During the early days, Pontiac had high hopes that its new Grand Am would become a strong competitor in the domestic marketplace for buyers who were taking note of European offerings that combined luxurious and sporty features in a single package. Introduced in 1973, the timing wasn’t great, as the oil crisis seemed to have many consumers either focused on totally economical vehicles or those considered pure luxury. However, over 43,000 units found homes during the first year of production, though the Grand Am enjoyed its most successful period in later generations. This 1973 Pontiac Grand Am here on eBay in Cheektowaga, New York, would benefit from some attention, but it seems to have strong bones and reportedly runs smoothly. The current high bid of $3,150 is not yet enough for a sale, as it falls short of the reserve.
We’d like to thank tipster extraordinaire Curvette for finding this cool Poncho and letting us know about it! The moniker Grand Am was derived from parts of the names of two other popular Pontiacs of the period, the luxurious Grand Prix and the muscular Trans Am, with the intent of combining several fine features of both. 1973 was also the first year for the GM Colonnade styling, and the Grand Am wore it beautifully, appearing sportier on the outside than the similar base LeMans. The seller doesn’t go into much detail about the sheet metal, but it appears fairly solid, with the only obvious small spot of corrosion near the bottom of the driver’s side door.
Standard under the hood here for the first year was a 400 V8 of the 2-barrel variety, which provided drivers with 170 horsepower. An optional 4-barrel upped that number to 200, or 230 if the car was also equipped with a dual exhaust system. However, the top size in ’73 was a 455, and that’s what the seller reports is in the bay here, with a shaker added on top. No other details are mentioned, but it’s said to run nicely and smoothly already, though a couple of mechanical issues will need to be addressed soon. The owner reports a slight gas leak, plus it needs a new ignition, which is said to be included with the sale.
The Grand Am benefited from a Grand Prix interior, though this one could use some new upholstery on the driver’s bucket and a steering wheel center cap. I’m not sure it adds any real-world value, but it’s fun that the inside of the glove box has been signed by the late Jim Wangers, a marketing executive who helped shape Pontiac’s high-performance image in the sixties. This one seems like a desirable example, and while it’s not perfect, I’m thinking there are far more positives than negatives here. What are your thoughts on this 1973 Pontiac Grand Am?
Need some undercarriage photos. Why do we want to sell a vehicle and not have at least 20-25 pictures. Love the body style, big fan of the Can Am, 68-72 GTO. 400 or 455, only way to go with a Pontiac.
click on link for its post.. also, a real interested buyer would inquire, 20 pics are nice for your amusement, but as a seller, we dont sell to amuse the gallery.
ONE pic should suffice to entice the person who has been seeking such a car.
Is there a sister site called “Barn Finds Photography”?
Don’t get me wrong… I liked the looks of the a lot. But there is nothing European in the least about these cars. They scream American design, even from 100 feet.
Agree 100%.
Context is everything. In 1973, very few Americans drove anything from Europe other than a VW, or the very wealthy or eccentric type that owned a Porsche, MB, Jag or Volvo. Pontiac (and GM in general) was investing in suspension design (with variable assist power steering, front and rear sway bars, etc.) for handling and ride quality, which (save for the Corvair and Vega) were never a priority for American cars prior to the Colonnades.
Styling? Eh, I agree nothing particularly European about them, but in a market where so few of those cars actually existed, it seemed to be good marketing at the time.
The “colonnade cars were General Motor’s last generation of unrestrained American design. That’s true.
But the Grand Am car was designed when the GTO had been killed off by insurance regulations and American buyers were beginning to look at European cars with more interest,
It was one of GMs first models with radial tires, and the “Radial Tuned Suspension” was quite firm for an American sedan. The styled steel wheels eliminated chrome wheel covers, and badging was reduced , Those rear window louvers were lifted straight from the Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC
The monochromatic vinyl interior continued with less chrome and had real mahogany on the dashboard. No vinyl woodgrain. There was not a trace of Detroit’s usual “loose pillows” or “crushed velour.” on the bucket seats,. Ford had worried if Americans would accept bucket seats in a Detroit sporty car
So yes, I completely agree that the shapes and design of the car overall are distinctly American, but it was designed for a GTO buyer who might be looking now at something European, or maybe had just read about BMW’s ‘s in a car magazine, and you can see that in many styling details of the Grand Am
A friend of mine bought one in the fall of 1973 just in time to be whacked by the Arab Oil Embargo Gas prices tripled overnight. So if you’re wondering why the car didn’t sell that well, that’s why.
Love all the big motor Colonnade coupes.
@Stan
Hate colonnade. 🙄
Angel the ones I drove were real smooth, and were comfortable inside 😌 one was a Grand Prix, one Malibu.
My mom had a collonade pontiac Le Mans that a car thief liked too much.
I liked them.
From the Ebay ad ” It Has A Very Powerful 455 Engine, That Runs Nice & Smooth. It Needs A New Ignition”. Must not run that nice and smooth if it needs a new ignition. ;)
Never understood why people try to sell things without bothering to provide any details.
Does the sides of the hood look green to anyone else ?
pollen
Perhaps the need is an ignition switch. It could be still running nice and smooth when you get it started.
I know what would be included as a new ignition other than the switch itself.
Shaker hood is cool. Love these cars.
Grand Am, Can Am, Trans Am, Sam I Am…
Would love to find a ‘73 GTO 455…
Black beauty. I would bid if I were in the market currently for one. Lots of potential here. To bad these never ended up with the SD-455, but this is good enough for rock and roll. On the bucket list to own, but next project will be a ’65-’66 Corvair Corsa.
