Four-Speed 406 V8! 1979 Pontiac Sunbird
General Motors stuffed some V8 engines into the compact H-body cars like this 1979 Pontiac Sunbird, but never anything producing more than 150 HP. This Lebanon, Maine Sunbird packs a 406 cubic inch V8 that certainly makes more than that! Better yet, the V8 spins a four-speed manual transmission. Aftermarket wheels and what looks like an older custom candy paint job are the only visual clues that this Sunbird might be quicker-than-average. All this fun can be yours for $7000, which might be like buying a $5000 engine and getting the car for two grand. Checkout more pictures on Facebook Marketplace. Thanks to reader Tony P. for spotting this upgraded Pontiac.
Shiny inner wheel housings hint at what the body formerly looked like. It may just be a trick of the light but the body paint seems faded or possibly lost its clear coat in places. The seller calls this a 406 cid “stroker.” I’m no Chevy expert but generally speaking a 406 begins life as a 400 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 that is bored (not stroked) 0.030″ during a rebuild. At any rate 6.6L of displacement in a car this small will definitely wake you up in the morning without a coffee stop.
What looks like a garden hose clean-up may be hiding sun-faded paint. I’d check this one out up close if you care about the cosmetics. Personally Or forget the looks and go for a test drive, courteously warming everything up before mashing the go-pedal. I owned one H-body back in my college days, a 1976 Buick Skyhawk with the 231 cid (3.8L) V6 and a five-speed manual. It was neither the slowest nor fastest car from that era. Once I managed to smoke a Chevette and a ’79 Mustang in a three-way parking lot street race that probably could have been clocked with an egg timer. I’d love to borrow this Sunbird for a week or two.
Now we see the paint job is a two-tone, maybe with some hope, but don’t count on it. Overall the car looks straight, especially hailing from the Pine Tree State.
Orangeish-brown may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but at least it doesn’t looks like a pack of Rottweilers lived here. That cue-ball shift knob begs to be rough-housed. I recommend *not* fitting sticky tires before upgrading the suspension and driveline. Let readily-smoking street tires be the clutch that saves your parts budget. That philosophy worked great in my friend’s BMW “357i,” a late ’90s 3-series with a Z28 SS motor. Would you drive more than 30 seconds before uncorking this Pontiac’s 406 cubic inch V8?
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Comments
Whomever would put a z-28 engine into any Bimmer is not only a fool but crazy as well. This heap would be a great dirt tracker for Motortrends Roadkill series. But speaking of fools, if you bid 7k… well just sayin. In 1979 the oil embargo may have ended but Detroits paranoia about oil and gas conservation fines, still in full flight.
jv -smash palace
Hello JE – I suppose it’s always somewhat foolish to increase power. In this case more HP in a well-balanced chassis, and the engine weighs about the same as the outgoing I6. It was a bloody riot. Check it out. https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/733641-my-ls1-e36-bmw-357i.html
I guess your opinion is the only one that counts. Believe or not other people’s taste may differ from yours but I it’s doesn’t make it wrong. It’s not my cup of tea but I could see how it could be very enjoyable to drive
Ok. I am not a fan of Facebook selling cars. As for the Sunbird not too bad. Now the 406 if done right can put out 550hp! Wow imagine the fun to be had here! One picture I saw does not look like any muffler’s on it . Off the headers could be a cherry bombs with turn outs. Don’t know which 4 speed is in it. And what type of rear end. In my day I seen Stout Chevy small blocks in Vegas and Pintos and stock rears blow up! So if this 406 has a lot of horsepower something’s going to break. But since the work has been done it’s worth to look at it and buy it. It’s clean looking. Good luck to the next owner. 🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
“…a three-way parking lot street race that probably could have been clocked with an egg timer.”
LOL, I love it!
Love it ! And it’s a Pontiac so bonus points for that
You Got It Pontiac 👍
I had a 78 buick Skyhawk, same car, with Buick trim, had the 231 Buick v6, and turbo 350 trans. Was a decent car, peppy, and not bad on gas, but terrible in the snow, this one would be scary fast with the 406!, But as previously stated, if the stock 4-speed,and puny 7.5 inch factory diff are in place, then they will not last long!, Would still be a hoot to thrash it until it broke!, But not for 7k
Been lurking here for a few weeks now, cool site. The first car I bought on my own was a ’78 Olds Starfire GT. Crappy car with the Buick 231 V6 & auto trans. I was young and it looked cool, turns out the “GT” Package was just the sticker running along the bottom of the doors.
Major issue with this body style, they weren’t designed to hold engines larger/heavier than the 4cyl offering (with the exception of the Monza spider). The frame rails (on both sides, drivers side was worse) cracked near the motor mounts & A arms. I was told at the time that this was likely the result of abuse & hard braking causing weight shifting forward. Supposedly this wasn’t a uncommon issue. I had the rails welded up and reinforced but the car never held a perfect alignment afterwards.
The Monza spider had a tube frame so to my knowledge, never had this issue.
I was 19 at the time and was just learning how to change a ratchets direction without beating it on the ground, so I had to take a lot of what I was told as automotive gospel, but I did see the cracks.
In essence, the buyer of this car would be wise to check the frame rails (subframe) for stress marks around the motor mounts. Glwts!
i had a mid 70’s buick skyhawk with v-6, it got what was called back then ‘frame sag’… i think this is kinda what you are talkin about, i had weld work a couple times on mine but it never really held up, mechanic i used said bout only remedy would be to weld a brace across the subframe across front of car
I sold that Starfire 6 months after the repair and went back to playing with Novas. 1st car was a 75 Nova 4 door with the start 6 & TH350 auto.
I’d definitely buy this over the Pinto wagon and keep another $6000 in my pocket.
This would be a hoot if you could keep it pointed down the road.
If you notice in the engine photo that’s a high rise,single plane manifold,and a air-gap one too.this engine starts making its real power starting at 3500rpm or so.(3500-7500rpm)powerband.so probably a stall converter?short gears?Looks like its ready to take on the newest muscle on the street.with drag slicks probably in the high 11s 1/4 mile.a great price for this one
No stall converter with a manual transmission, its probably only good for 1 to 2 passes at maybe a 15 second time…. Why? Because it’s more than likely the weak, stock 4-speed,and puny 7.5 inch. Open rear differential, it would roast the tire off, and it’s ass would be every which way and loose!! Lol.
1 would give 4500.00 for it
Looks like a Roadkill project that David Frieburger and Steve Dulcich cooked up! It would be fun at the strip or some field somewhere with some knobby tires!
Hey didn’t Ford make a 406 back in the 60’s??. I recall a buddy having a 65 Galaxie Convert with a 406 Ford engine in it. Anyone know if I’m correct?
The 406 was pretty much a 390 that was bored 0.080″.Has the same 3.78″ stroke as a 390.Slightly higher compression(10:9.1) and stronger connecting rods.I think ford made it only one or two years
Stronger block as well with 11:3-1 compression!
Actually it was a 410,and I believe it was only 2 years or so, they put it in full size mercury also
the under hood paint looks good because its been repainted. GM wasn’t in the habit of painting the blower motor and box or the wiper motors the body color. This little car still needs a little work, but it looks like it would be a fun ride !
If I remember correctly, these cars had the rear driver side spark plug located so you couldn’t get a wrench to it … had to loosen the engine from the mounts and either chain-hoist the engine or carefully use a floor jack (or two) … many owners just opted to change seven plugs …