That Nose! 1973 Pontiac Grand Am

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When Pontiac introduced the Grand Am in 1973 as a “European-ish” sports coupe and sedan, reviews were mixed despite over 43,000 leaving showrooms. However, as time passes the memories grow fonder and a good Grand Am is now much desired. This nice-looking car needing a nose is listed for sale here on eBay, where bidding is up to $5,750 so far. The car is located in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Apart from the obviously damaged “Enduro” soft nose, almost all of which have disintegrated by now according to enthusiasts, the car looks to be in really nice cosmetic condition. The seller doesn’t specifically mention rust but includes their phone number to ask any questions. I’m a big fan of the lines of the car, especially from this rear 3/4 view, and those honeycomb wheels make any Pontiac stand out.

Because so many of the noses of these cars fell apart, a Pontiac enthusiast went into production of fiberglass replacements. They are reported to be of very high quality and are available here. By the time you have paid for the nose and shipping, it will be around $1,100 plus you’ll have to have the paint matched, so factor that into your purchase calculations.

In general, the original interior seems to be in pretty decent shape. The white with red is a great color combination, and if you do need to recover that driver’s seat there are kits available.

Although we don’t get to see the engine in the ad, the VIN decoder available here suggests that the car has the base model 2-barrel 400 cubic-inch V8 producing 170 horsepower and having a single exhaust — but the ad specifies that the car now has dual exhausts and sounds great! Of course, there are many other performance add-ons available for this engine if you choose to go that route. Personally, I’m fine with largely stock in this case, and the car is said to have plenty of power. What do you think of this Grand Am?

Comments

  1. Big_FunMember

    Just think; in 1973 this could have been parked next to the all new colonnade GTO on the showroom.
    I prefer the Grand Am, as it represents a turning point in buying tastes. Personal luxury with a hint of muscle, rather than detuned muscle living in the shadow of previous generation. Don’t get me wrong; I like the ’73 GTO, and it still was a performer. But the Grand Am is more comfortable in it’s all new role…

    Like 13
  2. Mitchell GildeaMember

    The ’73-’75 Grand Am is the best looking GM Colonnade change my mind

    Like 10
    • nlpnt

      Not as a coupe though, the louvered windows ruin it. IMO Colonnade coupes only look good with the full-area triangular quarter windows and resulting slim pillars. That being said, they made a 4-door Grand Am and the Colonnade sedan roofline is just amazingly audacious and like nothing else of its’ time.

      Like 1
  3. DayDreamBeliever DayDreamBeliever

    Hmmm…
    This guy again…
    #3d time at least one of his cars has made it to BF
    There have been some detractors, it seems.
    https://barnfinds.com/28k-original-miles-1969-chevrolet-camaro-convertible/
    https://barnfinds.com/original-4-speed-1974-pontiac-gto/

    Like 8
  4. Bakyrdhero Bakyrdhero

    That interior looks like a great place to be. Pontiac had the best GM interiors aside from Cadillac.

    Like 5
  5. John Polacek

    Had one that was factory 4 speed, wonder how uncommon that one was. Had full gauges, 400 4bbl with posi. Pulled the motor and put it in a 67 Tempest conv.

    Like 2
    • jerry z

      Want to talk about uncommon? How about a 400/4spd/4dr Grand Am! Yes saw one of these at a VW dealership back in 1974. It was all burgundy and tried searching for this car back in the early 80’s but never had any luck.

      Like 0
      • bone

        a teacher in our school had a silver 73 Laguna 4 door with a factory 454 . She drove it like an older woman generally would …slow

        Like 0
  6. Mr Pontiac Michigan Man

    This needs to see a plastic surgeon to get a nose job soon.

    The interior looks inviting. My Camaro was so tight with buckets and 4 speed it made parking difficult with the steady girlfriend in HS. This beast might of gotten me married earlier in life with extra room in the back seat . Its more convenient than waiting for parents out for the night or Bob Segar “night moves” song or mantra locations 😂

    I will say this car for its time looked great and mot a cookie cutout.

    Like 2
  7. JoeNYWF64

    Replacement nose – not cheap …
    http://www.motorealm.com/Facias.html

    Like 0
  8. Patrick Curran

    Enduro should be Endura. I remember the ad when John DeLorean was wacking the nose of a GTO with a sledgehammer showing no apparent damage. Great ad at the time but the fit and finish where it met the body was always sub par.

    Like 1
  9. Rosco

    Good looking car, and current price is still reasonable. Seller needs more photos of the bottoms of doors, rear quarters, and underneath before I would have any real interest. Maybe hiding something? Maybe not.

    Like 1
  10. Steve Clinton

    “so many of the noses of these cars fell apart”

    ‘Fell apart’? It looks like it exploded!

    Like 3
  11. Patrick Curran

    A little trivia here. The 1973 Grand Am was the first US car to have the high beam switch re-located from the floor to the steering column. The automotive press back in the day criticized the move. Thank you Pontiac!

    Like 6
  12. 455RAIV

    I Like those 73 – 75 Grand Am’s > SD-455 was supposed to be a option on the 73 Grand Am and 73 GTO but was only certified for Emissions on the 73 – 74 Trans Am and Formula – to bad

    Like 1
  13. Marshall King

    Was the hood added onto this one? I thought the NACA ducts were only available on the GTO. Were they an option on any Grand Am?

    Like 0
  14. PairsNPaint PairsNPaintMember

    I had a ’73 GA, metallic red with the red interior. Very nice smooth ride and lots of power from the 4 bbl 400. I think the NACA ducts on this one were added – I believe they came on the Can Am variant.

    Best part of owning it was that my crazy boss would not ride in it – he hated red cars. He was also so scared of the number 13 that if he was filling his tank and the pump shut off at 13.xx gallons, he’d purposely pump gas onto the ground to round up to 14.

    Like 1
    • Jcs

      The Can Am had the shaker hood scoop from the T/A.

      Like 0
  15. Jasper

    The NACA ducts could be had on the Grand Am too.

    I had the twin to this minus a few options. Also had a Lemans Sport Coupe in much nicer shape. Made the mistake and sold the GA. The LeMans was a real dog and had such a generic interior, even with buckets and console.

    RIP Pontiac!

    Like 2
  16. matt

    This was a great looking model that Pontiac made !!

    matt

    Like 0
  17. DayDreamBeliever DayDreamBeliever

    Theoretically sold for $7800. We shall see if it comes back shortly. I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would bid without having at least ONE clear straight-on photo of the front end of the car.

    The seller never states whether the front just fell apart, or was wrecked just enough to blow up the plastic. No way to tell what might be missing or damaged, beyond just the fascia.

    Like 1
  18. footlbs

    I had a 73 6.6L four barrel, turbo 400, posi, white with the red interior, sport tuned suspension, wood grain veneer dash, I loved that car. Shifting into second floored it would lay 30 feet of Black marks

    Like 0

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