[73 for me]

Hi,
I'm a newbie on this forum. Currently I'm looking for a decent 73 Grand Am coupe. My father ordered a heavily optioned Florentine Red 455 coupe new. He actually ordered an SD but had to go with the standard 455. The dealer told him he would need to change his deposit to a Trans Am or Formula for that engine even though it was listed in the factory brochure.

Well, my mother would not drive a car with a flaming bird on the hood, and he wanted a larger rear seat, so Grand Am it was. His Grand Am was a great car that he loved, pampered, and kept till the mid 80's. Now that I am about his age when he purchased it I am feeling nostalgic and would like one for my wife and I to take crusing on the weekends.

I have found two so far. One 400 auto, nice, power everything, no sunroof and in decent current driver condition. The other is a 400 4-speed with manual sunroof, no power options, but with climate control A/C and 5 honeycombs. It needs much more work, a complete nose, paint, tires, mechanical freshening, etc. and has not run in at least 5 years. Is there a site that can tell me what a fair price to pay for either of these cars. Any input, tips on what to look for, or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by 73 for me

Any input, tips on what to look for, or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Find the car with the least amount of body work needed. These cars aren't super valuable, so you can find a decent body for not too much more cost than a rusty pile of junk. Interior parts in these cars didn't hold up terribly well in the sun either, so if hunting down and replacing baked interior parts isn't fun to you, don't go that route either.

As far as what to pay... these cars have always been kind of difficult to price because they aren't really desirable by the majority of collectors, so there aren't many high dollar ones outside of the rarer 4 speed cars, and even those are cheap in comparison to a pre-72 GTO.

[leeklm]

Here you go...

http://classiccars.com/listings/view...innesota-55374

[fiedlerh]

Welcome aboard! We've been emailing, but here you will have the world's experts on these cars.

[rexs73gto]

73forme, don't let the other guy scare you. The 73's are coming up in price over the last couple of years. Yes it's true that it isn't as popular as the other years BUT, over the last few years the prices for a good driver or a car thats in better condition can run you as much as 45K like the one that was made into a true SD car which I'm sure he had a lot more in the car then what he actually sold it for last year. The one thing you have to look for in any 73 A-body car is to make sure they have good 1/4 panels as no one makes any sheet metal for the 73's as they are different then the 74-77 cars. SO you want to make sure you either find one with good 1/4's or make sure you have a body man that can make one up, & that will be costly. There are some ad's on ebay for sheet metal patch panels but those are not correct for the 73 but can be used on the 74-77's. As far as the 2 cars you have found so far, the 1st one which is a driver you should be able to get it for under 10K,,,, ? & the 2nd car which as described should run under 5K & thats only because it's a 4 speed car. But again if it needs a lot of body work make sure you have a good if not great body man to repair it correctly, & remember there are no sheet metal repopped for these car. You can buy a new nose for it thats made out of fiberglass which when put on by someone who is good can look great when put on but you don't want to bump the nose like in the old commicerials as this nose will break. There are much better cars to buy out there to. Don't just look at a few & but them because if you look around a little more you can find one thats nice for a good price. On these cars you want to find & buy the best possible one as there aren't a lot of parts out there & the parts if you have to buy them will be expensive. All the parts for the 73's are expensive because there is so little of them out there. Some of the companies have begun to make some parts for them, but they will & are parts that will interchange to the other brands to. Also when you find one make sure you get pics of it & share them here & we that are owners will help you buy one thats best for you. Engine & drivetrain parts are readily available for our cars, but not to beat a dead horse , body parts are slim when looking for them. Please don't buy the 1st or even 2nd or 3rd, but look for one that will fit your area of expertise so you don't have to spend $$$$ for the repairs you have to ship out. Myself like the other poster fiedler will be great sources for help & info of these cars. I bought mine new & the other guy has had one or more as long as me. But there are a lot of guys on here that will be glad to help you get the best car possible. Thanks Rex.

[leeklm]

73 for me... Not sure how experienced you are with old cars in general, but much of this comes down to how much work do YOU want to invest. Many of us have learned the hard way when we had grand visions of doing a restoration, only to open a can of worms we later regretted. Unless you REALLY enjoy working on "projects", my suggestion would be to spend as much as you can afford on a car where someone else is taking the loss from the restoration. For most makes/models, you will find cars for thousands less than what it would take to get same results "building from scratch".

A friend of mine that owns a body shop has a saying about old cars.... "if it looks bad, it is REALLY bad". Meaning, if you are seeing issues on top, there are likely many more under the covers. I just looked at an old Mopar A-body this week, where the guy was asking 22K. At first glance, the car looked pretty decent. As you look closer, paint was starting to bubble in a few areas, small rust hole starting in trunk, etc. In no time, this 22K car will easily become a 32K car, and still be worth about 18k

[73 for me]

Thanks for all the tips and info guys.

The GTO listed is amazing, but my heart is set on a 73 Grand Am Coupe because that is what my father had. Also, the car must have A/C for this part of the country.

The owner claims the 4-speed car is a 40k vehicle and wants 10k. I feel it is too much for it's current condition. I will post a complete description when I have more time. I would like a 4-speed, but it is not a deal breaker.

Any tips on what to look for will be greatly appreciated. I plan to check it our more this weekend.

Rick

[pontiacs4ever1971]

I think I might have the car you want. It's a 455 #s. PM me for the #. Tim

[rexs73gto]

You can add a good A/C system to any car you buy & it will work better & take less power to operate it if you aftermarket. But 10K for a rusty car is way to much, & not even with a nose, please don't let the fact you can only find a couple of them right now make you spend more money on a rusty POS . Keep looking you'll find a nice one in just a while.

