It was the introduction of the car of the 1970s, the personal luxury coupe. But in 1969, the Pontiac Grand Prix didn’t look like some overstuffed, underpowered barge but instead more like a slightly roomier GTO, dressed up to the nines and looking to go out on the town for a night. How I overlooked these cars for years is beyond me, because ever since I started hanging out here on BangShift, I’ve grown to appreciate the second-gen Grand Prix. Why? Well, look at the one I found on eBay under “barn find” and tell me what’s missing here:
From tip to tail, let’s work it out. First is the chrome bumper that will push through just about anything and the more upscale Pontiac look from 1969. The GTO might have had cool hideaway headlights, so we will call that a draw. The 1969 GTO made do with the 400ci V8, itself a stomper of a mill, but the Grand Prix got the 428ci Pontiac motor and all 390 horsepower it came with. But you weren’t buying horsepower here, you were buying torque by the boatload. Those 15″ Rally wheels aren’t the stock units, but anyone who has ever driven a hot Pontiac will tell you that upgrading the rubber is a must. The darker green suits the car and the black vinyl roof treatment is tasteful and no way fluffy, like what was to come in a few years. The shape is mildly-tweaked A-body, and that’s no coincidence: to create the G-body, Pontiac stole Ford’s trick with the Mustang, and used the A-body chassis and running gear, to minimize development costs. The roof has a nice muscular slope to it, the trunk will hold four good-sized silent wise guys, and the rear bumper is just as stout a unit as the front, with big taillights.
The interior isn’t super-plush…this wasn’t an Eldorado, after all…but if you couldn’t see yourself enjoying a nice drive in this beast, then take a plane, because this car isn’t for you. Green isn’t for everybody, but you have to admit that it’s worn well over the years. Air conditioning, radio, automatic on the floor, tilt wheel, tachometer, trunk release and power windows…remember when that was a well-optioned car and not stripper-level basics?
This GP isn’t perfect. The paint is shot, there’s some old Bondo falling off from old work, and some minor interior work needs to happen to bring this car up to 100%. But we’d bomb around in this big cruiser as-is…at least, once the seller has the A/C converted to R134a, as he promises in the ad.
eBay Link: 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model J
If this is a Model J it is NOT a factory original 428 car. The only ’69 Grand Prix’s that had the 428″ super duty engines were the model SJ (S for super). The Model J came with a 400″ motor, a TH350 transmission and a light duty 10 bolt differential and a small piped exhaust system. The Model SJ came with the 428″ super duty engine, TH400 transmission, a 12bolt positrac. differential, bigger brakes and a bigger exhaust system. This car is a Model J with a 428″ air cleaner decal. BEWARE HUGE RIP OFF!
I am wrong about this car. You could get a Model J with the 428″ engine by ordering option L79. The option that included the 428″ engine and the heavy duty stuff I mentioned was option UPC Y97, this also turned the Model J into a Model SJ. There were other high performance options that included the Muncie 4sp. When I bought my ’69 Grand Prix I didn’t get the Muncie because you couldn’t get AC with it (I live in Texas). All that said I have never seen or heard of a Model J with the 428″ engine. I don’t know why anybody would but one in the first place. If this car was an SJ I might bid on it, the bids are pretty low so far. I loved my Grand Prix because it was my first comfortable riding “highway” car.
dieselhead, there were no super duty 428s that you refered to. The only Pontiacs that were labeled as Super Duty were 61 62 63 Pontiacs and the 73/74 SD TAs and Formulas. And that air cleaner sticker is not correct either. The only Pontiac that them are the 71/72 455 HO GTOs.
I owned a 69 just like the one in this picture.It was the same color as this one in this picture.Mine was a model j that had a 428 in it too.It had a th400.and a 12 bolt rear end too.i had the numbers checked and it was a 428.It had the same sticker on the air cleaner as the one in the picture.I also had a 72 sj with the 455 ho in it and a 73 catalina with a 455 ho with a towing package in it.I still have a 71 gp with a 400 in it
I’ve had both a ’69 and a ’70. The 70’s was also green but the lighter Limelight Green with a dark green vinyl top. Both had the 350hp 400 engines. They went like scalded cats! I never lost a race to a Mustang/Camaro or any other pony car. Only car that ever ran away was another Pontiac- a ’68 Catalina hardtop that the guy had built a 428 to the hilt! High rise manifold, headers, Big Holley…mine were bone stock. Took him to 110mph to get to me and nose my blue ’69! These were basically as fast as any GTO. They have been unappreciated for many years. I would rather have one of these anyday versus a GTO! Nice find 🙂