Sleeper Sedan? 1974 Pontiac Grand Am 400 Survivor
Four door Grand Am Month continues with this Saugatuck, Michigan classic. The black four-door hardtop version of Pontiac’s sporty mid-sized features a non-original 400 V8 replacing the original base 400. A nearly perfect interior combines with decent paint for an interesting addition to your local cruise-in that can be enjoyed as-is. A walkaround video goes into details absent from the listing here on eBay. The disintegrated nose panel stands out as the most significant shortcoming. Though not as rare as the factory four door four-speed 1973 Grand Am that Bruce wrote up here on Barnfinds earlier this month, this automatic version is one of 3122 four-door Grand Ams from ’74. The $8400 asking price buys a nicely kept, classy V8 sport sedan with air conditioning at a time when a similarly-sized V8 Dodge Charger starts at about $42,000. Of course, if you’re fond of texting or fondling your phone while driving, that $33,600 differential may be worth every penny when the Charger’s ABS and other modern safety doo-dads keep you from tunneling under a dump truck while adding a eggplant emoji to your final post.
The air conditioning system is functioning but does not blow cold, according to the video walkaround. While the listing and video refer to the interior as Ox Blood, the brochures at lov2xlr8 call this color Burgundy, which avoids awkward questions about how many Oxen were slaughtered to dye your upholstery. My ’78 Pontiac Phoenix had this same color scheme and a similar angled console and shifter. Sharp!
While the like-bodied LeMans could be equipped with an inline six or 350 V8, the Grand Am came standard with a two-barrel 400 cid (6.6L) V8. Optional upgrades included the four-barrel 400 and a 455 cid (7.5L) monster mill. Has anyone seen a factory-equipped 455 in a Collonade ’74 Grand Am four-door? Thanks to lov2xlr8 for some details.
Pontiac labeled the Grand Am “The mid-sized Pontiac with foreign intrigue…” in its sales literature of the day, presumably because people immediately thought “import” when test-driving this 4100 lb five-seater with its giant V8 and live axle rear suspension? Perhaps some of these marketing folks were still around when Pontiac pushed its 6000, which was, as simple math illustrates, 1000 better than an Audi 5000.
Even though Pontiac’s “400” is 399.5 cid (6.5466 cubic liters), the Pontiac 400 is historically known as “6.5” liters and the Pontiacs with the Oldsmobile 403 cid are correctly branded “6.6.” Thus we see the “6.5” badge on the left rear of this Grand Am. When you’re done sorting that out, let’s talk about Chevy’s 396 / 402… or maybe not. Marketing math aside, are you making room in your driveway for this interesting mid-’70s sport sedan?
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Comments
Neat, unusual car! I hope it finds a good home.
Todd the second sentence in this writeup completely contradicts this being a survivor lol. It is an upgrade, yes, but a non original engine knocks it out of the category.
Thanks RKS. I agree completely. It’s a cool car but I wouldn’t call it a survivor. Sometimes the titles get reworked for more splash. Since we always appreciate a comment on the car accompanying a correction, I’ll go on to say I’ve begun appreciating these cars more now, maybe to the point of favoring the four-door over the two-door. This car will never circle a road course like a V8 BMW sedan, but how much time to BMW sedans spend on race tracks? Along the lines of KC John I could see this with a modified stock-appearing 455 or even a warmed-up 400, AOD, refreshed suspension, maybe Holley Sniper, and you could probably run it for 100,000 miles or more with the occasional $40 part from RockAuto. Meanwhile that BMW is going to chew up $500+ sensors every four months or 6000 miles and remind you of its frailty every 30 seconds with a dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree.
Lol..
I’m starting to like this 4door body style. A few modern suspension tweaks along with upgraded rims and rubber. Perhaps an overdrive trans. Nothing crazy and you’ve got a pretty slick people mover for used Accord money. Thanks Barn Finds…. another one added to my to do list.
These are the worst handling car next to a Maverick! It is in impressive condition and package.
Interesting…over at Ford 400CID = 6.6L. I have a 1980 Ford F250 4×4 Brush truck, Ford refers to the 400CID as 6.6L. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orq7thFtxiw
Pretty cool. Sitting at the steering wheel would make you almost forget that it’s a four-door sedan. The interior is really sharp in this car. I like the way everything looks. The way the gauges are and the way the center console and everything sits. Looks really nice. I like the 73s front end better though. If you could take parts off the 73 put it on the 74 I think I would like it a lot better. But also I think the four-speed was a great option on the 73. But then who wouldn’t right? Looks like a good car for the money.
I didnt give the 4 door Grand Ams a lot of thought in the past, but now I do. The 73 with the 4 speed really caught my eye. But this black one looks very classy. I agree with Davey on this, I also like the 73 nose better than the 74. Hope this goes to a good home.
Todd, eggplant emoji. Lol.
Very nice! I’ve loved the 1974 LeMans/Grand Am since they were new, especially the rear end treatment. It harks back to the 1953-’54 Pontiacs.
The price is reasonable, given it’s condition, and the 400 V-8.
Looking at the above Pontiac brochure page for the 2 door, good luck trying to find INEXPENSIVE bias ply tires with whitewalls that thin, let alone a set that are radials. The whitewalls on this car are just plain too wide.
& the rally II’s & sport mirrors seem out of place on a 4 door.
This Todd guy needs a raise. Great article! Made me chuckle a couple of times.
Reminds me of a car a friend had in ’80-’82. A true sleeper if there was one. ’76 Ford Granada with a 351 Cleveland that was warmed up out of a Torino. We called it the “Granade.”
See “Grenade”
To the dude who says these are terrible handling cars. He doesn’t know jack. These great 73 to 77 Colonnades are far superior to any POS 68 to 72 GM A body in terms of handling. And those Pontiac bucket seats are far more comfortable than any Chevelle ever. The problem is the aftermarket has ignored these cars, but everything is available for 71 Chevelle. BORING.
Lack of radial tires may have something to do with ’68-72s not handling as good as ’73s & newer.
& i would think an upgrade to ’73 & newer thicker sway bar(s) on ’68-72s would help.
I know in ’68, GM already had optional quick 3! turn lock to lock steering box, but maybe few buyers were aware of/got it, so the ’68-72s you drove probably had the slower 4? turn lock to lock box.
Trans-Am used to boast 6.6 liter on their hood. Now I’m confused Geesh
74’ is a real nice car and I like the ox blood interior, next best thing to a Grand Prix
They were actually 77 Grand LeMans
Bought a new 1973 grand am with the 400 2-bbl . For about 5k. Drove it 40000 miles in 1 year. Loved it . Great handling road car. Traded it in for Datsun pickup. Big let down.