Most old cars have a story and this 1965 Pontiac LeMans is no different, it’s a sort of Ma & Pa Kettle decide to sell the family hotrod tale. Located in Savannah, Georgia, the seller, Gary, is either the original owner, is selling this Poncho for the original owner, or has acquired it from the original owner for a quick flip. It probably doesn’t matter though transacting business with the individual who actually bought the subject car 57 years ago would be the preferred way to go. Let’s learn more as this LeMans is available, here on craigslist for $5,600. Thanks to T.J. for this special find!

It has to be hard to part with a car that you have owned for 57 years, it’s like saying so long to a family member. I know the tug-a-war feeling. I have owned cars that I didn’t want to drive anymore but I just couldn’t bear the thought of parting with them either (no – I’m not a hoarder). But then you have to realize that an old car, left unattended, is just going to get older and more feeble, especially one that isn’t super stored, something that most can’t provide. And an open-sided carport isn’t in this LeMan’s best interest.

Any way you cut it, the ’65 LeMans/Tempest/GTO are my favorites. Back in those GM-could-do-no-wrong days, Pontiac’s designers and Fisher Body got this A-body’s lines just right. Even with the surface rust bleed-through, this Tin Indian cuts an impressive swath. The seller does mention, “FLOOR PANS ARE SOLID AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE PICTURES, THE FRAME IS SOLID AS WELL…THERE IS RUST IN THE TRUNK & A FEW OTHER AREAS…” What’s visible looks like standard A-body rust – it happens, southern car or not. The trunk pan problem is very typical and is usually caused by water staying put under the reveal moldings in the rear window channel. I owned a similar ’65 Malibu SS and by the time it was six, the trunk was not a place to keep anything that you cared about.

Power is provided by a 326 CI V8 engine but it’s not stated if it is a 250 or 285 HP version. It’s also not stated if it actually runs. The big news is the three-speed manual transmission actuated by a floor shift. Three on the tree was standard but a buyer could specify the floor shift if preferred. It would be interesting to know how many of the 192K Tempest, LeMans, and GTO models built that year were so equipped. The Pontiac Registry claims that 56K A-bodies were outfitted with the standard transmission, but how many of those were floor shifted vs. column actuated would be a telling statistic.

Gotta love Pontiac Morrokide vinyl upholstery, it seems as if you could haul cinder blocks or firewood without damaging it. The red carpet is showing signs of fade – something that GM’s nylon loop is notorious for doing after just a few years but I’m hard-pressed to issue any other interior demerits. The mileage recording is 29K so I’ll run with the odometer-has-been-once-around assumption and that places this interior in remarkable condition territory.

So whether Gary is the gentleman pictured here, or he’s once removed, doesn’t really matter, it’s great to see so much originality. A GTO clone possibility?  Absolutely not! I’d fix the rust, give it a respray in code-C Cameo Ivory and be thankful for this LeMans just as it is, how about you?