Well, after 31 years of "looking", I'm again finally an owner of a 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix!!
My intro story:
After returning from overseas in 1991, I had $2500 burning a hole in my pocket and didn't have a car. So, I went looking for a "Monte Carlo" - as that was my dream car as a little kid. The older teenager (John) that lived across the street had one from the late '70's or early '80's - silver & grey paint, fat rear tires, slightly raised in the back, just a sweet looking ride - I was enamored with it (as well as with John's ability to always have a hot girl in it!). Anyway, still just a kid myself, I had only recently paid attention/become aware, that all the G-Body's were in the right ball-park to fill my desire. I couldn't find any Monte's that fit the bill, and stumbled onto a '79 GP that had just been traded in by its original owner. I fell in love almost instantly - dark red/maroon exterior, Landau top, not an LJ, but did have the red vinyl bucket seats and console shift selector. No gauges (just the big analog clock where the tach should have been), but it was pretty, it was smooth, and it was exactly what I didn't even know I wanted. I quickly realized that it was a "step up" in trim & comfort from the Monte Carlo (the SS was out of my price range) and I felt the exterior look was a little more "refined" as well. Fast forward 3 weeks... yes, weeks. Being the kid I was, I dove that baby as fast as I thought I could as often as I could! I loved it!!! On the way back from a concert (2 hour drive), I was cruising along at at least 85MPH, but much closer to 100 by my estimate (my speedo didn't have a pin - or it was broken, and the needle was about half an inch from being back at zero). All of a sudden I started losing power and didn't know anything really mechanical about cars beyond changing my own oil, so I didn't immediately pull over - after gradually slowing to 45 or so no matter how much I pushed the pedal, I decided to stop. As soon as I got to about 5 MPH or so, ALL my idiot lights popped on (none had given me the heads up up to that point), and the engine stalled - smoke/steam started billowing and a giant pit formed in my stomach. Turns out my clutch fan wasn't working and I blew the engine. Burned out all the oil, and put a nickel sized hole in the center of one piston and a nice crack from wall to wall in another. A buddy helped me (or I should say I helped him) install a replacement engine (long block 301 was $750 from the parts store IIRC) and I was back on the road in a couple months. After that, it was little things here and there, but nothing major - regardless, my dad talked me in to trading it in on a brand new Ranger. Again, being the kid I was, I was enamored with the idea of having a BRAND NEW vehicle, and a "truck" at that. I loved that little truck, but within a few months I really regretted letting go of that GP. I'd been looking for one ever since. Some years more actively than others, and some years more or less able to pay for one, but I was always "looking". Last month, 31 years of (not so) patiently waiting finally paid off. I stumbled on this original 1979 LJ! The timing wasn't perfect, and I had to do some maneuvering in order to come up with the funds, but it was cosmetically more perfect than anyone could expect for a 44 year old car. 59,000 miles. It needed (still needs) some (more) minor mechanical work, but it runs and drives fine. It's got everything my previous GP had.... and more! *AND*, it's in the same color scheme as that Monte Carlo I fell in love with so many years before!!! Same red interior as my previous '79 - but this time in plush velvet instead of vinyl! (Now I need to figure out how to keep that 44 year old thread from splitting at the seams! Because the seats are perfect). The dash is perfect. Not a single crack or any fading. The hard plastic inside door pieces are very slightly faded, but that's it. Carpet and headliner? Perfect. There's a story there as well, but for now I'll just say that she REEKED of moth balls when I went to buy it.
So, now she'll be splitting daily driver duties with my 1995 F150 Eddie Bauer Super Cab. I believe a car should be driven on a regular basis regardless of what it is, and I'll end up putting around 1,000 miles or so per year on this one.
New shocks all the way around, completely new front suspension, and new spark plugs have already been done - next up transmission flush/filter change (and hopefully fix the very small transmission leak). I also think I have a small fuel leak (it certainly smells like I do anyway) - but that's it!
Sorry not sorry that was so long, but I hope you enjoyed the ride and the picture. There'll be more pictures to come!!
