The venerable Grand Prix name has graced many fine cars from deceased brand Pontiac – there have also been a few clunkers too. But of the GP versions, the ’69-’70 are hands down, my favorite. And finding one poolside is a little unusual, except that it is located in Miami Gardens, Florida, so maybe it’s not that odd. This 1970 Grand Prix Model J is available, here on craigslist for $3,500.

The ’70 Grand Prix was built on a G-Body platform which is really a stretched A-Body chassis, the one that underpinned the ’70 GTO. How stretched? The Goat rode on a 112″ wheelbase, vs. the GP’s 118″ reach but the suspension is basically the same. While the all-new ’69 Grand Prix was a sales smash with 112K units finding new homes, the essentially identical 1970 version cooled its heels a bit with only 65K copies rolling off of Pontiac’s assembly lines – nevertheless, 65K is still a stout number.

The seller claims that this Grand Prix spent years in a Georgia field and it has needs such as, “restoration, trunk, rear sail, and passenger side floor patch welding“. The steel body panels are pretty straight but rust, surface and otherwise, is rather obvious. And, back to the A/G-Body frame, they are susceptible to rot so it would not be a surprise to find a problem there as well. One item to note is the roof, this GP appears to have not had a vinyl roof covering which was typical for this generation, and that omitted option may well have saved the roof panel’s integrity. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the dutchman panel ahead of the trunk lid as it is pretty well corroded. The seller notes that he spent more on the Pontiac Rally II wheels and tires than he’s asking for the car – seems like an overly expensive addition and an odd place to start on a refurbishment.

Under that enormous hood is Poncho power in the form of a 350 HP, 400 CI V8 engine, attached to a Turbo-Hydramatic 400, three-speed automatic transmission. The owner claims, “Car runs very strong“. The mileage is listed as 39K miles and the seller adds, “The odometer reads a little over 39,000. I don’t know if that’s true because the carfax does not go back that far. I do have a VIN audit, but it does not have mileage. I tend to believe the mileage based on the gas pedal, brake pedal, the way doors open and close, the way windows go up and down…” I obviously can’t review this Pontiac in person but 39K original miles seems highly unlikely.

The fantastic Grand Prix interior is pretty well grand trashed. The seats are shot and the missing carpet does reveal the poor condition of the floors. The door cards, however, have fared a bit better but there is an image of a proposed patch panel for the passenger’s footwell that looks haphazard. Unfortunately, there are no included images of the instrument panel.

The seller suggests that this GP may be worth twice his asking price in parts. Maybe, maybe not, the prevailing question is probably more along the lines of what it will take to return this GP to its former glory. This is not a GTO and won’t command a GTO price, but it is the next best thing from Pontiac in my mind. It deserves to be saved but the next owner will have their work cut out for themselves – let’s hope that it lives on, right?