A couple of weeks ago a colleague asked for assistance identifying the specific issue of High Performance Pontiac magazine in which a certain story ran. As I thumbed through my collection sorted by cover date searching for it, I was taken aback by a black ’73 Grand Prix inset on the cover of the August 2012 issue. I took a moment to admire its classy appearance and sculpted hood. Out of admiration I pulled the issue and read the feature article, which was beautifully photographed and written by then-HPP-editor Tom DeMauro.
While thumbing through my collection of High Performance Pontiac magazine, the inset photo of a ‘73 Grand Prix on the cover of the August 2012 issue of stopped me in my tracks.
If you’ve read my blog posts before, you know of my affinity toward Pontiac’s ’73-77 Grand Prix. In fact, my first car was a ’75 Grand Prix in which I wrote this previous blog. Although I really liked that car, my heart was set on a second-generation Firebird. We sold the GP to purchase my ’76 Trans Am, which I still own to this day. Now that I’m older and presently own a few Firebirds, owning a ’73-77 Grand Prix is a thought that runs through my mind quite regularly.
I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘73-77 Grand Prixs. I came across this photo (of unknown origin) and purchased simply because its subject matter.
For me it’ll have to be the right Grand Prix. That doesn’t suggest that there aren’t countless ’73-77 models out there that I’d be happy to own and drive, but I’d want it equipped with specific options such as the SJ package and the L75 455 ci 4-barrel V8 (which effectively eliminates the ’77 model year), and bucket seats and center console. And while I am open to color combination, it must be something tasteful that properly accents the Grand Prix’s timeless style.
This ‘73 Grand Prix was the centerfold feature in the August 2012 issue of High Performance Pontiac. It may be one of the most underappreciated models Pontiac ever produced in its heyday.
When I close my eyes and envision my future Grand Prix, it always seems to be a ’73. While I have no aversion toward ‘74-76 models, the ’73 Grand Prix simply appeals to me most. In my eyes, Pontiac did everything right with it. I’m drawn toward the one-year-only headlight bezels along with the thin front and rear bumpers, which are accented by body-colored polymeric (plastic) valance panels that give the ’73 a well-finished appearance at both ends. I truly feel that car was well executed by Bill Porter and his team in Pontiac Studio in every respect.
Bill Porter and his team in Pontiac Studio perfected the Grand Prix shape for ‘73 as depicted in this Pontiac press photo. And Florentine Red with a gold accent stripe exudes class! (Photo Courtesy GM Media Archives)
There’s also another reason that I prefer the ’73 Grand Prix to other model years. When I was born in December 1976, my dad had his Firethorn Red ’76 Trans Am but our family car, which my mom drove most often was a ’73 Grand Prix SJ. It was Golden Olive with Saddle interior and unlike most Grand Prix’s of that era, it wasn’t equipped with a vinyl top—which gave it a very clean and uninterrupted appearance—or front and rear bumper guards.
When I was born in December 1976, my parents owned and regularly drove this Golden Olive ‘73 Grand Prix. Here I am in February 1977 with my aunt and cousin as we prepare to leave for my baptism.
I’d spent several years of my childhood riding in that car, and though my dad and I discussed it often over the years, I’d come to learn the details of its purchase in piecemeal. After seeing the ’73 Grand Prix in Tom’s feature article, I kept thinking about our Golden Olive Grand Prix SJ and how lucky I was to have it as part of my young life. I dug out some old photographs and began recalling my memories of it. I then set down with my dad and asked him to explain its entire history.
Here is another ‘73 Grand Prix that Tom DeMauro had beautifully photographed and featured during his tenure as editor at High Performance Pontiac. To me, it doesn’t much better than this! (Photo Courtesy Tom DeMauro)
“When the ’73 Grand Prix came out, I thought it looked great,” my dad said. “I really liked the ’71-72 Grand Prix and thought that Pontiac’s designers successfully updated its look for ’73 without getting too far from the original theme. The first ’73 Grand Prix I saw was in the showroom at McKenzie Pontiac in Omaha, but one of the first I had a chance to see up close on the street was Florentine Red with matching interior and a gold pinstripe. It was very impressive!”
