I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Pontiac’s bi-polar nature in the 1970s might have been the first step towards the brand’s retirement and was certainly visible to the naked eye, even for non-enthusiasts. On one hand, you had a company that could create vehicles like the Trans Am and the Can Am…cars that had performance, were making ground up in handling, and looked like a 17-year-old boy’s dream machine come to life. On the other hand…Bonnevilles and badge-engineered cars that were at best half-assed forms of typical GM platform sharing. You knew a Trans Am from a Camaro Z28…but finding the differences between a Nova and a Phoenix was a bit more different.

In the late 1970s the company had a great thing going in the Trans Am. Not only did a movie with the world’s most quotable sheriff character help boost sales, but they were moving out like none other. Everybody wanted the Trans Am, but someone behind the scenes had the foresight to think about moving above and beyond F-bodies. In the fall of 1978 a pair of Pontiac Grand Ams that were referred to as “CA” (Can Am?) started to make the rounds in the press fleet. They were powered by mildly massaged 301s, one four-speed, one automatic, and both were built with top-tier factory handling selections and a four-wheel-disc-brake setup that was later seen on the Trans Am. They were factory one-offs, and only the automatic car survives. But that can’t stop you from owning a Grand Am that does what someone at Pontiac was attempting to do throughout the 1970s: build a late-model GTO.

1979 Pontiac Grand Am 2 dr sedan – Pro Touring
455 CI Pontiac V8 – 74 YY block
6X heads
Edelbrock Performer Intake and Carb
Mild cam – don’t know specs
New distributor w/65K coil,cap,rotor,wires,and Denso plugs
New fuel pump
Fatman custom made coated headers, cross over pipe, over the rear axle exit
Turbo 350 trans
12 bolt posi rear w/3.31 gears
Aluminum radiator
A/C, P/S, 4 wheel power disc brakes – front 12″ Wilwood rotors w/ red 6 piston calipers – rear 11″ drilled and slotted w/ built in E-brake
Spohn Performance front upper & lower control arms
Eibach 1″ drop springs
Bilstein shocks
1.25″ front anti roll bar
New ball joints, tie rod ends, HD tie rod adjusters, center link, idler arm
New u-joints
New pinion bearing & seal, outer bearing & seals, C clip axle retainers
UMI upper & lower rear control arms
Spohn Performance 1 3/8″ rear drag sway bar kit

New battery
New S/S brake & fuel lines
Box full of paperwork including original bill of sale
All instrument lights replaced with LED’s

Comes with two sets of tire/wheel combos

set 1 – reproduction Z06 wheels – 18×8 frt w/245/40R18, 18×10.5 rear w/275/40R18

set 2 – Pontiac 15×7 rallye II’s – 195/60R15 frt, 235/60R15 rear M&T drag radials

The 1973 and 1974 GTO, the Super Duty Trans Ams, the Can Am and the Grand Am CAs…versus Parisiennes, Catalinas and Sunbirds. The performance war within Pontiac was fought until the bitter end for the whole company. Shame the Grand Am CA didn’t make it to production, but we’re glad someone built a fantastic version true to the idea!

eBay Link: 1979 Pontiac Grand Am