25 years later, fate and a mistake brought my ’65 GTO back home
On my birthday in 1985, my first car drove off into the sunset. It was a black-on-black 1965 Pontiac GTO I’d found in the For Sale section of a Tulsa newspaper and bought for $2000 cash—earnings from two years working at a department store. For five years, it was my only car. I drove it, crashed it, had the engine rebuilt by our school shop class, and rebuilt it again over one summer. I even swapped in a 12-bolt, 4.11:1 rear-end (bad idea, but seemed cool at the time). But during college, I had to sell it because I couldn’t afford the gas, tires, oil, and insurance.
I’d always told myself that, someday, I’d get another. In 2020, I was surfing Hemmings for ’65 GTOs and found one in Connecticut: Coupe, factory A/C, four-speed, power steering, and brakes. It was originally painted gold with a gold interior but had since been changed to black on black. I live in Florida now, where that color combination is impractical, but the memory of my first car kept pulling me back. My wife, Alli, added, “You aren’t getting any younger.” After thanking her for reminding me, I also thanked her for being supportive and called the dealer.
The car appeared fully restored and had PHS documentation and a billing history card. A local inspector put it on a rack, drove it, photographed it, measured the paint depth, and provided me with an appraisal. After some haggling, the car was on a transporter.
While awaiting the arrival of my new GTO, I dug out the documentation from my old one, which included a set of taped-together keys and an Oklahoma registration. Comparing VINs, I was pleased to note the numbers were only 50 digits apart—277 for the old one and 227 for the new one. But then I realized the photos of the VIN that the appraiser had provided didn’t match what was in his report. Concerned, I called him. “The VIN on the car has clearly never been tampered with,” he said, apologizing for having made an error in his transcription. “The correct VIN ends in 277, not 227.”
I felt flush. “If the VIN is correct,” I told him, “This is the first car I ever bought!” Neither the inspector nor my wife could believe it. When the car arrived, I cracked the Scotch tape on my old set of keys and stuck one in the ignition switch. It turned.
My Pontiac had changed during our time apart. A big dent I’d put in the rear quarter was gone, as were the steel sheets I’d (clumsily) pop-riveted into the rusted trunk. The car had been treated to options such as Tri-Power carbs. I’ve continued the improvements, including paint color correction and a set of Coker radial redline tires with a bias-ply look. It has trophied twice at the Festivals of Speed in Orlando, and we’ve put on a few thousand miles driving to nearby towns. I could have bought another GTO and would have been perfectly happy reliving my youth with that car. But my actual first car? It’s abundantly clear to me how rare that is.
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Great story ! I bought my first car back in 1976 when i turned 16. A 1955 chevy 2DR Sedan with my paper route money ! I still have the car today.
Wow you bought a classic right from the start! I was saving from a paper route too and then started to save working at a department store. Kept working there for two more years to keep paying for the “Gas, Tires, and Oil”!
I bought my first brand new car which was a 1989 Camaro IROC Convertible . The car is red with a black top.
The car only has 54,000 original miles on it right now and I would not give it up for anything.
Great story and car. My first car was a 67′ GTO but the 65’s have always been my favorite. Glad you have the A/C with that Black/Black goat down here in Florida!
Agreed we definitely need the A/C here, and that was clearly one of the things that helped me get my car back: not a lot with factory A/C Post cars with factory 4-speed. I’m definitely a kid again when I drive it now, although nowhere nearly as hard as I drove (even on gravel roads!) back in the day.
I found my first car twenty some years after I had sold it. It was way in the back of a salvage yard that I had been doing business with for some time. It was a 49 Ford two door sedan. I knew it was mine, I had done some body mods on it. What do yaw except from an eighteen year old with hot rod fever. The poor thin was in sad shape. But it was the car. I told the operator of the yard, I’d give him four times what the crusher would pay when they got back to it. The next Spring I finally got the call. There was a road that I could get my trailer down to the car and that he had marked it along with several others. I must admit I got more than a little excited. It has coming home. Wrong, I got to it to find the driver side b pillar and frame had been pushed half way through the car. It was scrap now. Seems the loader operator didn’t see the big red x’s painted all over it. Sence then I’ve rebuilt a couple of shoe box Fords, I always seem to sell them. Ya only have one first car.
My first brand new car was a 1965 GTO, red with white interior, tri-power, 4 speed. I traded it in on a new ride in 1967 and when I found out it had beed repoed by the dealer in early 1968, I bought it back.
Wow, factory 4-speed Tri-Power from new! Mine was already 15 years old, not the original engine, repainted and interior color changed, but I would never change the color back to stock now.
As a 50-something, I’m fortunate enough to still have the first car I ever purchased. To find your first car again completely by chance – absolutely amazing. Enjoy your beautiful GTO. It’s clearly meant to be yours!
