For Sale: 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix in Phoenix, Arizona

From one caring home to another--not PRISTINE, but PLENTY of PERSONALITY; need to sell a true road machine, a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix, a beloved family member of 46 years; Model SJ; 2 Dr. HTp Cpe with vinyl roof; 455 engine 4BBL; Turbo 400 automatic transmission.  One owner since 1973 (bought from friend in July 1973); Arizona car since 1977, forty-two of its forty-seven-year-old life (89 1/3%).  Was family transportation until approximately 2000 when it was replaced as the daily mode of commute.  Refinished interior/exterior October of 2012, garaged since.  Professionally completed upholstery.  Not showroom quality, but lovingly and painstakingly refurbished by owner's own hands.  Need to sell to keep hard work from deteriorating. Many (a 2 in. D-ring binder full) repair receipts kept by meticulously detailed car owner.   Beautiful lines; this car is from an era when automobiles had personalities.  My guess is 95% original.  Accident free since 1973.  Original owner's manual.  Clean title history.  Some service records available.

• BIRTH:  Original paperwork shows assembled at GM's Lakewood plant in Atlanta, Georgia, and sold from Gene Patrick Motors in Harrison, AR

   

• TRIM LEVEL:  Model J was the basic trim level (base model) of the second generation of Grand Prixs (1969-1972).  John DeLorean, Pontiac's general manager at the time, was looking for a new design direction for the automobile's new luxury-performance category and took cues from the 1932 Duesenberg SJ, its "supercharged" version, with its long hood/short deck body styling.  The Grand             Prix's second generation "was a striking combination of modern elegance, performance, and classic styling themes, all wrapped in a trim, athletic package that was every bit as true to the original GP theme as the original, perhaps even more so.  In one fell swoop, Pontiac re-established itself as the leader in the luxury performance market.  There was nothing around like it, nor even in the same league.  The styling of the new Grand Prix was genius in its execution" with its "coke bottle" sides and wraparound, fighter cockpit interior. [Grand Prix: Pontiac's Luxury Performance Car, Don Keefe, 26, Iconografix, Hudson,   Wisconsin, 2007]   The SJ model (Pontiac's "Sports J") for the 1969 was a $316 option and included the 370-horse 428 V-8 as standard.  The 428 HO was also      available in both models.  In 1970, the 428s were retired and replaced by the 455.  For the 1971 model year, the standard engine for the Model J was a 400 four-barrel.  Those customers desiring the higher powered, automatic-only 455 four-barrel with a 8.2:1 compression paid the $195 upgrade to the SJ model which included Rally gauges, body-colored mirrors, SJ badging, a no-         maintenance AC Delco battery, and other amenities.  The SJ package for the 1972 Grand Prix included:  the 455 cubic-inch four-barrel V-8, luggage and door courtesy lamps, Rally gauge clusters, vinyl accent stripes, and body-colored outside mirrors.
• AMENITIES:  electric door locks; power windows, LH BKT seat, brakes, steering; deluxe, tilt steering wheel with dual horns; updated stereo w/ cd player & aux. input; original Rally II WHLS with chrome trim rings and "PMD" center caps (even for the spare!); original AM/FM radio (not working), original 8-track tape player (not working) and encasement; "command seat" wraparound cockpit styling,   resulting in the instrument panel with most controls and gauges within the pilot's easy reach; "strato" front bucket seats are separated by console, which integrates into the instrument panel, with floor shifter, storage compartment with newly reupholstered console door, and ashtray; windshield embedded  radio antenna; flush-mounted "pop-open" exterior door handles; side impact beams inside doors
• MECHANICAL:  Turbo 400 automatic transmission; dual exhaust; recessed, new wipers; carb. rebuilt November 2012; new rear brake cylinders, new battery; new plugs, new rotor & distributor cap February 2014 (38,626 miles); new oil pressure gauge February of 2014; rodded out/resealed radiator, new starter, new ignition switch, brakes bled July 2018; new U joints March 2019
• ODOMETER:  odometer shows 38,851;  My best guess is 238,851 on car only; engine totally rebuilt April of 1988 (have receipt); then additional valve and head jobs in August of 1998 (have receipt); stopped being the family daily driver shortly after; therefore, my guess is that the 455 probably has less than 40,000 miles on it.
• KNOWN ATTENTION NEEDED:  Keep in mind the car is forty-seven years old.  Original  AM/FM radio still installed but not working; 8-track tape player not working, uninstalled, but included with car; fuel gauge stuck on full (Good News!  You'll never need to fill-up again. Ha!); small transmission leak; only one dash crack; brand new wiper arms and blades purchased April 2019 come with the car but I can't get switch to activate posts.
• REFURBISHMENT:  1. totally new wiring  2. in Dad's own writing:  powder coated all pulleys, brackets, bolts, and nuts except power steering painted with 1000o bar BQ grill glass black but not baked except for pulley; intake was painted with Duplicolor DE1643 Tourque "N" teal along with the valley pan.  Both were baked @ 300o for 45 min.  Intake accessories were painted with same black as P/S pump and also baked @ 300o.  3. not a total body off refurbishing, but doors, hood, trunk deck lid removed during process            4. Except for dash, steering, and console, all interior was removed.  Installed were: new headliner, new carpet, reupholstered package tray, reupholstered back bench seat, reupholstered front bucket seats, and reupholstered door panels with carpeting.
• A LITTLE HISTORY:  1. "An all-new Grand Prix was scheduled for 1972. However, a 67-day corporate-wide strike at GM in late 1970 that hobbled the 1971 model introduction set back 1972 model production plans and the new A and G-body cars planned for 1972      were delayed for introduction by one year to the 1973 model year. Production numbers increased substantially after two years of decline, reaching 91,961 units and only second place to the 1969 model."              [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Grand_Prix#Second_generation_(1969%E2%80%931972)]  2. Both the 1971 and 1972 models had the new, slanted, boattail-style rear.  3. Known as the SE101, a steam powered version of the Grand Prix was built in 1969.  This concept car was equipped with a 150 hp engine.  Selected for its spacious engine bay which engineers said was the largest per pound of vehicle weight in GM's entire fleet, and it still had to be lengthened by seven inches, the steam run GP was still equipped with the normal power accessories such as power steering, power brakes, power windows and door locks, and air conditioning.  It had a hovering hood.  4. The Elvis Connection (Don't read if you don't like Elvis or the Stutz Blackhawk).  In 1969, John DeLorean and Pontiac majorly changed the body style of the  second generation Grand Prix, creating the long front end and short rear deck.  It would be these second generation GPs that would become the first Stutz Blackhawks of the 1970s.  Originally hand built in Italy, Stutz would purchase and ship GPs over to them and replace the GP's body with their own, utilizing the GP's framework and 455 V-8.  In 1970, Elvis bought the first Blackhawk sold.  Notice the similarities between the 1969 to 1972 Grand Prixs (approx. base price $4,472; $27,043 in 2019) and its same model year counterpart ($25,000 to $75,000; $151,182 to $453,545 in 2019); front end similarities, look under the hood (engine compartment, hood spring, radiator fan shroud, dual snorkel air cleaner, "pop-out" door handles).  So, save money, purchase my GP, and pretend it is a Stutz.  That's what I've been doing!
• PRICE:  $28,000
• FORMS OF PAYMENT ACCEPTED:  cash, certified check, money order