Pontiac Grand Ville

[electra225]

Pontiac's entry into the luxury car field, starting in 1971. Built on the GM "C" body along with the Cadillac De Ville, Buick Electra 225, Oldsmobile 98 series cars, it was powered by the big 455 engine and rode on the longer 126" wheelbase in 1971 and '72, but went back to the Bonneville wheelbase of 123" in 1973. I had forgotten all about these cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNA4NkM6jL8

[walyfd]

My dad worked with a guy who had one. I remember the rear lighters were on the sides of the front seat. Don't think any other car did that...

[electra225]

Did Pontiac have some kind of road wheels for their big cars in 1971? Olds had some that were basically moonies with trim rings. Buick had their Mark 4 road wheels, "boattail wheels". Not really an option on big Buicks, they were on Rivieras and were commonly seen on Electras. Pontiac 8-lug wheels were designed to be used with drum brakes, so they wouldn't have been an option. A Grand Ville in black with 8-lugs on it would be a nice combination......

[Motorola minion]

What a great thread. A GrandVille is exactly why I went Poncho in '83, never looking back. Thanks Greg!

My best friends' parents had a 1974 2 door GrandVille, and maroon suited it well like almost any Poncho. It was like a Bonneville optioned car with Grand Prix upgrades, not the other way around. The GP part was the 455 4 barrel and dual exhaust, plus a performance-ratio rear. It may have been a 3.23:1 Safe-T-Trak. It lasted exactly 10 years and 99,000 miles before the body wouldn't pass inspection anymore still burning rubber, roaring 4-V speed-shifts even on the way the junkyard, where we visited it a few times as it was parted out then crushed.

This car was a stoplight sleeper after it was handed down to the second son, who was my roomate in tech school. I liked to borrow it when my cold-blooded 73 Fury 440 was being a pain to start in the cold, to go to my job was only 10 blocks. It was pretty rusty by then with a peeling top, it was a tame car "good starting and even cold warmup running". The best story I recall about this car: some nice-looking kids in a 69 Camaro laughed at this cruiser one night in Allentown, but by the next light they would not even look over at this boat. It spanked them but good, front end popping up like a dragster as the Q-jet was gradually opened up a few yards after a tame launch .

I also remember racing a guy from tech school on teh bypass going home, his Olds 98 with a 455 was a super boat, also 2-door Physics was fun!

The wheels were the Pontiac Rally II, 15" with "radial tuned suspension" on a tag near the glove box. It would handle as good as my Fury but rode softer. It was column shift, folding bench seat in front, with the oldest of four (!) boys being 15 at the time.

I would guess it was bought as an interim family car bought after my friends Dad was laid up after getting T-boned in his 69 Sport Fury, the other guy did not make it . I think Richard Sr. was glad to go car shopping, treating himself to a car that would literally pull a hole-shot like dragsters at our local strip.

[electra225]

I had honestly forgotten about this big Pontiac. I'm glad you enjoyed the thread.

[Motorola minion]

This car was a textbook case why we should have all put these 70s cars in garages and not driven them at all when calcium chloride and later magnesium chloride was used. Unfortunately these became the available "beaters" and "work cars" as gas prices went up and new cars got ugly.

We loved them as they fell apart and hogged fuel, yet us young and poor motorheads could not AND would not stand driving anything but a V8

I saw much worse examples of rust on these GM cars where roof pillars were partly gone. Those cars usually were from NY, Mich, Wisc or somewhere worse than PA for rust. This was on cars only 6-9 years old!

[electra225]

GM cars with a vinyl top would rust out between the back glass and the trunk lid.