Vehicle Description
1969 Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac, bless its beak-nosed heart, turned out some truly unusual
cars in 1969, an unforeseen consequence of General Motors'
crushingly expensive, inefficient car-for-everyone optioning
strategy. Not all of them were GTOs, either. Some of the
strangeness extended to Pontiac's still-novel personal-luxury
coupe, the Grand Prix.
Pontiac ad men of the day loved to stretch the images unnaturally
wider, longer and lower than they were in real life. That's what is
called "artistic license" and if anyone took advantage of this
trick, it was the automotive ad men who put the images down for
newspaper and magazine pages. Such was done with the new for 1969
Grand Prix. For consignment, one of the 112,486 Grand Prix models
that were built in this landmark year, as the car moved from the
full-size Catalina chassis and its 121-inch wheelbase down to the
new GM "A-special" platform with 118 inches between the front and
rear wheels. In need of some TLC on the cosmetic front, but
complete and drivable, they just don't make them like this
anymore.
Exterior
Straight steel panels are bathed in a two tone mix of gold and
candy red with the red taking over the roof at the beltline and the
gold finishing off things down low. A few dings on the body, along
with copious amounts of body filler is noted on nearly every panel.
The gaps show as fairly uneven and a few of the body lines appear
askew thanks to the body filler. With its beak nosed front chrome
and bezels show some wear but are rust free. A side view shows no
badging whatsoever but with the wheel arch molding, which gives a
nice touch. A swept back "B" pillar frames good clear glass but has
some rust bubbles on it and the lower rear window panel has the
same. The rear bumper with inset taillights is as good as the
front! Dual chrome tipped exhaust is seen under the bumper, and
15-inch Centerline wheels are all around and are wrapped in thin
whitewall radials.
Interior
Mostly original with a few faults in the form of some tearing on
the door handle (inside) and runners appearing in the custom red
and yellow carpet on the bottom panel of the driver's side. The
original black vinyl buckets are intact but show severe tearing,
wear and seam separation particularly on the driver's bucket. A
rear bench stretches side to side and remains tear free, meanwhile
a black console races between the buckets. The vinyl covering on
the console has a few chips and cracks, and houses the original
wood topped shifter, as well as aftermarket speakers that have been
added to the sides. A trio of deep circular gauges are in the
angled inward dash covered with more textured black vinyl and some
wood applique below. We note a modern AM/FM/CD player has been
installed in the factory opening with the heater slides just above.
The factory black plastic 3 spoke steering wheels tops the fixed
position column. Red and gold carpet is below and is in good
condition and continues up onto the rear package tray and a
slightly saggy headliner hangs above.
Drivetrain
400 cubes, circa 1968, of Pontiac excitement reside under the hood
of this car but is not the original that this car was born with. A
single 4-barrel carburetor is on top, and a TH400 3-speed automatic
transmission is on the back. Taking the power and torque from the
Poncho mill is a 10-bolt rear axle. A patinaed presentation on the
engine bay front, but no heavy rust is visible.
Undercarriage
Independent front suspension, and 4 link rear suspension, power
disc brakes for the front and power drums for the rear, and dual
Glasspack exhaust hang from a solid surface rusted and black frame,
and undercarriage.
Drive-Ability
A solid car which starts quickly and runs swimmingly. It has nice
acceleration, good handling with a few creaks and squeaks, and a
smooth ride. Overall experience was all good.
A nice example of the iconic Grand Prix, a recent refresh to be
sure all is running well. Not perfect on the exterior and interior
but just below acceptable range for its age, this is Pontiac
dipping their toe into the muscle car genre. Beautiful styling from
the designers and tried and true performance from the big V8 under
the hood. Pick this one up and build your own Pontiac excitement
right from within our Hallowed Halls
VIN DECODE
276579P331114
2-Pontiac
76-Grand Prix
57-2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
9-1969
P-Pontiac, MI Assy Plant
331114-Sequential Unit Number
TRIM TAG
ST 69 27657-1969 Grand Prix 2 Door Hardtop Sport Coupe
BDY PON231977-Pontiac Body #
TR 288-Black Vinyl
PNT 69B-Palladium Silver, Black Top
05C-3rd Week May Build
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
