2800 mile ‘77 Grand Prix on BaT, Starlight Black 400

[tom406]

Wow. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...grand-prix-sj/

[Bill Pritchard]

Love the interview with the wife of the original owner...."We drove Ramblers for everyday cars.....I think my husband really wanted to soup this up and make it a really fast car"

[markjohnson]

Man, what a car. Love everything about it, especially the no-vinyl top and Black-on-White (when available, mind you) has pretty much morphed into my favorite color combo the past couple of decades. C-Lill, you need this because you seem to be on a Pontiac binge lately and this car is the end of an era!

[markinnaples]

Looking at Grand Prix's from the late 60's through the mid 70's from an objective viewpoint, they are pretty wild looking cars with the V front and rear shapes.

My cousin has a similar one to this (76 or 77) with 800 miles on it sitting on blocks in his garage.

[Lynn]

It is a very nice, well preserved car. But there are two things I just can't get past.

1. Those bumpers. Look like friggin picnic tables.

2. By 77, ALL cars built in the US were simply slugs.

#2 is not big deal if you are doing a swap, or some kind of resto mod; but who would do that to a 2.8k mile car?

I realize a guy that was in HS in the late 70s views these cars in a completely different light than those of us who graduated before the malaise era started. But for guys my age and older, all these cars represent to us is the "dark ages" of the automobile; especially the US models.

You want a really depressing read? Read the R&T article about the "fastest cars made in America" (or something like that) in 1976. My 72 BMW strait six 3.0 (BTW, that is a whopping 180 ci!!!) would do better on the top end than the 76 Corvette did in that test (126 mph IIRC). The second fastest "car" built in the US that year? Chevy truck with a 454, as it was the only thing you could get a big block in. Slowest of the big three? A "KIng Cobra" Mustang II. Not sure what it was "king" of, as it only mustered 106 mph. The writer stated tongue in cheek: "your mother in law deserves better than 106." My 1.1 liter Opel GT (again, in CI, that is only 67 cubic inches) does 100 mph.

I get it; I am jaded. It was just such a depressing time. It is what fueled the muscle car craze. Let's face it. Our muscle cars are slugs compared to the HP cars being made today (really since about 2003). We are in the REAL high performance age right now.

Sorry for the rant and the hijack. Just trying to make the point that there are some cars I will never warm up to.

[TimG]

Lynn, I know what you mean. I was in my third year of college in Wisconsin and my roommate had a '77 GP new. I liked it and thought it was a nice car, but my other roommate with the '73 Z28 had a better car even though it was only an L82. It was a disappointing time if you liked muscle cars. I bought my first Corvette that year, a used 1969.

[olredalert]

----You guys may have figured out that I am a GP slappy, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I'm in full agreement with Lynn. My love for these GP's was not only visual and was also performance oriented. Therefore, 69's and 70's are the the top wrung, and 71 and 72 are #2, but still very loveable. Anything after is a negatory for me!....Bill S

[Burd]

Love it, but it needs a sunroof or T Tops.
Paint on trunk look super orange peely