At a time when he was purchasing new cars each model year, my father considered ordering a ’73 Grand Prix. “I really wanted one,” he said, “but the Grand Prix cost quite a bit more than the Buick Regal and Olds Cutlass Supreme I was also considering. I ended up ordering a ’73 Buick Regal and I really liked that car, but I still wanted a Grand Prix. I had Sam Marasco (sales manager at Omaha’s Stan Olsen Pontiac) price out a ’74 Grand Prix. He quoted me a great price, but I was getting married to your mother in August of that year and thought I’d better stay away from any large purchases until after we were married and things settled down.”
My dad went so far as to price out a ‘74 Grand Prix at Omaha’s Stan Olsen Pontiac and he kept the brochure and handwritten quote all these years. $4,600 was a great deal for such an elegant car.
My mom had been driving a ’66 Olds Cutlass and by fall 1976, with me on the way, my dad wanted to replace it. “My first thought was a ’73 Grand Prix. I figured that a ‘74 Grand Prix would be more expensive because it was a model year newer, and felt that the ’73’s bumpers looked cleaner than the larger bumpers on the ’74.” My dad asked Frank Nebbia (a local auto wholesaler and close friend of my grandfather) to keep an eye out for a clean ’73 Grand Prix on the market.
“One day in late fall or early winter 1976, Frank called and said he’d found one at a used-car dealership in Minden, Iowa,” my dad said. “It was bought new by a salesman and used for highway travel. It was an SJ with 62,000 miles and was very clean. Frank told me the dealer said the exterior color was light green and if it didn’t sell in a couple of weeks, he’d wholesale it to Frank. I really didn’t want to miss the chance to buy it if it really was that nice, so after a few days I had Frank call him to see how much he’d wanted to buy it outright. He told Frank $2,800.”
My dad learned of this ‘73 Grand Prix SJ from a local auto wholesaler. He purchased it in late-1976.
My dad and my grandpa made the 90-minute drive to Minden in my dad’s ’76 Trans Am. Upon their arrival they found a very clean Grand Prix SJ in the one-year-only shade of Golden Olive. “I was a little disappointed in the color at first,” my dad admitted. “I’d assumed that it was light metallic green (code-44 Slate Green), but the color didn’t stop me. I loved the lines of the ’73 Grand Prix and this one was very clean inside and out. Its performance is what really sold me though. On the test drive, I took it out onto the highway and it pulled very hard in low-gear under full throttle. When the Turbo-400 hit second, the tires screamed and the rear end kicked out to the right. That was enough for me. I had to have it!”
The deal was made and my dad was now the proud owner of ’73 Grand Prix. He drove his ’76 Trans Am back to Omaha as my grandfather followed in the GP. “We were on I-29 and raced each other three times. The 455-ci in the Grand Prix simply pulled away from 400-ci in my Trans Am no matter what speed or gear we started from. I was disappointed that my new performance car got beat by a personal luxury car. I blamed it on the 2.41 gears in my Trans Am, but I think it was more than that. The Grand Prix just ran that well.”
There’s no mistaking the classic lines of Pontiac’s ‘73-77 Grand Prix. Golden Olive wasn’t overly popular during the ‘73 model year, but it produced a very unique Grand Prix and ours looked quite clean without a vinyl top.
In addition to the SJ package, which included the 455-ci 4-barrel, Unitized ignition, GR70-15 tires with Radial Tuned Suspension, full wheel covers, dual sport mirrors, and accent striping, our ’73 Grand Prix was equipped with manual air conditioning, power windows, AM radio, and limited slip differential with the 3.08:1 gearing. “The Golden Olive exterior actually grew on me because it wasn’t that common and it went really well with the Saddle interior. Your mom really liked the color, which was ideal because it was going to be her primary driver. I also found a set of 15 x 7-inch Rally II wheels and installed them right away. That completely changed its appearance.”
Although the ‘73 Grand Prix SJ was my mother’s daily driver, we also drove it most anytime we ventured out as a family. I have fond memories of that car and would some day like to own another.
As a child, I spent so much time in the Grand Prix that I can still vividly recall certain details even today. I remember its 455 running well and the deep rumble from its dual exhaust. “When I bought the Grand Prix it still had its original mufflers. At first, they sounded good but they started to leak and that changed their sound. Turbo mufflers were just becoming popular at the time and I installed a set on the Grand Prix. I thought they sounded great, but your mom thought they were too loud. She said the car sounded like a hot rod and it was embarrassing to drive around!” I also remember the genuine crossfire mahogany trim delaminating from the instrument panel and my dad’s efforts to keep it—and that on the console lid—properly adhered.
