For the 1971 model year, the brass at Pontiac may have decided the Bonneville name was no longer prestigious enough so it was superseded by the Grand Ville. This one is a 1972 model, and is located in Winfield, Missouri. It’s listed for sale here on craigslist in Winfield, Missouri.
The asking price is $3,800 obo. The owner says it has 66,000 original miles and that it runs and drives. It has the 455 engine, which should still be the regular Pontiac, rather than the big-block Oldsmobile used in many GM cars a few years after this. It’s also equipped with air conditioning, power windows, power top, tilt steering column, and factory installed ‘rally’ wheels.
The interior is cream-colored off-white, or ‘parchment’ and what’s shown looks to be in great shape, although photos of the dash pad and driver’s seat are conspicuously absent.
It has a glass rear window, which is a good thing. The seller says the power top works, but the canvas needs to be replaced. He also says one of the power windows doesn’t work, but on this car that’s generally an easy fix.
The white on red Missouri plates reveal that this car has not been licensed in over a decade, which jibes with the low mileage claimed. It has rust over one wheel well and on the rear near one tail light, as described by the seller.
This is a great entry level special interest vehicle, easily made usable, but still with some needs. I’m of the opinion that the dark brown root beer color, on this particular car, is perfect. It looks great with the factory wheels, the narrow white wall tires, the top, and interior color. It’s been listed for sale for awhile, but the price seems reasonable. Why is this great, big, comfortable highway cruiser still available?
Not a bad price for this car, however by the time one gets the known issues repaired or replaced one will be upside down in this car. We routinely encounter the owner of a 76 Granville convertible at the Pontiac shows. His car is pristine and looks like it could have rolled off of the show room floor yesterday. He says that it is a fun car to drive, gets a lot of attention, and is totally forgettable.
There is something in the back of my mind that speaks of Canada with Pontiac using the Granville name.. Not sure. Maybe some of you guys can connect the dots for more info..
Perhaps they were just made there, or the name was derived from some province up there..
What do you guys think?
The Grand Ville is definitely a Pontiac name. IIRC 1971 was the 1st year.
The Grand Prix was doing well, I’ll assume it was a marketing thing as the Grand Am arrived in 1973
I need to make some space or get a bigger garage, this convertible would be perfect for me! Love these old Pontiacs.
3800 bucks for that car is a great buy for someone.
These are fantastic cars, and this is a great deal if it really runs and drives. I have an almost identical car, and it’s my go-to ride for any kind of distance trip (it’ll do a stable 100 mph all day long, and has topped out at 120). These cars are bulletproof, have fantastic ride and handling qualities and while are absolutly huge (make no mistake, the biggest common cars ever) they drive like a much smaller car. The 71 GM B body line was the first to receive the “best of” corporate body, brake and suspension engineering and were awesome cars for it (although the philosophy taken too far almost took down GM)
The scissor top is a nightmare, put it down and leave it down (or email me to figure out what to do, I been through it…). The quarter glasses are notorious for losing a bottom roller, which is commonly available. Check the frame where the lower rear control arms locate, if there’s rot it’s an easy fix. The bodies dont generally rust too bad. The 455’s all need a timing chain but it’s super easy, and it’ll have a 3.08 gear which really gets these cars to jump when compared to other lines 2.78’s, etc…
what else you gonna do with 3500.00?
Rhett, thanks for mentioning the scissor-top mechanism. Last year I sold my ’73 Eldorado convertible, which has this identical setup. Mine worked ok, but seeing it in action I always thought it was pretty precarious looking, far less sturdy than my Cutlass convertible and others I’ve owned with conventional folding top mechanisms.
But it wouldn’t prevent me from buying this one if I were in the market.
Agreed Rhett, I had a 1973 Delta 88 with the 350 and even in it’s poor condition with lots of rust (I think it had sat in tall grass for years) it was a great driving and reliable car. If this has no rust, it’s a steal for something you can drive every day, or just pull out in summers for years to come. The scissor top is pretty awkward as you guys have noted. Mine had a glass window with a working factory defroster, even the switch lit up, which was a fantastic feature and I have never seen another on a B-body convertible, I always check when I see one.
This car looks great even in brown. Too bad it’s got that mottled beige-y interior, the white seats and panels on mine were striking. Suppose that’s an easy fix too if you want to bother.
Seems like a fair buy..appears to be in decent shape. Great road car but not worth a lotta $$.
FYI: 455 OLDS motors were never used in anything but OLDS vehicles as I recall.
As I recall, it was the 350 engine that was in question. The Olds 350 had better emissions and was used mostly in California cars. The rest of the national production got 350’s from Chevy or others.
Yup, I remember when the first Oldsmobiles started landing in the dealers’ showrooms(78?) with Chevy motors..Olds fans were going nutz!! Then they put 403 Olds in place of 400 Pontiacs in Firebirds…all the Poncho guys went crazy…I installed lots of nitrous kits on em ’cause the guys thought they were slugs…
Just remembered what was nagging me.. The other Pontiac full size model was called the “Parisienne” and was first produced in Canada.. Nice car, which we all felt was nothing more than the Bonneville in sheeps’ clothing..
Pontiac made all 400 Pontiac blocks ( used later) during the 1977 model year and when they ran out in 1978 or 1979 they substituted the Oldsmobile 403 to get through production without having to tool up for making more 400 Pontiacs. The Pontiac 455 was always a Pontiac engine and Oldsmobile and Buick 455 were different from each other also. I could be wrong, but this is how I remember them being.
Gary, I believe that you are mistaken about Oldsmobile making the 400 Pontiac engine. The 400 Pontiac was an evolution of the 389 Pontiac which evolved from the 350/326 Pontiac engines. It was a true Pontiac engine. Pontiac 400’s and 455’s share some parts as do all Pontiac engines. The Pontiac 455 evolved from the 428 which evolved from the 421 which was similar on a lot of ways to a 389. The 403 is an Oldsmobile engine and was used in the Trans AM with automatic transmissions. The 400 Pontiac was offered with a four speed manual. Pontiac, Olds, and Buick 455’s were all different engine families.
gc: I believe you are correct. The various GM divisions all operated with a degree of autonomy. Every auto division built it’s own engines into the 1980’s. Engine sharing started because of extra pollution controls imposed in California. Since that time GM phased in a system of common engines shared by the entire corporation. This is similar to the way Ford and Chrysler have operated for decades.
I had one of these a couple summers back. Great cruiser, but even with the 455, acceleration is leisurely. And yes, the scissor-top mechanism is crazy complicated. Two parts of the frame came unattached and it was going to have to go to a specialist to have fixed. That’s when I decided I had one car too many!
The Canadian Pontiacs were actually built on the Chevy chassis and had all Chevy running gear – The Parisienne was top of the line – similar to the Caprice. They copied the USA styling but reduced it to the size of the Chevy
Loved the kickback long road trips with my Grandville. Open you wallet for gas.
Is it his 1972 pontiac grandville available?