[pontiacs4ever1971]

Send me your email and I will send you pics.

[73 for me]

PM sent. Thanks for the lead!

[73 for me]

Originally Posted by rexs73gto

You can add a good A/C system to any car you buy & it will work better & take less power to operate it if you aftermarket. But 10K for a rusty car is way to much, & not even with a nose, please don't let the fact you can only find a couple of them right now make you spend more money on a rusty POS . Keep looking you'll find a nice one in just a while.

Thanks Rex,

My fathers Grand Am was Florentine Red like your car. Do you have more pics of it posted here?

Here is what I know about the manual trans car so far. It not that rusty but has a lot of sun damage. Paint is flat and showing minor surface rust in some areas. All chrome trim and emblems are still on the car. The louvers are unamaged but sun faded.

The body is pretty straight, the hood is not bent but has a small dent. Only rust I can see is in the trunk lid. It has small holes right at the crease by the tailights. I would want to replace it. I have not seen the inside of the trunk yet. Interior is fair to good condition with door panels seats headliner intact but not pristine. Dash is cracked and has a faded dashmat covering the cracks. Console looks ok and it appears to have the original radio. Carpets are original and will need replacement. Wood inlay is delaminating. I undestand 73 is the only year with the actual wood. I guess a 74 or 75 plastic inlay is the best replacment unless someone knows better. Also it will need a right side Grand Am tailight lens. For some reason it has an incorrect LeMans lens on that side.

The car has the tachometer and as I recall the clock in the console. It has no power equipment, or tilt wheel. However it does have climate control A/C. There is stuff packed in the interior so I am not sure of the entire rear seat condition. Honeycomb wheels are sun damaged and missing all trim rings and a couple of center caps. I understand these are expensive to replace. Tires hold air but thats about it. Front bumper is undamaged except for slight scuffing of the black rub strip. Grills are good, lower valance is good but the outer turn signal housings at the ends are starting to crumble. Are those still available?

Under the hood everything looks unaltered. The air cleaner fabric hose is just about gone. I am not sure of the wiring for the climate control on the firewall because I have never seen this system before. The horn trumpets are there.

Under the car without having it on a lift I cannot see any frame damage or anything other than light surface rust. I have not been able to verify if the transmission is original to the car. The exhaust system has seen better days.

I have yet to hear it run or even drive it around the neighborhood. Im intrigued because it is a manual but not at the amount he is asking. If it actual runs and drives out ok what would be a fair price to offer?

[Grand73Am]

The turn signal housings are reproduced in fiberglass by a company named Motorealm. They also make a fiberglass front nose (fascia) if it needs it. I bought the fascia and turn signal housings for my 73 GA from them about 10 years ago and they're nice quality. Here's a link to them: http://www.motorealm.com/facias.html

Yes, 73's had real "African Crossfire" mahogany wood on the dash and console lid. Unfortunately it didn't hold up well. As you've noticed, the later artificial woodgrain appliques held up better and look better to me. Don't forget that the Grand Prix dash was used up through 1977, not only in GP's, but also Grand Lemans, so more years are available as dash parts donors beyond just 73-75.

I've heard it said that the cheapest car you buy will be the one that you pay the most money for, because it's in the best condition to begin with, so will need less work. Of course, then if you can buy it cheaply you really have a deal.

[73 for me]

Thank for the links for the nose and turn signal parts. I'm also looking a couple of nice drivers with automatics. The 4-speed is tempting. But only if the car runs and drives out ok.

Is it true that both the 400 auto and 400 4-speed feel about the same in performance. All I know was how my fathers 455 auto ran. That car performed pretty well for its time.

[leeklm]

All else being equal, the manual will feel faster, and likely be a little faster. However, if you are up to bracket racing, you will want the auto. This is why my 3spd manual is sitting on the shelf and not in the car...

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[rexs73gto]

73forme, if you send me your email address I can send you some more pics but to put them on here is difficult & will only if your lucky let you put one at a time. I have several pics of my car if you want a few I will send them to you. My 73 is a 4 spd now or rather has been for the last 35+ years. I bought mine new & switched to a 4 spd when it was about 9-10 years old. I have a 70-71 wing on the back , but it had to be re-angled to fit correctly. I put it on in 1981 & have had it on since then . I have been told by lots of people that it looks like Pontiac designed it & they should have put it on. My car was a 400 auto originally with a white top but it will never have that back on after seeing what kind of damage can be done by them. I've had a few different engines in mine but right now it is a 400 +.60 over & runs high 12's in the 1/4. The engine I'm reworking now is a 455 going to be +.60 over & when I had it in the car about 3 years ago it went 11:77 @ 122 mph. But it had some internal concerns as the shop that did or were suppose to have done the work din't do all that I asked & it had to come out every year for 3 years to install a new bottom end. But this time it will all be done right as I can see the work being done. Send me your emails & I'll show you as much as I can.

[73 for me]

Pm sent.

[73 for me]

May have found my Grand Am. Any recommendations on reasonable cross country car transporters?

[73gtolive]

I have had the best luck with U ship. Be patient. You will get bids from the major carriers right away that will be high. It takes a day or 2 for the littler guys doing this to see the load.

[73 for me]

Thanks for the tip on U Ship. Got a decent quote for an over 2000 mile trip.