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My first car was a Grand Prix!
Back in high school my first car was an '81 Grand Prix. Had it for about 2 years until the day before graduation when I wrecked it. I couldn't afford to fix it and I'm not entirely sure it was fixable, so off to the junk yard it went. Looking back I really enjoyed that car! It wasn't fast (4.3 V8), had some rust, power sunroof leaked, headliner dropped, etc. But what I liked the most about it besides the awesome styling was how comfortable the car was and how smooth the ride was. Has to be one of the best riding vehicles I have owned.
Fast forward to today. Having sold my '71 Lemans last year, I am tossing around the idea of picking up another Grand Prix. Having owned an '81, my question is how much did they change between '81 and the last year of that body style in '87? I find myself gravitating towards an '85 to '87 for some reason. Something with buckets, V8, T-Tops. Are there still a lot of these around and what are they going for these days? To be honest, I hardly ever see these cars anymore. I see way more Cutlass, Regals, and Monte Carlos. There has to be a few left, unless most suffered the same fate as my '81? Anyone else have any experiences with '80's Grand Prixs? |
I don't think they changed too much;
If my memory serves me correctly, the 1981 model year was the first year of the new sheet metal - much like 1981 was the first year of the new sheet metal for the Monte Carlo. Personally I really liked the 78-80 Grand Prix's; My friend bought a painfully original 1978 301/4bbl car, burgandy exterior, with dark red cloth interior; I loved that car! He eventually swapped in a 1971 400, but left the cam plate off... so that engine didn't last too long... and because of some rust, and some friends wrecking the back seat (which is another story) the cardidn't last too much longer. It was a real shame when he got it, back in 1996(?) it was stupid mint. I felt that the 81-87 GP looked too busy - and I didn't really care for the decidedly "old man" interiors... conversely, the '88 GP seemed to put the model right back to it's roots of making the GP seem like a sportier car. I had a 1980 Monte Carlo - I loved the body lines of that car (when compared to the muted body lines of the 81-87 cars)... To me, since they were corporate starting in 1981, I'd honestly prefer a Monte Carlo over a Grand Prix. But that's just my opinion. EDIT: Maybe this link will help(?): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontia...78–1987) |
Southern NM parts cars
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Doubt you want to travel - but local yard near my residence still has a few 78 - 87 Cutlasses and possibly a Grand Prix. No rear frame or bumper rot outs. No good rubber, plastics, or vinyls on these cars. Interiors are shot. Been outside in sun for over two decades. Sheet metal and metal trims are very good though.
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Don’t do it Tyler, next thing you know you’ll be yanking the small engine for 400 and have a ton of money in it... lol
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