Welcome back to the early 1990s, where monochromatic paint was in, chrome was out for the most part, and finding tubbed-out Pro Street cars was still very likely. We would like to introduce you to this 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix, the most unloved member of the General Motors G-body family of cars. From the eye-searing red paint to the “drag wing” on the trunk lid, this Grand Prix is a fairly textbook build: back halved, narrowed Ford 9-inch with Mickey Thompsons out back, Weld wheels all the way around, and of course the pro stock scoop on the hood, because if you didn’t have the scoop you couldn’t possibly be that fast, right?
Oh, but you could be. Under that scoop is a 455ci V8 that has to have been built up, linked up to a TH400 automatic and the 4.30 gears in that narrowed rear axle. The car might have a slightly dated look, but a big-block G-body sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. The first thing we’d do is a destruction test: we’d hook up the stock 85 MPH speedometer, then find a backroad and see just how fast we could break it. Other than some Auto Gage gauges in the dash, the stock Grand Prix layout remains, so we’d suggest looking at how Nutting did it HERE after the needle snaps. The race buckets will suffice and as long as they are within dates and the rest of the interior is as clean as the outside and engine bay are.
Looking well sorted and show-ready (apart from the notoriously fragile bumper fillers in the back), this Grand Prix looks to be an excellent low-dollar entry to a fast car. We might get to work on undoing some of the monochromatic touches, but if you want to buy your way into a weekend racer, this Pontiac would be a decent way to go, and with bidding hanging under the $10,000 mark, it would be a score.
eBay Link: 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix
We never had any luck painting those plastic wheel wells under the hood. We tried urethane paints, too. As soon as you lean on them a little,(changing plugs, etc) the paint would crack because the plastic is too flexy. It looks good though…..
I’m not sure I would bother undoing the monochrome. It’s very much a period piece, but it’s a very good example of one.
The 78-80 GP is the car that makes a cardboard box look like it was designed in a wind tunnel.
I’m the original owner of this car and builder it was my first car from age 16 -35 if anyone knows where it is or who owns it I have build sheet and lots of pics before and after …..car hasn’t changed much since I sold it in 05 in Pittsburgh Pa…..