#1  
Old 12-05-2012, 02:39 PM
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iowapub iowapub is offline
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Default 78 Grand Am with full vinyl top. Have you ever seen one?

I just received a message from someone in Nebraska that is looking to sell their 78 Grand Am with a full vinyl top.
It doesn't currently have an engine or trans, but was a 301 2 barrel car.

Has anyone ever seen a full vinyl top on a Grand Am?
I'd hate to have to look for the chrome piece between the rear sail panel and rear quarter.

Was the Malibu offered with full vinyl?
Kent
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  #2  
Old 12-05-2012, 06:53 PM
oldtinsmith oldtinsmith is offline
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I looked in the original 1978 Pontiac brochure I have and the LeMans section states a full cordova top (it shows a picture of a four door) was available. I can only assume that the Grand LeMans and Grand Am could get them also.

Doug

Cordova top colors: Platinum, Blue, Green, Camel Tan or Camel Valencia, Black, Carmine or Carmine Valencia

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  #3  
Old 12-08-2012, 02:57 PM
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Looks they they were an option, but have ever seen one, especially on a Grand Am 2 door?

It brings no additional value, but must be extremly rare.
There is a small trim piece on the A pillar too...

  #4  
Old 12-09-2012, 02:47 AM
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Kent, all the Grand Ams you've delt with and you never saw one with a full vinyl top? I'm amazed.
I owned a Seafoam green '78 with matching full vinyl top. Mine was also a Y code 301, with column shift & bench seat, no A/C. How's that for rare? Had gold accented snowflakes also. (But lower accent body color was Mayfair green.)
I've seen quite a few Malibus & Lemans with the cordova top but mine was the only GA I ever knew about. I sold it to Diamond Jim who's a board member here, and he still has it as far as I know. I stripped my top in 1989 after it was severly dryrotted but kept the chrome trim pieces in place with the top painted.

This car you posted looks to be Chesterfield brown over gold. I once looked at one that color for sale by the road in 1988. It had 60K and was in nice shape. The people that bought it used it as a family station wagon and it was trashed by 1995 when I saw it parked in town & I got some pics of it somewhere.

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Old 12-09-2012, 10:35 AM
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I ordered a brand new 1980 GA as that was to be the last year,(my first brand new car) for the life of me I can't remember seeing that option available, at least in 1980.

I think I slept with that order form book for about a month till I finally decided exactly what I wanted. LOL

  #6  
Old 12-11-2012, 01:11 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Transporter View Post
I ordered a brand new 1980 GA as that was to be the last year,(my first brand new car) for the life of me I can't remember seeing that option available, at least in 1980.

I think I slept with that order form book for about a month till I finally decided exactly what I wanted. LOL
Were you ever on the grandamregistry website?
I'm such a huge fan of the 2nd Gen Grand Ams, it's been my fantasy to go back in time to 1980 and tour the Pontiac dealers to ogle as many brand new '80 GAs as I could find. Granted they were spread pretty thin, but I lived in Michigan at the time, so they were bound to be lurking at the big dealers.
It's amazing how many '80 GA original owners I've seen pop up on the internet though. You just added to the list.

Please share the nitty gritty of how your '80 Grand Am was optioned.

If I could go back and order one, it would be Agate red with black cloth; tilt wheel, manual windows, Rally IV wheels and A/C delete.
But I'd really like to pull some strings and get one built in Peidmont green, which wasn't (supposed to be) available on Grand Am.

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Old 12-11-2012, 01:50 AM
rexs73gto rexs73gto is offline
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Any idea what the guy wanted for the Grand Am with the full vinyle top, as in how many dollors???

  #8  
Old 12-11-2012, 04:04 PM
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Kent, I too am surprised you hadn't run across one sooner. Heck, I thought there was nothing you hadn't seen. I do know the full top kept the normal qtr window openings while the half top added the ugly (in my opinion) Landau panels. Still prefer them with no vinyl top though.

