One of my project car dreams is to take a Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2, the funky NASCAR homologation special G-body, and to build it into the machine that Pontiac simply failed to deliver on. Manual transmission, Pontiac power, G-body handling upgrades, and in my eyes, a reversed version of the stock color scheme: overall black, silver lower body and callouts, and red trim. That’s my vision of it, but I’m just one person. There are millions of people out in the world, and someone else has taken one of the 1,225 cars built for 1986 and made it their own. And I’m having a weird conflict with myself on whether I like it or not, so I’m putting it up to you, readers, to help me gauge what I’m seeing.
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way right now: the colors. They are almost Mopar in style, aren’t they? It doesn’t look bad, and on another car it might even work better. But there is something about these shades of green that just isn’t settling with me. Maybe if it was painted Lime Rock Green (that dark shade used on C7 Corvettes) I might buy into it more, but this might be the first time I’ve seen a Pontiac anything painted in what looks to be Sassy Grass. But the work is done well…the gold break line is done well, the colors compliment themselves, and kudos for painting the insets of the KMC Nova wheels to match. And the nose is fiberglass, not the stock urethane…no droopy chin here!
The rest of the car is more like it. Under the hood the stock 305 Chevrolet still remains, but included in the sale is a 406ci Pontiac mill that, judging from the seller’s writeup, needs to be assembled and shoved in ASAP. Since they are including the engine hoist and engine stand in the sale, we can only chock that one up as a positive. The interior is mostly together (what happened to the shifter handle?), having recently been Dynomatted and fitted with some tubing inside. The weatherstripping and window felts have been replaced, the suspension and brakes have seen some love, and the rear end sports a performance-friendly 3.73 ratio. While we would look over everything, it sounds like good bones to finish a project on.
Help me out here. Clean enough car, desirable (for me, anyways) model, extra engine and tools included with the sale, but it’s the color of an early 1970s Mopar that for a reason I can’t quite explain, isn’t working here. What are your thoughts, readers?
Craigslist Link: 1986 Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2
Uhhhhh ,
That\’s not Sassy Grass green ….. Just saying.
Like the car, color scheme, no. Especially with the stock color interior.
I dont know,its ok but I think I would get tired of it pretty fast.
me likey, I have the same thoughts on “finishing” the 2+2 the way Pontiac didn’t, not my first choice of colors but do respect the theme
i think it’s actually pretty well done–i’d have left off the overriders on the rear bumper myself,but with the 406 in there,it would be a fun machine—-lose the green,paint it blue,maybe two tone to blend in with the interior better—-you could insert the seats with a blue center to break them up a little,without re-doing everything—don’t see the point of the rear seats with the rollbar setup in there,maybe a shelf setup,like a business coupe?—
I’m a green fan–although not necessarily a fan of *that* green–but I like the car. One thing I don’t like much is the interior color–either redo it to match the brown stripe, or get rid of the brown stripe so you just have the green exterior and gray interior…
Not any Mopar colour I’ve ever seen, but I agree the car is a great start in need of a different colour scheme for sure. I kinda share your vision of the paint job it needs, along with a buttoned down chassis and some big brakes and rubber, horsepower boost and a 5spd stick and she’d be smokin hot.
Question Of The Day: Have You Ever Seen A Car That Looks Right And Wrong At The Same Time?”
No.
Just paint the goddam thing, McTaggart! And lose the lower ground effects! Other than that, looks do-able to me!
So many cars have the dual red-light/green-light for me, for example:
“I really admire the idea you were going for, but you sure did it wrong.”
“Perfect underpinnings, but I can’t stomach the styling.”
“Wonderful bodywork, but it’s still a 3-speed auto.”
And so on and so forth.
just me, but i would-
1) do a NASTY 455 pontiac swap.
2) lose the ground effects.
3) repaint it. any other color. just not that one.
4) ditch the wheels for c-lines, welds, something with the right 80’s vibe.
5) terrorize the neighborhood.
the dash is the best part of these cars as you can fit a complete set of ‘real gauges in it, bolt in almost!
I’d drop in the spare engine, convert the thing to RHD and cruise it as is. While I’m not 100% on that colour scheme, I would happily leave it there to bug people…
MUST……..BE………REPAINTED!!!!!
Lose the ground effects.
Change the wheels. Or at least the color of them.
Then you’re pretty much done.
P.S. I like some greens too, but not that green on that car.
“Change the colour; Change the wheels” = Take away anything unique about this car and make it conform to all the other garbage roaming the streets