[S Courter]

While out and about I ran across an 80 Grand Am sitting in a yard for sale. It was a car I am not familiar with. It had GTO emblems on the front fenders and on the trunk lid which I assume were put on by someone. Car also had a rear deck spoiler. It was in pretty good shape. What is the scoop on these cars? Production? Collectability?

Thanks
Steve

[elcaminobill]

Originally Posted by S Courter

While out and about I ran across an 80 Grand Am sitting in a yard for sale. It was a car I am not familiar with. It had GTO emblems on the front fenders and on the trunk lid which I assume were put on by someone. Car also had a rear deck spoiler. It was in pretty good shape. What is the scoop on these cars? Production? Collectability?

Thanks
Steve

Steve,

These cars can still be had reasonably. They are easy to work on and there are a lot of parts available plus more coming. Hemmings Muscle Machines picks the Grand AM as being one of the hot items of the near future. They were produced in low numbers. The Grand Nationals and Monte Carlo SS are gaining in popularity. If it a descent one jump on it. If its not, some folks would give good money just for the GA nose.

Bill

[iowapub]

Hey Steve,
I had a discusuin about this car a while ago on a different site. Guy (was it you?) was sure it was a GTO edition. He couldnt get back up there to get pictures for me though. If I remember correctly they owner wanted something like $1,000 for the car and it was pretty ratted out.
I believe the Grand Am Can Am car that was built for a Hot Rod Mag story is in Arizona. The real GA/CA is up in the Pontiac museum I think or was crushed.

Have you inquired about purchasing the car? Can you get pictures?

Bill, I like what Hemmings is saying. What parts are comming available for these cars?
Anything Grand Am specific, or just G Body stuff?
Headlight bezels would sell, but I'm sure they would be plastic....

I'd trade a few 78-80 Grand Ams for a 68-69 Pontiac Beaumont.

Kent

[elcaminobill]

Kent,

Parts being made are mostly G Body items: weather shrip, interior etc. Most malibu stuff will fit. There is a guy on the Malibu racing site that is working on making repos of the interior plastic around the quarter glass. Another is having Lemans cowl induction hoods made.

All of the suspension parts work. Drivetrain options and parts are about limitless.

I found a guy selling the 81 Lemans NASCAR 1/24 resin bodies. He says they mate well with the Monogram NASCAR kits. I plan to mate it with a stock Monte Carlo SS kit.

Bill

[iowapub]

Bill, We are fortunate to have the Malibu guys on our side. Unfortunatly, the 1/4 window plastic is different, as are the 1/4 windows themselves. The A pillars and lower door panels are the same, C pillars will "work" sail panels may be ok too, but not 100%.
We're real lucky that the doors fit. Rear 1/4's "may" work, but they are not the same.

Keep up posted on the resin body.

Kent

[elcaminobill]

Originally Posted by iowapub

Bill, We are fortunate to have the Malibu guys on our side. Unfortunatly, the 1/4 window plastic is different, as are the 1/4 windows themselves. The A pillars and lower door panels are the same, C pillars will "work" sail panels may be ok too, but not 100%.
We're real lucky that the doors fit. Rear 1/4's "may" work, but they are not the same.

Keep up posted on the resin body.

Kent

I justrecently found out that the quater windows were different, but did not know the plastic trim was not interechangeable. You're right about the 1/4 panels, Malibus have a crease that the Lemans doesn't.


Look here for the resins. http://www.smhracing.com/
They are in his catalog under Resins, made by SMH.

[Zig'sbird]

Originally Posted by S Courter

While out and about I ran across an 80 Grand Am sitting in a yard for sale. It was a car I am not familiar with. It had GTO emblems on the front fenders and on the trunk lid which I assume were put on by someone. Car also had a rear deck spoiler. It was in pretty good shape. What is the scoop on these cars? Production? Collectability?

Thanks
Steve

Any update?

[Tin Injun Tom]

Originally Posted by iowapub

Hey Steve,
I had a discusuin about this car a while ago on a different site. Guy (was it you?) was sure it was a GTO edition. He couldnt get back up there to get pictures for me though. If I remember correctly they owner wanted something like $1,000 for the car and it was pretty ratted out.

Kent

Kent, I may or may not have mentioned it before, over on the GA registry, but I know a bit about those "GTO" '79 Grand Ams. I looked at one in 1987, and drove 70 miles to look at another one, that was gone when we arrived, in 1988.

Coe Pontiac in Grand Rapids, MI had a quantity of Grand Ams in '79 that they used to create their own little GTO apearance package with. Nothing really out of the ordinary about them, save for the decals, dash emblem, and decklid spoiler.
It would be cool to get some information about those cars from the dealer, but I don't know if that franchise still exists. (Like how many of those cars did they change over, and what was the cost of the 'package').

The car I looked at in person was in Paw Paw, about sixty miles south of GR. Oh, and it was white with maroon interior. It was in fairly decent shape at the time.

Thomas

[Tin Injun Tom]

Originally Posted by S Courter

While out and about I ran across an 80 Grand Am sitting in a yard for sale.
Thanks
Steve

Steve, any chance you could stop by and write down the VIN of that car, if it is still there? I'm sure you will find it is actually a '79, but I'd like to have the VIN for my records. Some day, if I ever get wealthy enough, I'd like to get a PHS packet on one of those Coe "GTO"s. It would be interesting to see what other options they had.
What part of Michigan are you in?
I wish I would have spotted this thread three weeks ago.

[Half-Inch Stud]

how about a header that fits the Grand Am, or Grand Prix of 1979 with a 455?

[ONEFASTLEMANS]

headers that fit without banging up a bunch of stuff? indian adventures has round port or dport will set you back 500-550