[76GP]

This is my 76 GP and I was thinking of giving the ol gal a new coat of paint. I was wondering if maybe a custom look might be better for the car. I would remove the Landau top and paint the car 1 color, add some 20s and get rid of some of the chrome trim and lower a few inches. What do ya'll think? Or should I just leave it as is?

[76GP]

This is my 76 GP and I was thinking of giving the ol gal a new coat of paint. I was wondering if maybe a custom look might be better for the car. I would remove the Landau top and paint the car 1 color, add some 20s and get rid of some of the chrome trim and lower a few inches. What do ya'll think? Or should I just leave it as is?

[Tommy Bird]

me personally, i like the current paint scheme. change the rims, but NO 20'S!!! that has got to be the dumbest look i've ever seen. 17" rims should look nice, but no "bling". centerline makes some cool rims. those cars look awesome with an aggresive looking rim.

[Pontiacdaver]

I think the car looks fine now. The 2 tone paint, while definitely 70s, gives it a unique look in today's world. I would loose the wheels, maybe go to Torque Thrust or Cragar S/S wheels to further enhance the retro look of the car. You mentioned in another post you were thinking of selling it,

" 76GP
Senior Member
Posted June 23, 2003 11:39 AM
I have a very nice 76 LJ with 50K miles that I need to get rid of. Garaged all these years. You can see a quick pic here.

http://www.users.fast.net/~blazer/76gp0013.htm

John
Posts: 50 | Registered: June 10, 2003 "


So if you are still thinking of selling, please e-mail me. I tried to contact you through a private post, but didn't get an answer. Thanks, Dave

[77GP]

Definately lose those wheels as we all have stated and the white walls. I like these cars with the vinyl top, they are just so big looking without it. I sometimes run the Cragar SS on mine with fat meat. Looks good.

[455GP]

20's, Oh man no way.

Man I'm so sick of seeing these cars with these big wheels. Go stock. I guess I'm just old school

[76GP]

Yeah, those wheels are really not the best looking around.

A wheel I really liked and I had a set on a 67 LeMans was the Keystone Classic. I thought those wheels were sharp looking.

OK, I guess I'll keep the stock paint job and get some new wheels and meat!

Thanks

[goatless]

One of my first Pontiac memories was when my neighbor brought home a brand new '76 Grand Prix and two days later pulled the Rally IIs and had Keystone Classics and 60 series tires all around. I was only 5 but I thought it looked Bad A$$!

[Springo]

Yup, no 20's! For one thing they are trendy and what is trendy today looks stupid tomorrow. Even those wheel on your GP now were trendy when they first came out, they were imitation Centerlines. but no offense, they look lame now. Only a few wheels are classic and never go out of style. I really like the stock Rally II's, and they are definitely better than the aftermarket wheels that you have on now. I have them on mine and may just have the back ones widened so I can get some old school N-50's on them.

But as the classics go, you can't go wrong on a GP with Cragar SS. Also many people like the Keystone classics and you definitely don't see them around much anymore either. Also the old school 5 slot aluminum mags look really nice especially when polished. Those wheels will never go out of style.

But 20's will and besides they will not ride as well either because of the low sidewall. So ditch the whitewalls and get some nice old school rims. If I decide not to keep my Rally II's I will be replacing them with either 14" or 15" rims depending on what size is stock so I don't have to mess with the change of speedo gears.

[heimycvg]

I agree no 20's I have a set of 17" torque thrust II on my 73. Beefs it up real nice and I would'nt lower it either. As for your paint I think a solid color on the body and the white v/top is a great look

[Springo]

As far as lowering, I will agree to a point that a lowered car can look great, and it's amazing what a lowering of even one inch can to to the right car.

However, be aware that lowered cars (and 20" rims) can give you a lot of problems with the quality of the ride, steering, tire wear, bottoming, and more. Some lowered vehicles are hardly driveable, and the driver has to be wary of every single little imperfection in the road, much less speed bumps etc.

For my GP, I plan to put wide rims on the back and old school tires like N-50 series. We used to put tires like that on the back and then put air shocks on to raise the car enough to clear the tires, as the tires stick out. It's a great look on the right car - and looks particularly good on GP's. So I plan to do the same thing, air shocks are cheap and easy to install and they don't really ruin the ride and are the easiest way to raise the back - and on these cars, I would say that it is the best way to do it. I pump them up just enough to clear the tires. Although they can go even higher, it looks stupid. I've even seen people put air shocks on the back and jack the rear up - with stock tires. Please don't ever do that.

This gives the car a nice rake and will push the front down a little bit too. If I still feel that the front is too high, I will drop it 1/2" or 1" if necessary. You would be surprised - a 1" suspension drop translates to looking like more than one inch on the car. 2" is quite a lot and by the time you get to 2" you are talking major work to do it properly.

And doing this type of work properly is essential, there are lots of cheap ways to drop cars, like filling the trunk with bags of cement, and having a bunch of people stand on the hood while you chain the suspension down (I've seen this) but there are only a couple of ways to do it right and they involve purchasing new springs and other parts to provide the proper ride and frame geometry, rather than just cutting things. When you cut a spring, you completely change and sometimes ruin its rate of compression and rebound. You can cut springs to do a 1/2" lowering, or even put cheap clamps on the front springs to drop the car 1/2", without too much loss and keep a decent ride - but not 2". Even 1". I would advise that any lowering of the vehicle that will exceed 1", and any lowering PERIOD if you want to do it properly, will involve having it done professionally by someone who understands frame geometry and can have it drive properly and ride almost as good and will also involve buying parts that are made especially for lowered cars.

You can lower your car 3" for fifty bucks - and it will ride and drive like it too.

And remember - when you add things like 20" rims that have tires with hardly any sidewall, you are compounding the ride problems, although possibly not affecting frame geometry if the overall height of the rim/tire is the same as what was one there before, when you had tires with a full sidewall. But the ride will be seriously compromised by having no sidewall.