Pontiac’s Grand Prix certainly had staying power; in production from 1962 to 2008, its mission stayed remarkably consistent for a good portion of its run. It was a personal luxury coupe with an extra helping of sportiness, and buyers (usually) responded. In 1977, the last year of the “big” Grand Prix, 288,430 were sold, including this 28,994-mile “SJ,” which was the most expensive trim level in the Grand Prix line. Barn Finder Curvette is always busy sending us great cars like this Grand Prix, which he found on Hemmings.com in Channahon, Illinois, with an asking price of $22,800.

The story behind the car is this: It was sold new in Waterloo, Iowa, where the original owner (and a family member or two) drove it sparingly before trading it in (!) in 1998. The car has since had several owners, all of whom have kept its mileage low.

The sporty “SJ” variant was the most expensive in the Grand Prix line, with a base price of $5,742. That extra money over the basic $5,108 Grand Prix got the SJ buyer a standard 180-horsepower 400 instead of a 301, a very good upgrade. This example also has the $521 “Custom Air Conditioning” option, in addition to cruise control. Aside from a new alternator and water pump, the engine is original, but it does have “an engine oil leak that drips to [the] floor.” In my opinion, small drips are OK, large ones are not, but it could be something as innocuous as a valve cover gasket. It’s worth a question to the owner.

Pontiac’s interiors were always a step or two above their competition (on the whole); their gauge packages were more complete, their seating a little sportier, their consoles more rakish. The 1977 Grand Prix was no exception, with woodgrain trim, comfy-looking bucket seats, and an angled console that somehow looks just right.

The seller includes a window sticker from Pontiac Historical Services (PHS is a great resource for Pontiac owners), and it shows how its plethora of options bloated the base price of this Grand Prix to $8,115.65 out the door. In addition to the aforementioned options, this car has power windows, a sunroof, landau top, tilt steering wheel, and even “Special Paint.”

The seller says that the special paint is a color called “Carolina Blue,” but from what I can gather, that color was generally ordered by North Carolina dealers to commemorate the University of North Carolina, and that was a long drive from Iowa. Who knows, perhaps the original owner was a UNC alumnus; perhaps a Pontiac-loving reader can fill us in on the color in the comment section.

I point this out regularly, but the paint on this car is clearly (mostly) original (and this has been verified by the seller) because the front clip has faded slightly differently from the rest of the body, which was painted separately at the Fisher Body plant. There have been some touch ups, and there is one small spot of rust on the driver’s quarter panel, but this is a great-looking original that runs and drives well (according to the ad), and if you like the 1973-77 version of the Grand Prix, it’s about as well-optioned as you’ll find.