1977 Pontiac Grand Prix

Description

With this 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix, you're looking at the next generation collectable car. Affordable, comfortable, and an excellent representation of the era, it's everything that modern collectors look for when they try to recapture nostalgia. It's also a great car in its own right, with a 400-inch V8, a fantastic color combination that will never go out of style, and it's eminently usable as a big cruiser.

Despite the realities of building cars in the 1970s, Pontiac managed to keep their lock on the luxury/performance market with the Grand Prix. Packing the heart of a Trans Am but the luxury of a Cadillac, the Grand Prix was sporty without being juvenile. One look at the pointed nose, long hood and short deck styling, plus that sparkling silver paint and you know this is no boy racer. Boasting a high-quality repaint in the original color, this car is just about as close as you can get to what it would have looked like when new. Given the easy life that this Poncho has undoubtedly lived, it should be preserved and carefully tended, just as it has been for the past thirty-some years. There's a bit of chrome (rims excluded), just enough to make the point that this was not an inexpensive car, but it's not over-wrought like the Oldsmobarges up the street, and it shows off its Pontiac DNA with a split front grille, body-colored sport mirrors, and a subtle red pinstripe on its flanks. It really is as nice in person as it appears in photos.

The red interior is upscale and flashy, just what you'd expect from the excitement division. This car is so nice inside that I'm wondering if there are companies making reproduction interiors for these cars-it's amazing! The wrap-around dash is packed full of instruments and controls with big, bold markings on the clock and speedometer and smaller auxiliary gauges clustered in the center, all framed by a beautiful faux veneer. It's loaded with options like A/C, an AM/FM radio, and a tilt wheel, and with big car comfort this might be the ultimate long-distance road trip weapon. The carpets are excellent and protected by a set of matching red floor mats and perhaps the only possible demerit inside is that the steering wheel is a bit faded but even that might come back with just a deep clean. The spatter-finish trunk looks factory-fresh and packs a full-sized spare and jack assembly, plus the original mat.

The last of the big horsepower engines in the late-70s was Pontiac's 400 cubic inch V8. Descended from the great muscle car powerplants, it's smooth and potent in the Grand Prix, and despite its considerable heft as a luxury car, this one moves like something quite a bit smaller. The engine bay appears to be as original as the rest of the car, showing light signs of age but no issues or modifications. That's original Pontiac Turquoise engine enamel, a correct air cleaner and carburetor, plus a stock exhaust system still using its original catalytic converter, so it has a muscular hum. The mechanicals underneath include a TH400 3-speed automatic, 10-bolt rear, and zero signs of trouble save for the usual light surface scale that you find in cars from dry climates. Chrome Boss wheels give the car an extra edge, although original Pontiac Rally wheels are avaialble on request for the purist.

We speak full-sized luxury here at Streetside Classics, and you'll scarcely find a better choice than this incredible Grand Prix. Discover a new collector car niche and watch the crowds this one attracts. Call today!