You are so lucky to have worked so hard to keep yours. I had to sell mine as my college expenses were piling up so I took some of the cash and bought a motorcycle to still be mobile, although those winters were no fun!
Love the story !! I tracked down my first car (1964 Mercedes 230SL) several years after I first sold it. It took another 15 years for the owner to agree to sell it back to me; but I have it. Fully restored and the Queen of my garage. She shares the space with several more expensive cars, but knows she is my favorite and priceless in my heart.
Great that you were reunited with your GTO. I still have my 1973 Road Runner That I purchased new back in ’73. Never been restored. Still in its original condition. I drive it every week or two, weather permitting.
Amazing story!! i can imagine how special that moment must have felt!❤️ congratulations!!
I went to high school with Randy. That car was driven hard at times, and it is a great story that the car (and Randy) survived to be reunited. Also, Randy is very good at math, so I don’t think he wrote the headline. It was 35 years later, not 25, that he found the car.
Wow, you never know who they’ll let in here! Drove it hard is probably an understatement, but I had an absolute blast driving that car around town and “dragging Main”. I don’t drive it like I stole it nowadays, but I open up the Tri-Power at least once every drive!
Long one but another happy story:
I purchased brand new in London in London, 1969 – a yellow MGBGT – Cost was $2405, my first new car at 23 years old.
My girlfriend and I left that same day for Africa, Morocco specifically. I drove straight thru 1500 miles. I remember slipping and sliding in the Pyrenees mountains in Spain at 4AM, then down the coast of Spain, where I got it up to 105 a few times…yes young and dumb
We then took the boat across the From Algeciras, Spain across the straits to Tangier, Morocco, and drove another 6 hours down to Marrakesh, where we spent 3 months. That picture was taken somewhere in Spain in an orange farm. We stayed 3 months, then drove back to Tangier, put the car on a Yugoslavian Freighter for a 2 week trip across the Mediterranean to Italy.
We drove all around Europe – Rome, Pompei, Paris, and to all the hash houses in Amsterdam for a few months. I then drove it back to London, and shipped the car to Seattle. Drove down to Portland, where I lived then.
I drove it around Portland all summer, then sold it to buy a Factory new VW Camper (pop top – $2945) to drive on an 8 month trip to Kathmandu thru eastern Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India to Kathmandu, Nepal, to the Tibetan border, and back to London, where I also shipped that one back to tue US.
Fast forward many many many moons….
53 years later, I saw a Yellow MGBGT in a friend’s collection (he has over 100 cars), in his pole building, covered, and had been there, pinned in, for ~30 years. Luckily, very minimal rust. A little seam bubbling. I saw it and said “I had one like this back in 1969.”
A few months went by and the guy asked me “Where did you sell that car?” “Portland” – “I bought this in Portland” Wheels turned until I managed to verify it is the same car, with a Heritage Certificate. I HAD to have it back.
We spent about 6 months replacing pretty much everything and getting it to run. Drove partway home and the old engine started knocking – loud. Don’t know what happened, but knew I couldn’t drive it like that. Could not find anyone willing to rebuild the engine for a reasonable price. I had one offer for $9,000 – yow
On the MG forum, I started calling and was referred to legendary engine builder, Dick Moritz.
SO – Dick built me a new performance engine, ported, 9.5 compression, performance cam for an extra ~30 horsepower. I drove it home, 120 miles, and in about a week the brand-new B&B clutch committed suicide. Luckily on that forum I found Matt G, who pulled the engine, put in a new clutch, GAVE me a newer Tranny.. Wow, what a guy…. seriously. Paint was rough, 30 years in storage rough, and I thought I’d need a paint job – but Matt polished it, and it cleaned right up.
Nearly everything replaced now except body, glass and interior.
I’m tickled pink to see it sitting in my garage, waiting again for spring!
Wow that is really an “around the world” trip through time for you and your car! My cars travels were limited to (from what I’ve gathered) mostly central and eastern United States. Built in Kansas, sold in Tulsa, I bought in Tulsa and sold in Oklahoma, and it was restored in Arkansas. Trail goes cold but then ends up in a collection in Connecticut, then a collection in Texas, then back to the same dealer who bought/sold to those two, who then sold it to me in Florida.
Love those stories bought a 69 Chevelle SS396 in 1970 still own it needs a lil TLC every thing factory
I love stories of people finding their 1st cars ! I bought a ‘76 Chevy Laguna brand new – my 1st car at 18 right outta boot camp. Kept it 10 years and drove the heck out of it. Drove my new bride from the church in it and both my kids home from the hospital in it. It got pretty rusty in the N.E. Sold it and got an ‘86 Monte SS. Couldn’t keep an extra car back then but sure regretted selling it. Took me another 10 years to find one almost like it but it’s just not the same sadly
Laguna was such a cool look!