Occasionally, we see cars for sale that seem to check all the right boxes: properly maintained, attentive owners, fair price, and rare enough that it will be hard to find another one anytime soon. Despite all these shining credentials, however, they remain available, not attracting a buyer. This 1989 Pontiac Sunbird LE is a rare turbocharged version of the company’s entry-level coupe, and it appears to belong to an older couple that has used it as a summer driver or perhaps kept it parked near their favorite campground. It’s listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $4,750.
While the Sunbird is not anyone’s idea of a performance car or even a particularly pleasant commuter car, it did serve admirably in its role as being one of GM’s long-serving entry level models. The Sunbird and the Cavalier, no matter how much you may despise their existence, were sterling in their duties of being beaters for high school kids everywhere and getting commuters to the train station in the depths of winter. That’s why finding one in seemingly clean condition is an achievement all by itself, but especially when equipped with the rare turbocharged engine, and in convertible form. The paint appears to be quite clean and the factory badges remain in place on the trunk lid.
Pontiac actually began offering the Sunbird in turbocharged form beginning in the mid-1980s, cranking out an impressive 150 horsepower in an era sorely lacking in performance car inventory. Of course, it was all channeled through the front wheels, so torque steer was on the menu every time you punched the accelerator. The Sunbird shown here benefits from being born a few years later, when Pontiac bored out the 1.8 to a proper 2.0L displacement, which also increased power to 165. According to the Autopian.com, the Sunbird GT appeared in convertible form in very limited quantities, with estimates of total production around 1,270 cars.
The seller seems transparent about their Sunbird, and notes that the turbocharger has been rebuilt. The top is described as being in excellent condition, and based on this photo, I see no reason to dispute that claim. We don’t get much of a glimpse into the interior but what we can see shows no significant damage to the seats front and rear. Given the strong cosmetics, the mention of the Sunbird being garage-kept seems to check out. The seller states that the Sunbird is for sale due to “….getting older and just not using it anymore,” so my gut tells me you’ll find a Sunbird in their driveway that is one of the few not mercilessly beat into the ground by an uncaring adolescent.
Wow!!! I forgot all about these. A very good friend had a mid 80’s Buick Skyhawk with the 1.8 and 5 speed. And it actually did ok for the time. But for 1990 to get 150 ponies from a 2.0 litre was pretty good, especially with a FWD car. This one looks like a nice find. And will be fun once we warm back up in the spring.
I would love to find one of these J body turbos that’s not a convertible. But
it seems those are the only ones that were preserved. These were very quick cars when new , but they had head gasket problems.
My memory of these is pretty vague, I recall thinking they looked quite nice, but the convertibles twisted like licorice if you tried to corner hard. If my memory isn’t betraying me, I think these turbos had a tendency to calve, if you didn’t let them first spin down after parking the car. No gravity-fed oil reserve after shutdown, is what I remember, but I may be mixing that up with another turbocharged engine of the day…
The J body and N bodies shared quite a bit of underpinnings. The Quad-4 probably could have been offered in these instead of or in addition to the turbo engine. I guess GM thought that would cannibalize sales from the pricier N-bodies.
A college buddy got an earlier one of these right out of school. At his age, it was hard to find car insurance on such a “performance” car. I think he got it but it was like $900 in ’86 dollars. He eventually traded it in for an Accord, which didn’t go over too well at the GM plant where he worked.
Had a pal threatening to put a typhoon drive train on a sunbird like this. It made me think that would be nice, but not sure possible.
I dated a girl who had one of these and let me drive it. The 1.8 ohc turbo had the manners of a feral male chihuahua when the turbo came on boost. Damn near turned into an arm wrestling competition and wanted to jump off the road. Yikes!!!
What a great find! Honestly, if it was near me, I’d be all over it just on principle alone.
It IS near me…and I have a good friend in Oxford…
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I loved these when they came out. I should hate the partially-hidden headlights and Cavalier provenance but I just can’t. Pretty.
I keep hearing people complaining about front wheel drive torque steer. Once you have experienced it in a particular vehicle there should be always the expectation. I have had several front wheel drive cars that have been “souped up” You just have to have a firm grip on the steering wheel when you “dump the clutch”! I actually enjoy being completely “in one” with the car. I had a hot rod Honda Civic (13 to 1 compression) that had so much torque that I could drive for miles using the torque to steer. (On and off the throttle would change the direction) (And you thought that hands free driving was a new thing with electric and high end cars with cameras and sensors!) LOL!
165HP from 2.0 liters was impressive in its day, but beware of blown head gaskets and cracked exhaust manifolds.
These were fun little cars. When I was fresh out of college, working for a defense contractor, one of my first solo trouble calls was to Hawaii. Based on the description of what was going on, they sent me out with the necessary kit to repair the artillery simulator. Well, their description was wrong so I had to call back to Orlando and have the correct parts sent so I “had” to spend extra days in Hawaii which I used to look up an old army buddy and gave me the grand tour. Man that was fun.
Anyway, when I arrived at the airport they didn’t have the car I had reserved so they asked, “We’re very sorry Mr. Elmo but we don’t have your car ready. Would a convertible at no extra charge be acceptable?”
Well, let me think about this….HELL YEAH!
It turns out it was a Sunbird. Not a turbo, but still fun.
Similar story: I spent a week on business in Monterey, CA for a conference back in about ’90. I had reserved a Sunbird convertible, but when I got there all they had were Miatas…darn! :-).. Had a blast driving up and down Hwy 1 that week.
Reserved a rental Chevy Aveo in 2008. Got there and they had nothing fuel efficient. Got to choose the upgrade from among a minivan, a BMW 1 series or a brand spanking new Pontiac G8 GT.
That G8 was amazing!
I had a Sunbird convertible just like this one and it was one of my favorite cars. Here is a story I wrote about it https://dennishouse.tv/2013/12/02/my-wheels-in-big-wheels/
neat car but those motors are junk from the word go. if had a 2.8 or 3.1 in it that would be a score
If the auto trans doesn’t suck all of the fun out of the turbo, then this is a good deal for credit card money.