This ‘65 Pontiac Custom Convertible Is Secretly a Corvette-Based Retromod, Has V8 Surprise

Personally, I’m a fan of the former, because it takes a lot more craftsmanship to pull off. Plus, you also maintain the original look of the vehicle, which to me should be your no.1 concern at that point.

For example, say you had a 1965 Pontiac Tempest or a GTO Convertible at your disposal – if you could get in there and upgrade the engine, transmission, suspension, interior and so on, that car’s going to be a lot more valuable than if you just build a makeshift body over a different chassis. Using a different chassis means it’s no longer that original car.

Sure, I think we’ve all seen lots of interesting custom vehicles done that way, but very few of them truly stand out. We’d all probably prefer to just drive an unaltered original, or one that’s been customized while still riding on its factory-standard underpinnings.

With that in mind, let’s take a close look at this 1965 Pontiac (up for grabs at auction next month) – which is anything but a 1965 Pontiac, for better or worse (you decide).

This vehicle was built on a lengthened C6 Corvette frame, featuring the Z51 package. It also comes with a power-operated convertible top, a custom Mix Orange exterior and custom wheels. I guess it’s supposed to look like a 1965 GTO Convertible, and it does to some extent, but I don’t think you’re going to be fooling anybody.

On the other hand, the body is clearly well-designed. This doesn’t look like a cheap knockoff, but rather a comprehensive aftermarket build.

Interior highlights include the new convertible boot cover, black leather upholstery, a B&M Hammer shifter, a Vintage Air climate control system, a Boss sound system with 21 amplifiers and two subwoofers, plus an aftermarket touchscreen infotainment display.

As for performance, underneath the hood is a 413 ci supercharged V8 engine (surprising choice) with low compression forged pistons and GM Performance LS3 heads (ported and polished). It sends its power to the rear wheels via a rear-mounted six-speed automatic transmission. We’re not sure about horsepower and torque numbers, but I’m willing to wager this thing isn’t particularly slow.

Show me something nicer

Don’t mind if I do, because as I said, it’s way better when you can simply improve on the original product, rather than trying to recreate it using a custom frame.

Here’s an LS3-swapped 1967 Pontiac GTO Convertible, featuring custom mufflers, upgraded suspension, a refurbished interior (stunning too), and a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 underneath the hood. It was thought to be pushing roughly 700 horsepower at the crank.