V8 Five-Speed! 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix
In the 1960’s nobody wanted to be called a “square,” but by the time this 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix hit the market, squares were all the rage, and you hardly saw a round headlight or instrument gauge anywhere. Suddenly it was hip to be square, or rectangular even. This never-restored Pontiac may not top everyone’s list of cars to own someday, but the long-hood, short trunk personal luxury coupe could make a nice entry-level classic. The transplanted five-speed renders this Baltimore, Maryland specimen more interesting than most.
The sporty interior looks surprisingly good except for a cracked dash. Shiny trim nicely contrasts the well-preserved or refurbished upholstery on this triple-black Pontiac. The 260 cid (4.3L) V8 and five-speed Borg-Warner T-50 manual transmission reportedly came from a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass, keeping the powertrain in the General Motors family. I looked at a nearly flawless T-top Cutlass with that powertrain in the late ’80s, but it was above my price range at $2500. Someone appears to have done a nice job with a modified shift bezel on that center console. Power windows, chrome pedal trim, and other upgrades add some luxury touches to this upscale cruiser. Only round gauges and the obligatory steering wheel offered curved diversity in the rectangle-dominated interior. The dashboard also reportedly originated in a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass, which may explain its rough condition compared to the other plastics.
Air conditioning apparently left the chat when it came to this Oldsmobile engine transplant. Some calculated junk yard combing could probably fix that on the cheap. Oldsmobile designed the 260 as an economical upgrade above its inline six-cylinder, pairing the small-bore V8 with a three-speed automatic or this car’s five-speed manual. Like today the standard transmission appeals to two groups: those who enjoy the sporting aspect of shifting for themselves and those who want to save money at the time of purchase and avoid the complexity of an automatic, another “black box.” Automatics are great if you’re physically disabled or don’t enjoy shifting… until they develop problems unexpectedly and need expensive repairs. Most automatics in the ’70s offered three gears, the top being a mechanically efficient 1:1 gear ratio. The five-speed had a 1:1 fourth gear and a frugal RPM-reducing overdrive fifth. Thanks to Wikipedia for some details.
The seller includes a run-down on what’s needed to restore this “great” driving Grand Prix including trim, bodywork, and obviously a paint job. Check out the description here on Craigslist where $3400 seals the deal, and thanks to reader Tony P. for spotting this Old Line State classic. The 260 won’t burn the tires off, but you could probably nail 20 MPG or more on the highway. As sub-$5000 classics go, you could do worse!
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Comments
It’s an interesting build, but I don’t think it’s a good one. The 260 is gutless but don’t expect good fuel economy. The T50, which was originally used in the Cosworth Vega, isn’t beefy enough to take much more torque than the 260 can give.
Even with the 260 and standard, these grand prixs (pri? prixes?) arent worth a whole lot. Especially one which requires some roof metal work. The vinyl top is probably hiding even more rot. Take the interior and drivetrain and put it in a nicer grand prix is what I would do. But its not really financially feasible.
I really don’t know exactly what’s going on here but that is not the right dash in that car, that’s a Cutlass dash, I know I had one and a buddy had a Grand Prix of this era and it is all round gauges and vents. Google 1979 Grand Prix interior and you’ll see.
If you would take the time to read the CL ad the seller says that the dash was transplanted from a 79 Cutlass.
Yeah that’s my fault I didn’t click on the link
Boy, that transplant was a lot of work for a who lotta nothing, performance wise. The 260 is just a cut down 350, so durable and dependable as the sun but gutless and not all that fuel efficient at the same time. The 5-speed from a Monza was built to live behind these small, weak V6s and V8s, please don’t try mating it up with a 350 or you’ll be picking up pieces for miles. And the Cutlass dash is ? The Grand Prix dash was better looking in my opinion. Credit to the builder for putting it together however.
Tough to add to what’s been said. If the car was sold you could start there and work your way up. Toss the five speed, that F-body console and the Olds dash. Get a proper powertrain. There’s a lot to do to make it worthwhile. Be sure to have your thinking cap on straight.
…if the car was solid…
Impress your friends with the stick shift, in that Malaise Poncho, until they see that weezy 260. Did someone bet him to do it?
All of my 260 Olds were automatics, I knew that what the engine needed was a stick shift. No one here commenting has drove a 260 with the stick to know the difference. I’ll add that the 260 got 20 mpg no matter what, in town or highway at 80mph.
what do you do with it? it has been butched up. 3500 is stretch. these are only worth money when they are in really good clean condition. best of luck. your gonna need it.
An olds dash to match the olds motor – in a pontiac. yikes.