Back in about 1982 we had on the UC lot a 4dr black G body, may have been a LeMans, I can’t remember. It was somewhere around a 1973 4 5 or 6. Any way it was black, 4 dr with tan interior, bucket seats and a 4 speed. I really wanted to buy that car but my wife would not even try to drive a 4 speed car. I drove demos and we only had space of two cars and her car had to be automatic.
That would have been a keeper. Production numbers show only 87 4 Dr 4 speed made in 1973. And all with 400 4bl.
There were indeed 4 door Gram Am Sport Sedans with 4 speeds. Yet another take on a European design.
I bought one of these new in 1973 and then another in 1975 before they went away. Both cars were exceptional. Good power and handling for the day. I am pretty sure that hood scoop was not a factory option.
so, the car has a fuel leak. seems to me the seller is too lazy to fix it even though it’s a safety issue. just like most everybody else too lazy let somebody else do it. he will wish he did fix it when it burns. that L/S seat really slaps that interior down along with the missing horn button
Having been the suspension guy on the il-fated NASCAR Grand Am, I fave a fondness for these cars, especially black ones. There is a small thing that is genuinely in the direction of the European sedans. The Grand Am had higher front caster designed into the upper control arm mounts on the frame, which gave it a higher on-center steering feel than other Pontiacs. This was a decision John DeLorean made before he went to Chevrolet. He liked the stays-in-a-straight-line feel of the large Mercedes sedans. He did the same thing with the Monte Carlo after he became general manager of Chevrolet.
Having spent enough time on the German autobahns, they have much sturdier construction than US Interstates, with deep roadbeds that can survive winter and summer temp ranges without warping and cracking. Comparatively, they are billiard table smooth. On the autobahns the cars just go straight. while on American roads, high caster means you have to forcefully keep the car straight, which is one of two reasons Herb Adams likes low (~3 degrees) caster on cars of this era. These days, most high-performance cars, with more accurate power steering than the ’70s use high caster to provide negative camber on the outside tire without much camber gain, but better tire wear than high camber gain front geometry.
A customer at my Dad’s service station had one just like this EXCEPT it was a 4 speed. I fell in love. I’ve shared before, my Granddad was the line super at the Lakewood plant in Atlanta and could order anything he wanted every other year.
So as I was approaching graduation, he put in the order for a 76. Cavate was I had to make the “A” honor role. Would you believe an 89.7?…I didn’t get the car. BUT it was still built (too late to cancel) and went in the rotunda there in the main offices for a short while…till the plant manager gave it to his son for his 16th birthday….
COPO was for a triple black “GTO package” (on a 76) – 455 4spd, Grand Prix honeycomb wheels (honeycomb was also black), Trans Am rear spoiler, aluminum engine-turned dash inserts and at my Dad’s insistence, radio delete. I was told the car was the inspiration for the mid-year 76/77 “Can-Am”. That I can’t prove but I like to think it was true…
Please stop taking pictures in the shade. Almost impossible to determine shape of panels. Maybe edit your picture before posting
I don’t have the time or garage space to do it for real, but I muse about a new class of resto mods, in the spirit of Pro Touring, but I’d call it Pro GT. Take one of these cars and build a mostly analog car comparable to a big Mercedes coupe. I’d use the Mercury Marine crate engine based on the aluminum V8, which has dual cams, and with 7 liters, is rated at 750 HP, and weighs less than the GM crate supercharged V8.. Back it with a ZF 8 speed automatic – several make kits. One has a shifter that displays the gear in the shift knob. You can have the latest rev-matching, program your own modes. Use the front seats from a Cadillac CT5V. Add adaptive cruise control, and you can build a high-end daily driver without the Big Brother surveillance of today’s cars. Use suspension pieces from one of the Pro Touring suppliers with relatively soft springs, big anti-roll bars, and the progressive jounce bumpers (bump stops) like all the high-performance sedans, including Tesla, Cadillac, Audi, BMW, Mercedes etc. use. There is plenty of room for wide tires on today’s big diameter rims. At least one supplier makes a mimic of the Pontiac 8 lug wheels, bigger diameter, that can be used with big disc brakes. For the price of a BMW M5, or equivalent Mercedes, you have something that won’t depreciate as fast, can be serviced anywhere, It would be close enough in comfort and quiet enough you could drive it every day, and still wow people at every Cars & Coffee.
Whatever you are smoking Harry Q, i am pretty sure it is still illegal.
The Gentleman’s GTO! More refined, albeit just as lethal for 1973. The European attempt to lure buyers was a good idea had it been a few years earlier. The Luxury LeMans was a start, but not enough. I really liked the look of the grille with the three slots on each side (doubled to six on each side for 1974) as it really continued the tradition of the Endura bumpers on the GTO’s and Firebirds. I could picture this with a 455HO like my ’71 GTO had – with the aerodynamics being better, it would have flown!
There’s a YouTube video of a Jim Wanger’s presentation, decrying Pontiac’s messed up branding. As demonstrated by BMW, Toyota, Honda and others there’s nothing wrong with taking your brand up market as your customers get older and richer and add girth. He argues the Grand Am should have been the upmarket GTO.
GM was looking to find a more sophisticated buyer with the Grand Am and Cutlass Salon. Better suspension and radial tires the following year. More generous seats with recline. Maybe it was just bad timing. One thing is certain, the personal luxury car was here to stay.
Is he the one with the ridiculous toupee?
SOLD for $6650.
22 bids.