Vehicle Description
Gateway Classic Cars Houston Showroom is pleased to present this
muscular Nordic Silver 1971 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ. Prior to leaving
Pontiac for Chevrolet, Pontiac General Manager John Z. DeLorean
himself worked closely with Pontiac design engineers to bring forth
the second generation of the GP, which he envisioned as being "the
Deusenberg of its day": a powerful, luxurious, personal luxury
vehicle. When the first of the Gen 2 GPs came out in 1969, they
were touted as having the longest hood in the industry, and they
sure did! The 1969 Grand Prix was also a car that both buyers and
the automotive press liked: in fact, it received Car Life
magazine's Engineering Excellence Award for 1969, an award which
Car Life hadn't presented in either of the previous two model
years. From 1969 until 1972, Pontiac offered two versions of this
2nd gen GP: the "J", and the more potent, more luxurious "SJ",
which buyers who opted for RPO Code Y97 got. This sharp Y97 '71
Grand Prix SJ is powered by a 455 CID V8, which is backed by a GM
TH400 3-speed automatic transmission that sends the power out back
to the 3.07:1 gears in the rear end. It's riding on a set of G78-14
BF Goodrich Silverstone tires, much like it was originally spec'd
with, which wrap its PMD Rally II wheels. This 1971 Grand Prix SJ
also comes with a complete set of PHS documents, including copies
of the build sheet, Pontiac-to-dealer invoice, Dealer's Invoice to
buyer, original title, original finance contract, and window
sticker (as well as the standard PHS information pages). There are
also repair and maintenance receipts going back to 2012, when its
current owner purchased the car. From what we have been provided,
and what we can see, this '71 GP SJ appears to be a true survivor
car: unmolested and unrestored, having been very well kept for
these last 50+ years. From the build sheet's RPO code listing, this
car appears to have been a customer-ordered unit. This Grand Prix
H/T Coupe was ordered with lower color 13 Silver, Black Vinyl Top
and Black Trim. It was built with the following options: C08 Vinyl
Top Black; C24 Recessed Wiper; C49 Electric Rear Window Defroster;
C60 Air Conditioning (manual); C90 Courtesy/Door Lamps; D10 Arm
Rest Ash Tray; D35 Outside Rear View Mirror (body color); D55 Floor
Console; D98 Rally Stripe; GX1 3.07 Axle Ratio; JL1 Pedal Trim
Plate; JL2 Power Brakes, Front Disc; J50 Power Brakes; L75 Engine -
455 4BB; M40 Auto Trans; N10 Dual Exhaust; N31 Custom Sport
Steering Wheel; N33 Tilt Steering Column; N41 Power Steering; N98
Rally II Wheels; PK1 G78X14 Blackwall Tires; U05 Dual Horns; U25 RR
Compartment Lamp; U35 Electric Clock; U57 Stereo Tape (8 Track
Player); U63 Pushbutton Radio; VK1 Delete Front License Mounting;
W63 Rally GA&CK; and Y97 SJ Option Group. Upon closer
inspection of the paint and interior, it looks very much the same
as it did when the car was built: the Nordic Silver paint is in
decent shape, the black vinyl top looks good, and the chrome has
survived very well. Inside, the black carpet has been well treated
over the years, and the woven cloth inserts in both the front
buckets and rear bench looks almost as new. It's very hard to find
such well-kept examples of cars (or trucks) from this now very
popular era of American auto manufacturing, and especially vehicles
that have the provenance that this one has; so, don't let someone
else beat you to it!
