When one 1965 Pontiac GTO just isn’t enough
Port Coquitlam man owns one of each of the three models produced that year
Ron Allegretto doesn’t look like a retired bank manager when he puts on his sunglasses and driving gloves and climbs behind the wheel of his 1965 Pontiac GTO. That is one of his three 1965 Pontiac GTOs. He has one of each model produced that year: a convertible, a hardtop and a coupe.
Gran Turismo Omologato ( GTO), a name borrowed from Ferrari denoting its car was race- ready for the grand touring class, is the name legendary Pontiac performance engineer John Delorean chose for the street- performing muscle car released in the mid- sized Pontiac LeMans class for the 1964 model year.
Delorean’s concept was to stuff the lightweight body with the biggest engine available in full- sized Pontiacs. The 389- cubic- inch engines could be equipped with tri- power ( triple carburetion) delivering a ground- pounding 360 horsepower. All that power could be transferred to the rear wheels through an available close ratio four- speed transmission. A “chicken bar” was mounted on the right- side dashboard so the passenger could hold on tight during acceleration.
Pontiac GTO advertising of the day appealed to what street racers of the era could say to other drivers: Two words — You lose!
Ron’s love affair with the GTO started in 1965, when the car salesman father of a friend in Burnaby came home with a new Nightwatch Blue GTO with the tri- power engine and fourspeed transmission. His friend took 18- year- old Ron for a run in the car. He had never experienced performance like that and was hooked for life.
The garage door opens at Ron’s Port Coquitlam home to reveal all three 1965 GTOs with the convertible on one side, the hardtop on the other and the coupe on an electric lift stored over the hardtop.
Ron’s choice for the first ride of the day is his Montero Red 1965 Pontiac GTO hardtop. This is his freshly restored luxury GTO with power windows and an automatic transmission. It is a car that his wife Joanne can drive. But, not to be fooled, this car gets up and moves with its tripower equipped 389- cubic- inch engine — all freshly rebuilt.
Once back at his house, he lowers the lift carrying his Maize Yellow 1965 GTO coupe. This is the base model for the serious street- racer of 50 years ago. No fancy stuff, power options or frills. Just brute force delivered by 360 horsepower, a four- speed transmission and posi- traction differential.
A friend saw this car on eBay and convinced Ron he needed it to complete a matched set of 1965 Pontiac GTOs. It was a one- family- owned car from very dry Idaho after being purchased new in Gresham, Ore. The car was virtually rust- free and complete but in need of a complete restoration.
This car looks and performs just like a new 1965 GTO right out of the showroom. It’s quiet, smooth and very quick. The acceleration is blistering as Ron shifts through the gears with the close ratio four- speed transmission. The GTO is just as clean and shiny underneath as is the outer shell.
Still in the garage is the first 1965 Pontiac GTO purchased 20 years ago. It’s a Reef Turquoise convertible that sold new in Georgia. This is also a tri- power engine car and Ron beefed up the driveline with a Richmond five- speed standard transmission.
The GTO convertible is Ron’s summer driver and he loves cruising with the top down. Out of the 75,000 GTOs built by Pontiac in the 1965 model year, there were only 11,311 GTO convertibles. By comparison, there were 55,722 hardtop models and only 8,319 coupes.
Pontiac produced the GTO from 1964 until midway through the 1973 model year. The 1974 GTO was a one- year-only option package available on the compact- sized Pontiac Ventura.
For Allegretto, the 1965 model is representative of the true GTO: small and light body with most powerful drive train.
But why have three of them. One of each model?
“They’re all different and unique,” he says. “It takes me back 50 years to drive them. I’ve gone back to having a brand new 1965 GTO just like it was back then.”
Each one of his three Pontiac GTOs gets the same attention. He keeps a log book showing when he drove them last so they get exercised regularly.
“Nice to have a choice,” he says.
“I think I’ll take this one out next.”