GM’s economy car lineup has historically been one of the less-than-stellar product lines it has offered, despite the fact that the cheaper rides offered by the company’s divisions are often what brought customers in the door. The Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunbird were familiar sights on local roadways in the 80s and 90s, and these “J-body” econoboxes continued to appear in high school parking lots well into the 90s. However, you don’t see them much anymore, which is what makes this 1988 Pontiac Sunbird Wagon listed here on Facebook Marketplace so intriguing. The seller is asking just $2,000.
The Sunbird was one of those cars that looked intriguing, especially with those intimidating pop-up headlights, but you would quickly understand its purpose as an economy car after a few minutes in the cockpit. This was a cheap ride, from the era in which GM didn’t have much concern about build quality or the caliber of the interior materials. The Cavalier and Sunbird were fairly popular in their segment, going head-to-head with the popular Ford Escort and the flailing Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance twins.
Now, this Sunbird has done an admiral job of surviving, given so many of these cars were unloved by the time they found a second owner. The interior is in spectacular condition, with near-perfect cloth seating surfaces, and equally-nice door panels and dash pad. The exterior has been updated with a set of aftermarket wheels that looks way too big for this econobox, but I will admit, that upgraded wheel and tire package has made this Sunbird much more interesting to look at (and likely quite a bit slower, considering it’s equipped with an optional automatic transmission, and bigger rolling stock almost always reduces some ground speed)
I can’t recall ever seeing this badge before, and “Sunfire Safari” would surely stand out in one’s memory bank. The clean condition on the outside seemingly affirms long-term residence in Nevada or nearby areas. Since this isn’t the optional turbocharged model (and how cool would that be?!), it likely has the 96 horsepower base engine. The turbocharged four-cylinder was known for generating a prodigious amount of torque steer, channeling a frenzied 165 b.h.p. through the front wheels, so perhaps this NA version will be more enjoyable to drive – once the seller finds the title he has supposedly misplaced. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find.
I’m really curious if reader Mitchell G. forwards every single BarnFinds post off to Daily Turismo?
Yes please tell us how to put a LS in it !
I really have no recollection of these whatsoever.
Gold Nugget Nevada edition ✨️💰
looks like passenger side rear door has different paint than the rest of the car…and maybe a door ding….or my eyes are getting even worse than before
Yeah, that door is a different shade, but it is 37 years old and 2K, so I guess we can forgive it for that.
This same car was for sale in the Palm Springs area about 4 years ago, but it had stock wheels and the windows were not tinted.
Note to seller: remove tow strap from underneath before posting sale pics!!!
Tow strap? Pretty sure that’s a passenger safety handle to grab onto when I’m sliding corners, I’ll probably install it inside and use it for that reason.
I messaged the seller spoke to the wife asked her to post pics of the motor.She said when he comes home from work she will.So lets see! Underneath would also be nice but I did’nt say that!
What 4 cylinder turbo would you be referring to? It’s either a 1.9 OHC Pontiac, a 2.0 OHV Chevrolet or a 2.8 Chevrolet V6, none of these had a turbo.
My sister bought a Sunbird coupe back in 88. It had the quad 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual. Really a nice car that I enjoyed driving.
Pontiac (and Buick, if I’m not mistaken) offered a turbocharged version of the Opel-based, GM of Brazil-built 2.0 liter OHC engine, as described in this article. The torque steer was also as described above, but if you could keep the car pointed in your intended direction, the turbo engine made for a pretty quick J-body.
There never was a 1.9 liter version of the OHC engine offered in the J-bodies; the early OHC engines were 1.8, later increased to 2.0 liters.
car is sold
One of my customers had a,Cavalier. She had a messenger service and ran the highways to many of the smaller towns in Nevada out of Reno. It was pur job to keep her rolling. Which was actually very easy as usually all we had to do was change the oil, rotate the tires and change the spark plugs every 100,000 miles. Which we did 4 times and then again at 500,000 miles when she brought us a 500,000 miles cake to celebrate! That was approximately 12 years ago. I ran into her at a doctors office last year and she still has and drives it occasionally. The only repair other than regular maintenance that I remember was an alternator, a couple of batteries and 1 transmission service. These generally are great cars.
For the money it’s a nice little commuter without all the computer junk on today’s cars and you don’t need to worry about door dings in the parking lot should last another 100k miles and that’s more than today’s GM cars can go without a tow truck
I know it’s sold, but, a lot us have said on here that you don’t see wagons and 4-doors. ( I saw a real nice ’73 Plymouth 8 passenger wagon at the Buick show Sunday.)
So, this could possibly get a few looks at car show if only for that purpose.
I think it’s a real decent ride and the price is certainly right for a rust-free car with under 2,200 miles/ year.
I bought the car. I intend to fix all the little issues (paint) and show it for a few years. Then my son wants it for his first car.
Hey you think you could give us feedback on what needed fixing and if the seller was honest.How does the engine look?
Hi Perry, I saw the car for sale posted on Facebook Marketplace the other day, then I looked at the seller’s profile where they had another listing of the car posted marked as ‘sold’, so I’m wondering what happened because I bought the car yesterday, and the seller said he had it for six months.
Had an ’84 Cavalier wagon, 2.0 OHV, 5-speed. Put over 190,000 miles on it, sold it, saw it occasionally up till about 10 years ago. 33+ mpg, would pull a 2,000 lb boat, and easily topped 130 mph (thank you Audrain County MO Sheriff!). Awesome little car.