsheet and note for benchseat

The passenger side rearview mirror shown on the 2016 BaT listing was a first for me.
It clamps onto the radio antenna.

Auxillary fuel tank from Sears in the trunk is sorta wild too.
Must have been put in during the 1973 oil embargo deal

Old Goat 67 (Charles Broussard) had a factory bench seat in his 67 GTO but converted to bucket seats years ago. His son Steven has the car now.