It’s obvious from the number of photos that my dad took of the ‘73 Grand Prix SJ that he was quite fond of it.
My parents continued driving the ’73 Grand Prix into the mid ‘80s, at which point it was beginning to age. With more than 105,000 miles on the odometer, the body remained in good shape and it still ran well, but after 8 years of ownership my parents decided it was time for something else. My dad sold the Grand Prix to a family friend and replaced it with a ’77 Grand Prix LJ. That family then drove the ’73 Grand Prix for several more years. They eventually sold it and we lost track of it. The last time we’d saw it was in the early ‘90s and its body had deteriorated horribly. With huge rust holes in each quarter panel, I can only assume it wasn’t on the road much longer after that.
This photo taken during the mid-80’s is likely the last image we have of the ‘73 Grand Prix SJ. In our driveway at that time was the Nocturne Blue ‘79 Trans Am (403 Olds) that my dad drove daily, the Chesterfield Brown ‘78 Trans Am (400 4-speed) that my dad purchased new, and the Golden Olive ‘73 Grand Prix SJ that my mom drove. Who’d have guessed that I’d grow up a Pontiac fan?!
Looking back 40 years later, my dad fondly reminisced, “That ’73 Grand Prix really was a great car. I was always complemented about its appearance, interior, performance, and sound. I flipped over the air cleaner lid for better breathing, installed lighter advance springs in the distributor, and advanced the timing a bit, but I never modified the car beyond that. I really didn’t have to. It was one of those cars that just ran well. It was the fastest car I’d owned up to that point, by far. And besides the Unitized ignition module going out one day, it never gave us any trouble.”
Reminiscing about our ’73 Grand Prix, which eventually became the premise of this blog was brought on by the image of a different ’73 Grand Prix on a magazine cover. That then got me thinking that the August 2012 wasn’t the first time that Tom DeMauro had featured a ’73 Grand Prix while at the helm at HPP. As I learned from a recent discussion with Tom, there’s good reason for it!
This image I found on the web depicts a ‘73 Grand Prix in an identical color combination to ours. I vividly remember ours looking exactly like this.
“When I was about 10-years old, my grandparents purchased a 1973 Grand Prix in Burma Brown with a Beige landau roof, gold factory pinstripes, and Chamois interior,” Tom told me. “I thought it was one of the coolest cars I’d ever seen—upscale, yet a little sporty. Once inside, I loved how the interior wrapped around the driver and passengers like a cocoon. The instrument panel was loaded with gauges (except for a tach), the console was integrated into the dashboard, and A/C, power windows, and AM/FM stereo added comfort and convenience.”
Like me, Tom spent much of his childhood in his family’s ’73 Grand Prix. “It was equipped with Pontiac’s 230-hp L78 400 four-barrel engine, dual exhaust, Turbo-400, and highway rear gears,” he added. “We took it on family vacations when I was young. By the time I reached driving age, my aunt and uncle owned the GP and they let me borrow it, so it became the first Pontiac I ever drove. That experience, as you may imagine, even eclipsed riding in the car as a little kid. The proud Pontiac was nearly 12 years old by then, yet it still made a positive impression on anyone fortunate enough to drive it, and it remains one of my favorite Pontiacs.”
It’s almost inconceivable to think that Pontiac had actually intended on offering its race-bred Super Duty 455 in the ‘73 Grand Prix, but as with the A-car lineup, the LS2 option was ultimately cancelled in all but the Firebird that model year. Former Pontiac engineers Herb Adams and Gregg Peterson recall at least one Super Duty-powered ’73 Grand Prix in Pontiac’s Engineering fleet. It may have been this very car! Note the NACA scoops in the hood. (Photo Courtesy GM Media Archives)
When considering how popular Pontiac’s ’73 Grand Prix was with the buying public and that more than 153,000 were produced that model year, it isn’t difficult to comprehend why consumers like my father sought to purchase one back then. But you’ve also just heard about the impressions that Pontiac’s ’73 Grand Prix made on two young enthusiast and have a better understanding why this particular model remains so close to Tom’s heart and mine even today. Now to find one…
Do you have a similar experience about a special Pontiac that you’d like to share?