Oldsmobile brochures touted the 1976 Oldsmobile Starfire SX as being a “Sport Coupe” and “Supercoupe” and this V6 five-speed example looks like a nice project car. The seller wasn’t sure if this was an SX or GT, but a quick check of the VIN confirms it as being an SX model. The spoiler on the back was throwing me off, and probably throwing them off.
We saw a later single headlight (on each side) GM H-body the other day that was a gem. This ’76 Starfire will take some work, but it appears to be solid and is more sporty looking with the rear spoiler and some graphics on the top of the hood, roof, and hatchback lid. Oldsmobile offered their version of the H-body Chevy Monza as did Pontiac and Buick. This was it for body styles, just one, a two-door hatchback.
There aren’t many Starfires with a rear spoiler from 1976, most of the ones I’ve seen or see online seem to be from the later Starfire Firenza but even the sporty GT model isn’t shown with a rear spoiler most of the time in 1976 brochures or photos. This spoiler needs some work as you can see, but it adds some visual zing, in my opinion. Olds offered the second-generation Starfire from 1974 for the 1975 model year until the end of 1980.
The seller provided a lot of photos but some of them were a little blurry, including the main photo showing the driver’s view. Seeing that five-speed manual there is all I need to see, dirty and faded interior, cracked dash, or any other issues inside. If there is no structural or heavy rust under this car – and they provide an underside photo – changing the carpet and reupholstering any seating material shouldn’t be a big issue. The back seat looks good, but the dash and door panels are rough, though, and finding perfect replacements in a junkyard may be impossible. Having the dash redone by JustDashes would most likely be well over a grand, so expect to be spending some cash here, but you already knew that.
This Buick-sourced 3.8-liter OHV V6 was the biggest engine in 1976, although a V8 would be available the following year. This one would have had 105 horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque when new. Combined with the five-speed sending power to the rear wheels, this would very likely be a fun car to drive, despite having just 105 hp. The seller said it ran great five years ago but now only runs when you pour gas in the carburetor, but then it cuts out. I’m sure most Barn Finds readers could get it going again. They have it listed here on eBay in Stevensville, Montana with a $2,475 buy-it-now price, or you can make an offer. Can this one be saved?
Lets see here…. flat tires, AC belt gone, interior junk, no carb filter top. The only good part is the car runs…on a gas can… for a few seconds. What’s not to like? I’ll give that this line of GM cars were fun to drive as my Dad had a Chevy
Z- 24 that was a hoot. Don’t know about this one.
We know a small block Chevrolet engine would fit, and and an LS would have a weight advantage. Less money, in some cases, than hot rodding the Buick V6. Or maybe just parts for your Monza Spyder.
Looking at the interior, focusing on the driver’s view, I heard the voice of actor Sam Elliott saying “Don’t eat the big blue dash”…
LOL! BTW FYI:
“This place has a sign hangin’ over the urinal that says, ‘Don’t eat the big white mint’.”
– Wade Garrett(Sam Elliott)
I agree re: the LS transplant, though I think I’d want to start with a better example of the H platform, whether it be Starfire, Monza, Sunbird, or Skyhawk.
Oh Starfire, you were once so proud, look what they reduced you to. Actually, the V6 was a much better choice than the V8, The fact, for the 1st time, GM lumped the Starfire, in with the Monza, Sunbird and Skyhawk, was an indication of things to come. These were okay cars, the fact one is here at all should speak volumes.
I know would take a decent amount of cash. But all redone, it would be a pretty cool car. I always thought they looked cool and because it is different it’d turn a lot of heads today.
It might make a cool project, but with the softening market, unless it’s your dream car, is it worth the cost and bother? The prices for cars without a strong following are dropping rapidly, go look at some of the more mundane cars recently featured on this site, focusing on the results of those that were auctioned on eBay. There are a lot of good cars coming into the market, people are feeling pinched and it’s shaking the tree, a lot of what’s falling are the cars people might like, but not love, future projects and cars that need work to be made reliable, they suddenly don’t make economic sense to sink a large sum of money into, like this car.
The market for cars that don’t have a strong following is starting to focus on price. The specific year, make or model won’t matter as much, condition will. There are a lot of pretty nice, but not exciting cars in the $5,000 to $10,000 range that don’t need anything but a new owner. That part of the “collector” car market will revert to the old days when you’d look at a car, factor in the cost to fix it up and walk if you thought your money would go farther waiting for something else to come along.
Steve R
Agree
Keep in mind that the 76 model had the odd-fire V6.
Owner claims to have had it for 5 – 6 years, but it looks like they pulled it out of a junkyard at the time. And letting it sit for even longer has down nothing to it but make it a candidate for a return to the junkyard.
📞 1-800-the-hook 🛻🪝
Thought these along with the brother and sister models were good looking cars when they came out.
I had a 1976 Buick Skyhawk with the V6, back in the mid 1980’s. It was black with a 5 speed. The clutch kept going out of adjustment. The cable went thru the firewall and the metal surrounding it became fatigued and was getting sucked into the driver’s compartment. I had a plate welded in place, and that was that. I never had another problem with that car. I drove in from New Jersey to Miami, Florida without a hitch. What a peppy, fun car.
In ’76 cars started being equipped with catalytic converters which means this car at least in California and other states has a whole slew of emission requirements that it must adhere to. Unless you’re planning on restoring it which I would not, it my be best to stick with ’75 and older. Now, if it was a 75 I would be street rodding it. How much fun would it be with a nice suspension, a small block or LS and it’s already set up for a stick. What a fun car it could be!
Auction update: someone made the seller an offer they couldn’t refuse, it’s gone.