My intro story:
After returning from overseas in 1991, I had $2500 burning a hole in my pocket and didn't have a car. So, I went looking for a "Monte Carlo" - as that was my dream car as a little kid. The older teenager (John) that lived across the street had one from the late '70's or early '80's - silver & grey paint, fat rear tires, slightly raised in the back, just a sweet looking ride - I was enamored with it (as well as with John's ability to always have a hot girl in it!). Anyway, still just a kid myself, I had only recently paid attention/become aware, that all the G-Body's were in the right ball-park to fill my desire. I couldn't find any Monte's that fit the bill, and stumbled onto a '79 GP that had just been traded in by its original owner. I fell in love almost instantly - dark red/maroon exterior, Landau top, not an LJ, but did have the red vinyl bucket seats and console shift selector. No gauges (just the big analog clock where the tach should have been), but it was pretty, it was smooth, and it was exactly what I didn't even know I wanted. I quickly realized that it was a "step up" in trim & comfort from the Monte Carlo (the SS was out of my price range) and I felt the exterior look was a little more "refined" as well. Fast forward 3 weeks... yes, weeks. Being the kid I was, I dove that baby as fast as I thought I could as often as I could! I loved it!!! On the way back from a concert (2 hour drive), I was cruising along at at least 85MPH, but much closer to 100 by my estimate (my speedo didn't have a pin - or it was broken, and the needle was about half an inch from being back at zero). All of a sudden I started losing power and didn't know anything really mechanical about cars beyond changing my own oil, so I didn't immediately pull over - after gradually slowing to 45 or so no matter how much I pushed the pedal, I decided to stop. As soon as I got to about 5 MPH or so, ALL my idiot lights popped on (none had given me the heads up up to that point), and the engine stalled - smoke/steam started billowing and a giant pit formed in my stomach. Turns out my clutch fan wasn't working and I blew the engine. Burned out all the oil, and put a nickel sized hole in the center of one piston and a nice crack from wall to wall in another. A buddy helped me (or I should say I helped him) install a replacement engine (long block 301 was $750 from the parts store IIRC) and I was back on the road in a couple months. After that, it was little things here and there, but nothing major - regardless, my dad talked me in to trading it in on a brand new Ranger. Again, being the kid I was, I was enamored with the idea of having a BRAND NEW vehicle, and a "truck" at that. I loved that little truck, but within a few months I really regretted letting go of that GP. I'd been looking for one ever since. Some years more actively than others, and some years more or less able to pay for one, but I was always "looking". Last month, 31 years of (not so) patiently waiting finally paid off. I stumbled on this original 1979 LJ! The timing wasn't perfect, and I had to do some maneuvering in order to come up with the funds, but it was cosmetically more perfect than anyone could expect for a 44 year old car. 59,000 miles. It needed (still needs) some (more) minor mechanical work, but it runs and drives fine. It's got everything my previous GP had.... and more! *AND*, it's in the same color scheme as that Monte Carlo I fell in love with so many years before!!! Same red interior as my previous '79 - but this time in plush velvet instead of vinyl! (Now I need to figure out how to keep that 44 year old thread from splitting at the seams! Because the seats are perfect). The dash is perfect. Not a single crack or any fading. The hard plastic inside door pieces are very slightly faded, but that's it. Carpet and headliner? Perfect. There's a story there as well, but for now I'll just say that she REEKED of moth balls when I went to buy it.
So, now she'll be splitting daily driver duties with my 1995 F150 Eddie Bauer Super Cab. I believe a car should be driven on a regular basis regardless of what it is, and I'll end up putting around 1,000 miles or so per year on this one.
New shocks all the way around, completely new front suspension, and new spark plugs have already been done - next up transmission flush/filter change (and hopefully fix the very small transmission leak). I also think I have a small fuel leak (it certainly smells like I do anyway) - but that's it!
Sorry not sorry that was so long, but I hope you enjoyed the ride and the picture. There'll be more pictures to come!!
