1969 Grand Prix with Royal Bobcat Enhancement
 

This car really ran well thanks to the Bobcat treatment.

----Thanks, Steve! It's weird how many of the modifications that were done to this car I did to my 69SJ. Pretty much right down the line. Mine was not an HO, but during the refresh I basicly made it into an HO even adding a complete HO exhaust, cam upgrade and head work, trans changes, and on and on. Mine runs and drives fantastic and is easily my favorite driver, and even has the same saddle leather gut as this cool HO in the article, which is extremely rare.....Bill S

I think that's Mr Wangers keeping an eye on the action right there -

(from before he "had hair").

K

I also note they never really have a good side view showing those special tire/wheel assemblies.

K

----Noticed the same thing. Too bad, would have liked to see what they were talking about....Bill S

Jim really liked spinners. Dad did not.

It took some effort on Dad's part to keep Wangers from putting them on our car.

K

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...6.jpg~original

----Could see the spinners, Keith, but wonder if the wheels they are talking about were snowflake prototypes with spinners. 8-lugs are out on a 69 GP although it would be bitchin (paraphrasing Kindig)!!!.....Bill S

The anti-sleeper, sleeper?!

Jim told me he spec'd the Car and Driver car so it would appear as a nicely-equipped one that a shopper might come across in a dealership inventory. Yet, aside from insulation delete on the sheet, Scott noticed no seam-sealer anywhere, either - so guess it was a balance, in that case?

Also, we didn't initially put the splitters back on since they weren't on the build sheet (were splitters even an option circa late '63?) - then Jim told us DeLorean told him to add them for when he was running around town, with hopes customers would add them to their spec.

So maybe they were angling for your Dad to peddle a few spinners while out havin' fun?!

Absolutely.

Jim was always "on".

I am still coming to appreciate how much he did for not only Royal and PMD but the hobby as a whole. He really did live the life I think the rest of us aspire to in some way.

K

Some cool options on this car... vacuum power door locks, but with manual windows (single switches mounted in the door panels), Instant Aire (tire pump), sport steering wheel, leather interior... too cool! Doesn't mention if it's a J or SJ that I saw, but looks to have cornering lamps which are standard on SJ being part of the lamp group, also optional on J. I wonder if the car still exists?

That's him when he had less hair, Keith, and that's his GP (Fox and Hounds runner?). JW's nephew, Gordon, recalls fondly a really strong induction sound overwhelming the exhaust - would just pick the front end up and go.

Mr. Wangers said he used his GP (this one?) to pitch the Hurst GP to DeLorean - who pondered for a bit - said put a vinyl top on it, and so it became.

A friend of mine sent me this blog by Rocky Rotella the other day regarding the original concept for the SSJ, the Cielo del Sol. Also, a pretty cool story about a guy that said he purchased said car from an employee that worked at GM's Tech Center.

https://www.pontiacv8.com/blog/2022/...grand-prix-ssj

Joe Oldham road tested/ street raced a Royal prepped '69 Grand Prix. I remember it having a 3.90 gear. I'm sure it's this car.

----I just realised that this GP is an automatic. For some reason I thought it was a 4-speed.....Bill S

The Car and Driver Royal GP was 4spd., as was this one (same one?) ...

Motor Trend '69 GP
 

This is the Motor Trend GP test car. Pictured here in the 1969 performance brochure and also used for the Wide Track Tigers poster set that you could purchase from Pontiac. This car is 1 of the 22 close ratio 4-speed cars equipped with the 428HO and a 3.90 rear. Expresso Brown, Dark Fawn vinyl top and Gold leather guts. I sure hope this car has survived, but I've never seen or heard of it.

does this car still exist?

C and D 02/69 ...

http://wildaboutcarsonline.com/membe...x_Test_1-6.pdf