Dave

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  #9  
Old 12-11-2012, 10:00 PM
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Dave, I'm one of the few that likes the Landau top. I have 1 but it is a bit rough. Buckets with console delete. Those Landau interior plastic pieces are huge! A guy in Luxemburg wants a set I have....~$1000 just to ship! I'm breaking down the parts to make the big box as small as possible..

Lightfoot, I had an Agate Red 80 with camel interior. A guy came from Canada came down to buy it since it was the color of an 80 he had years ago. It is being restored.
I just listed an 80 on my site for a member here. Looks like a decent deal for an 80.

I have owned 25? 78-80 Grand Ams and have sold over half of them, but none were full vinyl. I have only seen in person about another 3 plus 6 or so in the salvage yards.

In January I parted out a 79 four door with bucket seats and a console.Unfortunalty it sat for too long to try and save.
Rex, I send you the guys contact info on the 78. He was supposed to send me information so I could post it.

  #10  
Old 12-12-2012, 01:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pontiacdaver View Post
I do know the full top kept the normal qtr window openings while the half top added the ugly (in my opinion) Landau panels. Still prefer them with no vinyl top though.

Dave
I wonder if you or Kent has ever seen one with the non-Landau 'half' top. It didn't have the padded reduced quarter glass opening. I've only seen two or three of them in the last 25 years and they were always '78s. One of which I bought at an impound auction. It was a black/gold with gold vinyl. I could just imagine how awesome that combo looked when new.
About six years ago, there was another one that same combination that got posted in the photo gallery on the grandamregistry. Real nice shape, but a year later the owner posted another photo after he had donked it.

I'd try to look for it and post it on here, but the last time I checked, the registry was shut down; maybe permanately.
I hope Tim's health is OK.

  #11  
Old 12-12-2012, 07:20 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lightfoot View Post
Were you ever on the grandamregistry website?
I'm such a huge fan of the 2nd Gen Grand Ams, it's been my fantasy to go back in time to 1980 and tour the Pontiac dealers to ogle as many brand new '80 GAs as I could find. Granted they were spread pretty thin, but I lived in Michigan at the time, so they were bound to be lurking at the big dealers.
It's amazing how many '80 GA original owners I've seen pop up on the internet though. You just added to the list.

Please share the nitty gritty of how your '80 Grand Am was optioned.

If I could go back and order one, it would be Agate red with black cloth; tilt wheel, manual windows, Rally IV wheels and A/C delete.
But I'd really like to pull some strings and get one built in Peidmont green, which wasn't (supposed to be) available on Grand Am.

Lightfoot, I LOVED that car, not just because it was my first brand new car,but I ordered it exactly the way I wanted it.

It would probably be an oddball today, It was bright silver (can't recall the name) with the charcoal bottom trim, black int, tilt wheel, power cloth bucket seats, full gauge pack, manual windows, NO AIR (I wanted to be able to work on it).

It had the best suspension you could get with the beefiest sway bars available, the "rally" wheels, tinted windows, best sound system, the HP 301 4 barrel motor, lowest gear, I believe a 3.42 posi.

I added 15" rally's, chrome valve covers, dual splitters on the exhaust, and a hood tach, IF I remember correctly there was some issue about not being able to get the tach in the dash with the better sound system, something like that.

Along with adding the 15x7's I lowered the car about an 1.5 it already had bilstein shocks on it if I remember correctly.

Great car, my ex got it in the divorce and a year later wrapped it around a bridge pillar, can't tell you how much I loved that car.

Stan

  #12  
Old 12-12-2012, 11:34 PM
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Stan, thanks much for sharing your memories of 1980.
Hated to see what happened to your GA.
That would have been Platinum silver, over Ontario grey.
I didn't know you could order optional gear ratios. I have a PHS of an '80 GA I took the VIN from in a department store parking lot. I thought it said in there that the only gear ratio was 2.93. I must have misread it.

The first 1980 GA I ever saw in real life was a silver one with maroon interior. It also had a factory moonroof. This was in 1983. I wasn't even aware of the 2nd Gen GAs until late 1980; too late to go looking for them at the dealers.

Tom

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