Although Pontiac didn’t quite survive to its centennial anniversary, the brand reached its notable 50th milestone in 1976, and the Grand Prix was one of the cars it dressed up in special attire to celebrate. Known as the Grand Prix Golden Anniversary Edition, apparently fewer than 5,000 were produced, and this one here on eBay seems to remain a very well-preserved example. It’s located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the opening bid of $15,000 yet to be placed.
By 1976, the already stylish GP got a revised front end, with a fresh grille and the previous dual round headlights swapped for 4 rectangular units, giving the car a more modern look. Even the base model was well equipped, but the LJ package added even more luxurious features. Pontiac chose that trim level for its Golden Anniversary Edition, and each was painted corporate code 55, or Anniversary Gold Metallic. The seller says this one is primarily original, but believes it may have had some paint touch-ups over the years. However, it is currently garage-kept and driven only to occasional car shows, and the exterior appears straight, solid, and still shows plenty of gloss.
This Grand Prix has the right stuff to appeal to those who enjoy both luxury and sportiness, with the Hurst Hatch T-Tops being a part of the Golden Anniversary package. Surprisingly, air conditioning wasn’t standard, though it was available as an extra-cost option. I guess Pontiac figured many buyers would prefer driving with the roof panels removed, but fortunately, this one was ordered with A/C, though there is no belt on the compressor. The visible interior appears to be in excellent condition, and it’s great to see it has front buckets and a console.
It has a 400 V8 engine, which wasn’t an excessively high performer, delivering 170 horsepower or 185 with a 4-barrel carburetor. The odometer shows 25,750, but the title lists the mileage as exempt, and there’s no word on whether that’s accurate. This one is listed as a 2-owner vehicle, and it certainly appears to have been treated kindly by both, and I imagine there will be some competition for who gets to be caretaker number 3. Any thoughts on this 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix Golden Anniversary Edition, or ideas on where the seller may have set the reserve?
this dog would still bury the needle on the freeway
Yup, every bit of that 100 mph speedometer!
My Dad bought a 69 GP model J. The 400 4 bll put out 350hp . Speedo went to 140 mph. Coolest car ever !
I had a 77 and yes, it did bury the needle. Took a little bit, but it could do it.
My friend had a green 69 400 SJ, and yes, we are talking about 2 totally different cars here!
Got a ’74 currently in the works. Passed down after my Dad passed, he personally rebuilt the 400 ci. Custom exhaust, I installed new Edelbrock carb and performer manifold. For cruising sake all I require is carpeting redone plus headliner and dash.
But as she sits spinnin’ both tires with confidence is not a problem!
My uncle that had some money, bought a 1976, SJ (the sport version), with a 455, and I swear it was fully loaded. It was either ’77 or ’78, my cousin, a friend, and I drove it from New York to Indiana (to see the 500) and back without a hitch. That car very capably ate up interstates. Absolutely beautiful torque-monster of a personal luxury car.
Dang. I had a yellow 77 with t tops like this. Eventually replace the engine with a 454, made it midnight blue, put cragars on it and hooked it up. Fun car
I had a 72 with a very similar colour combination. I had painted the “spokes” on the original rims to match the colour of the car.
I had the nineteen seventy eight gold grand prix that I bought right after I got out of the military. I loved that car, but I blew the engine and had to get rid of it. I would’ve loved to have the 1976 edition as they were a beautiful boat. The doors on it are probably 4 feet long and sound like a vault when the doors close.
The only problem I see is the vinyl top looks like it’s peeling up at the chrome. These looked better and were just as nice as the Cadillacs of the time imo.
I had to reupholster my vinyl top. It was peeling and it was cracked. Not the best quality back in the day
As a teenager in ’76 I really liked the new rectangular headlights. They not only made cars look more modern with a luxury look
(Cadillac) but also sportier like this GP and the ’77& ’78 Pontiac Firebird. This year’s GP was sporty and luxurious. I like it.
Wow… That’s an Awesome Machine 🙂🙂😎👊🔥🔥💯💯
Sure are some nice cars coming through here. Pretty clear to me, these 50s-70s creampuffs are surfacing as the age of the owners is clearly vanishing. This is as much a sweetheart as that ’52 Catalina a while back. Favorite cars for many depend on a great many things, but I think most people that appreciate wonderful cars, can agree Pontiac was a leader. While I never really wanted a big luxury car like this, I was more into British roadsters, but anyone that had one of these never regretted it. Oh sure, the others had nice cars too, but the GMs just seemed to have more quality, their doors closed nicely. This was as good as it got, and I lost all respect for GM when Pontiac ( and Oldsmobile) got axed.
‘76 was the second best styling year for colonnade era GP.
Dual lamps side by side just was better than ‘77 with the park lamp installed between.
‘73 was the best looker .
I worked for a Pontiac dealer from 72-82 and a lot of women were not happy with the leaky T tops because of leaks and ruined their hairdo!
nice car but for whatever the reserve price is the a/c should work. looks like it needs a compressor.
A detailed engine bay would certainly add to the appeal of this gorgeous car.
I had a gold 76 GP. It was a base model with white interior. Styling was great for the mid 70’s.
Looks like somethings going on under that vinyl top. Good looking car for sure.
You think it’s rust?
Ac belt missing. Lousy description. Ok photos. If no rust worth 15K. Had a silver 77 SJ with Hurst Hatches, 77 is the best looking GP ever. 286,000 made and you never see them.
You think it’s rust? I’d jump all over this one for anything under $20k
I used to love all Grand Prixs. But I have since become more picky as I get older. (and I mean old) while in college I worked at a Pontiac store. (1972 -1975) And I still really like Grand Prixs. However, I feel the best looking years are still the 1969 and ’70 followed by the ’71”72. The 1973 is next in line and handled and rode better. But had a serious loss of horsepower. And in MHO each year has gotten increasingly “unattractive”. As far as rectangular headlamps go, and please forgive the fact that I’m a light snob/expert as I used to work for a manufacturers rep for the importer for Marchal. Where we used to aim the lights at the Daytona 24 hours (before Daytona had lights) and did special lighting projects for many different applications and law enforcement agencies) They had to increase the power of the rectangular headlamps because there is no top and bottom of the reflector parabola that helps to focus and direct the light output. This increase in power only assisted in the lost range. But the overall light output still suffered. As an example (and easy to understand) the light reflected down on the street comes from the top of the reflector. Guess what? If there is no top to the reflector (top and bottom of a rectangular lamps reflector is chopped off to make it rectangular) to direct the light beam down on the street. The only light shown down on the street is “miscellaneous/ light scatter. Rectangular lights look cool (only originally used to lower hood heights , but became a styling design) Many “modern” headlamps use a somewhat “old style” round conical shape parabolic reflector behind many shapes of headlamp lense designs. But with the use of
L E Ds the light is very hard to direct. (light comes out of the LED at all kinds of angles unlike the old style of filaments) Brighter light, but harder to direct the light beam. So range is usually effected. It might seem to have a reasonable distance. But that is only because the “brighter” light finds something to reflect off of. If something non-reflective (like a black Angus steer) is in the roadway. Chances are if you are traveling at something over 60MPH you may not stop in time.Luckily these days we have better brakes and tires to help offset those types of situations.
Sorry, I will go back to my rubber room now!
Another BAD ASS RIDE. GOD BLESS ME TO WIN THE LOTTERY.
Looks like some rust Bubbles on the left side of the Hood.
SOLD for $19,100.
4 bids.