# 65 GTO quiz time



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

How many (radio) antenna options were available on the 65 GTO and what were they? I will give the answer later.


----------



## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

I believe there were 6 options available;

AM Pushbutton Radio with manual antenna,
AM Pushbutton Radio with electric antenna,
AM/FM Pushbutton Radio with manual antenna,
AM/FM Pushbutton Radio with electric antenna,
Manual Radio with manual antenna,
Manual Radio with electric antenna,


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

How about No antenna, No Radio, and a Radio Delete plate in the dash? That's the one I like!!!


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

:agree with both.


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

Everybody is correct. There is also the reverb option. The cool thing about Pontiac antennas that are different from other manufactures is that they have the tear drop or flying wing shape to them. I thought others could test our knowledge on GTO trivia as well.


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

How can you tell if a 65 GTO has a factory transistor ignition without looking under the hood?


----------



## Eric Animal (Oct 28, 2007)

Look thru the grill and see the transistor module with the cooling fins.. or check the ignition swith for the added wire plug.:cheers


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

The tacnometer needle lengths are different between standard ign. and electronic. Look at the TACH!!!


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

The answer to the question is a transistorized ignition GTO will have an electrical componet box mounted on the front driver's side wheel well on the outside of the car close to the bumper. So look inside the wheel well around the left front tire.


----------



## 68greengoat (Sep 15, 2005)




----------



## Thumpin455 (Feb 17, 2010)

If you had asked how much rust could a 65 have before it breaks in two, I could have answered that...


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

:rofl:


----------



## crustysack (Oct 5, 2008)

or" how much money are you going to spend on your rebuild"
ans- All of it


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I know the answer to the rust question through experience: It takes twice the amount of rust to make a GTO fall apart than it does a Chevy.


----------



## BillGTO (Oct 16, 2009)

crustysack said:


> or" how much money are you going to spend on your rebuild"
> ans- All of it


You ain't kidding there!:agree


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

The tach needle answer is also correct, at least for '66-'67 cars. But the car would have to have the rally dash for you to use THAT way of determining what ign. was in the car. Did NOT know about the wheel well! Thanks....................


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

What was the lowest gear ratio that the factory offered if you ordered A/C?


----------



## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

3:23's?


----------



## orelog (Dec 21, 2011)

This stuff is great!! Keep it coming.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Still '65?? 3.23's....I think. 3.23 was the "standard" ratio in '65 and '66. In '67, 3.36 became the standard ratio, to help make up for the ever-increasing weight of the car. Here's another one: What was the first model year GTO to have the word "HURST" imbossed onto the floor shifter???


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

ALKYGTO wins the prize of 3:23 gears. The standard varied if you have 4v or tri-pwr. The 4v was 3:23 and the 3 deuces was 3:55 (no A/C).


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Ferrari's did not come with Hurst shifters...I was referencing PONTIAC GTO's....


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

:lol:


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

1967 Pontaic GTO, think they were made by Hurst prior but were not allowed to be stamdped


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I'm confused. I thought that this was just some easy question that anybody would know. I would say everybody would answered the 1964 GTO. So I will sit back and learn something here.


----------



## trip65 (Oct 11, 2011)

i believe it was 65, the 65 had that hurst option with the rims & shifter & the hurst badges. i have a model of this car.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

The correct answer is the 1965 model year. 1964 GTO's had the same Hurst shifter that the '65 and '66 had, but Pontiac specified that they did NOT want "HURST" spelled out on the stick. That changed in '65. Some early '65's had the plain unmarked Hurst stick. Pontiac also did not want to pay for the Hurst linkage or shift knobs, so they supplied their own. The original white knobs used in '64 and '65 had no metal threaded insert and locknut....it was all plastic, and usually failed with a few hard shifts. The fix was a Hurst knob, which had the metal insert and the lock nut, so you could lock it into place without the pattern being all crooked. If I remember correctly, Pontiac saved $1 per shifter in '64 by avoiding the Hurst name.


----------



## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

1/2 right...knew i read that somewhere


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

In the book Pontiac GTO The Great One by Steve Statham, i just read where he does mention the logo discussion. Did not say anything regarding the knobs. So is it true with the black shift knobs as well? Does anybody have a 64 GTO here and can say that their hurst shifter does not have the logo on it?


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Mine has a wood knob that matches the wood sport wheel. Only one I've seen.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

I sold an early '65 (sept '64 build) GTO to a buddy in '92, and it had the plain '64 shifter. I have a friend with a 4 speed '64 LeMans ragtop, and it too has the unmarked stick. Both Fremont build cars. I am not sure about the black shift knobs that came out in '66. I have only seen the metal-insert Hurst ones. Have never seen an "original" one I could verify...


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I like this thread, it makes me do homework. I found another book talking about the hurst shifter logo not being on the 64 model. Geeteeohguy seems to be implying that there were no black shift knobs in 65 that they came out in 66. I know when I ordered my GTO there was no option for the color of hurst knobs. I thought that Pontiac decided what color knob you received based on the color combo of the car. I thought you could either get a black or a white knob but you could not choose the color. Since I know that there is no way to prove what color knob came on the GTO originally, I think it would be hard for Rukee to prove his walnut shift knob came on his GTO. I do know that in 66 that became an option. So Rukee I looked in you album of pics but I did not see that knob, do you have a picture of it?


----------



## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Check this video at about 47 seconds.


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

Hey Rukee, Pulled out my paperwork for the order sheet for the car and the wood knob was an option, so your good. It was 47 years ago when I ordered the car and trying to remember all those details is fading. Sorry. I still like to know about the black shift knob though.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Rogerthat, I know for a fact that white only knobs were offered in '64 and '65's on GTO's. I HAVE seen a '65 2+2 ad with the black knob....but then again, there's and ad out there showing 8-lug wheels on a '66 GTO, which never happened. The only knob available as original equipment in '65 was the white round knob without a metal insert. A quick way to tell one from a Hurst knob is the font, and the number "3". The factory knob will have a round topped "3", and the Hurst one will have a flat-topped "3". The walnut knob was first offered as an accessory in '66. The early walnut knobs had a very slender neck, and broke often on hard shifts. These were retrofitted with thicker, rounder looking knobs a little later on.


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

I remember asking the dealer about the shift knob colors and he did not know much about the car at that time because there were no 65s on the lots yet. He just gave me a build sheet and order form and I filled in the blanks and they gave me the IBM computer card to verify all of the selections before it went to be built. Pontiac went on strike while my car was being built and then that is when the dealer mentioned to me that pontiac chose the knob colors. I don't think they knew much about the car yet because it was so new. I just looked at my shift knob and it has the round 3 font on it.


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Rogerthat, you are one of the lucky ones. You were there on "day one" and you still have the original knob. In doing more research, I found that in the mid '60's, Hurst made these 3 and 4 speed shift knobs in several colors :white, black, red, and blue. The red and blue ones are hard to find, and never came on any car as factory issue. My current '65, which I've had since '82, came with a Hurst T-handle from a '69-'70 GTO/Judge. I installed the Hurst white knob soon after, as I prefer it over the T handle. I found a red Hurst knob on ebay a while back, and should have bid on it...oh well!!


----------



## Roger that (Feb 6, 2010)

Just looking around online it seems like the only shift knobs you can get for the GTO are the flat 3 font style. Are there no reproduction round 3 font knobs being made?


----------



## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Correct. The only ones that have been available for the past 45 years or so have been the Hurst manufactured knobs. Actually, they are a better quality item by far than the Pontiac spec'd originals.....and nobody will know the difference except us!!


----------

