Question for Pontiac folks

[PxTx]

Got an idea on the basic mods on the GP?

Thought of you Tony when I read this thread here:

http://gearheads.org/why-you-should-.../#.VN1jM6NOnFp

They fault the Fox body becasue Ford was intending to replace it with the Probe. Ha! Turbo TA gets all the glory.

[StealthBird]

They did have a limited edition Grand Prix in 1986 called the 2+2. While nothing too special under the hood, it had an aerodynamic package (along with the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe) designed and built for homologation into NASCAR. All the 1986 Pontiac 2+2's came with the 5.0 V8. The prototype for the 1986 Pontiac 2+2 (built on a 1985 model) is now at the Pontiac Museum, on loan from the Richard Petty collection. The prototype did not have a VIN#, and should not have been let out of engineering. Petty helped design the aero package for this car, and he said that when they were done, they gave Pontiac the results, and no one asked for the car back, so he kept it.

When they moved the Grand Prix from the G-Body to the W-body in 1988, it was Motor Trend's Car Of The Year. By 1989, Pontiac had 5.7 liter Formulas and Trans Ams, a nasty V6 Turbo Trans Am,, Turbo 2.0 Sunbirds (with serious torquesteer issues), Turbo Grand Am's, and a limited edition Turbo Grand Prix by ASC McLaren that put out a very respectable (for that time period) 205 hp.

I don't think Pontiac was concerned with making a performance G-body Grand Prix in the mid-1980's other than the 2+2. They already had a stable full of high performance (or sporty) models, and with the all-new 1988 Grand Prix in the works, they probably saw no need for another high-performance car in their lineup.

Mike

[old5.0]

He didn't give me any details. I stopped by the guy's place to check out a 70 T/A he's restoring, and we got on the subject of G-bodies somehow. I mentioned that I'd heard a story about Olds giving out some sort of specially modded Cutlass to loyal Olds Stock and S/S racers back in the early-mid 80's, and he mentioned the Myrtle Motors deal, but didn't know anything other than they supposedly built them.

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable on the state of the aftermarket for GM back then as I am for Ford, so I'm not sure what might have been done to them in terms of heads or intakes or if they had blowers/nitrous or whatever. There was a dealership in Chicago selling supercharged Firebirds around that time period, but I don't know much about them, either. The Myrtle Motors deal could just be an old wive's tale.

That's an interesting article, although I see all the internet Einstein's are working their magic in the comments section. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif[/img] A lot of people don't realize that the Fox was actually due to replaced by a front driver twice; once in 1983 or '84 and again in 87 by the Probe. It's hard to imagine what the performance world would look like today if that had happened.

[old5.0]

Awesome! Thanks for posting that, Pete! Now I really want to know more about them.

[StealthBird]

Another specialty GP offered at this time was the Grand Prix GT, from Myrtle Motors of Middle Village, N.Y. The GT featured a standard-issue 305 4-barrel hooked to a 4-speed automatic. It received a black exterior with matching blacked-out trim, rear deck spoiler and Rally II wheels shod with 215/65R-15 Goodyear Eagle GT radials. According to the Myrtle Motors sales department, they were not allowed to make any mechanical modifications due to emissions regulations. As it turned out, less than 20 GTs were sold.

[old5.0]

Thanks Mike. No mechanical mods is disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. It does look good wearing the Grand National clothes, though.

[StealthBird]

You're welcome! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

I think the GT emblems that Myrtle used on the GP may have come off the 1986 Sunbird, but I'm not sure. DKM (Mecham) had a run of 1985 Macho Trans Am's, and like Myrtle, they claimed no engine mods. I think they pumped out around 190 hp stock.

I'm not sure what changed with emission laws by 1991, but SLP created the first Firehawk that used a modified intake and a well built bottom end. Perhaps when all the engine mods were done, it still passed emissions.

[old5.0]

Like I said, I'm a long ways from an expert on 80's GM stuff, but I've heard that the Firehawk underwent separate emissions certification, as well as separate crash testing because SLP changed something structural in the car. I don't know if that's true, but I was told Ed Hamburger about went bankrupt after he had to crash three new Firehawks on his own dime. There were a couple of aluminum block 383 stroker cars built, I think. I'm not sure how they fit in the picture.

There weren't many emissions legal hard parts back then; not like today, where practically everything has a certification. I've heard of some blower Firebirds out of a dealership in Chicago, but I don't much about them. I know there were several Ford dealers doing modified &quot;package&quot; Mustangs back then that were even more illegal than usual since they were modded before sale. Most of them got away with it, but not all. There was a dealer in Kansas City that got popped pretty hard for illegal modifications. They'd been selling them with a notation on the sales contract that said something like &quot;This vehicle is intended for off road competition use only and is not legal for use on public highways.&quot; Shockingly, the feds didn't care about their note. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img] [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif[/img]

[KenMaisano]

I did a bunch of work on Pontiac hot rods in the 80S for Doug Goad back in my PAS days. Prototype Automotive Services. We ran Hard in the show room stock classes and built some serious twin turbo stuff. along with a couple prototype GTOs that I built some all Magnesium 3.0 iron duke and four valve Mosier headed engines. Along with building all the prototype and production Turbo Trans Am.
Very fun days with Many late hours.

Ken Maisano

[GTO_DON]

Always will be a worthless car in my opinion. Has no eyeball at all.