Vehicle Description
This car was featured extensively in the season 1 finale of the Warner Brother Television series "Major Crimes" (Episode 10: "Long Shot")which aired on the TNT network on October 15, 2012. This is a beautiful example of a rare 1978 Pontiac Phoenix LJ coupe. Only 6,210 of this model year were built and this was #517 to come off the assembly line. It is quite possibly the only all original, unmodified version of this model left on the road today. While there are a few '78 Phoenix LJ's out there; every one I've seen has been modified significantly from the original style and turned into a hot rod or wannabe Nova. This car has been in one family since it was driven off the showroom floor of Di Giulio GMC/American/Pontiac in Fremont California in 1979 (sunroof was a dealer installed option).Always garaged, it was a daily driver until my uncle passed away in 1984 and has only 32,821 original miles on it today. 350 ci Chevy V8 w/4bbl, 350 Automatic Trans. From 1984 to 2010 the car remained garaged and driven only once every few months. Oil changes were still done regularly and the tires were replaced every three years. Since 2010 I've had it here in the dry climate of the Mojave Desert of Southern California where it remains in an insulated garage under a cover. The car starts right up and runs as smoothly as would be expected for such low miles. Everything works as far as radio, power windows, etc... A/C is still R12 and delivers nice cold air on those hot desert days. I replaced the heater core in 2010. As you can see from the photos, the car is clean inside and out. The exterior has some blemishes that would be consistent with a daily driver and the photos show those. A small rust spot is evident on the passenger side just below the rear window. A mechanic spilled brake fluid on a small section of the hood years ago and it ate into the lacquer paint and there is a small ding in the right rear fender well. The most obvious issue with the exterior is that the rear bumper filler (which was natural rubber from the factory) succumbed to the environment and cracked apart. E&K Bumper Fillers has aftermarket fiberglass replacement fillers available http://www(dot)sandkindustries(dot)com/. There is some minor oil seepage at the oil pan and trans pan as would be expected for an un-restored car that is 36 yrs old but it has not left any spots on the garage floor in two years. The trunk still contains the original accordion style spare tire and Co2 tire inflation canister. Original owners manual and most service records along with PHS documentation. The interior has no rips or tears and the white vinyl is clean. Carpet is in great condition and the headliner needs only to be tightened up a bit but has no rips or tears. The rear deck is in excellent condition as well. The shoulder harness restraints on the backs of the front seats are missing and the hard plastic covers on the seat belt clips in the front are cracked from age. The photos tell the story of this beautiful survivor. The last car show she was in she won "Judges Choice" due to her rare, original condition. This is the die hard Pontiac collectors missing link. Now you have a chance to own a piece of Pontiac history.
