My grandfather, James V. Rotella was a performance car enthusiast. You might recall the ‘67 GTO he ordered new that recently resurfaced. My father, James M. Rotella was also tuned into Pontiac performance and his first new car purchase was a 1970 Firebird and several others followed.
Both my grandfather and father were strongly attracted to Pontiac’s flagship—the Grand Prix when introduced in 1962. Their affection was rekindled when the model was completely redesigned for 1969. The Grand Prix was restyled again for 1973, and it proved as elegant as it was attractive. My dad was able to purchase a ‘73 Grand Prix SJ in 1976, which we both have fond memories of.
It’s easy to track the popularity of Pontiac’s Grand Prix in this press photo that the division distributed during the 1977 model year. Volume exploded in 1976 when they made the base model cheaper in an attempt to attract more buyers. It worked!
When Pontiac made the Grand Prix more affordable for 1976, my grandfather ordered a new Model J in Firethorn Red from General Pontiac in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was such an appealing value that consumers purchased more than 220,000 in 1976 and that jumped to 288,000 for 1977!
The 1978 Grand Prix was completely redesigned and some buyers felt the changes from 1973-1977 styling were too radical. Considering the platform stipulations GM put it place for its new-for-1978 G-body, I think Pontiac Studio did quite well.
With the industry focused on economy during the late-1970s, General Motors pushed its divisions toward smaller midsize and full-size models. Pontiac’s Grand Prix was completely redesigned for 1978. The new G-body was nearly 17-inches shorter than its 1977 counterpart and weighed about 700 pounds less.
The cockpit-type interior introduced in 1969 was retained through several refreshes. I find this layout quite attractive and suitable for the Grand Prix persona.
The 1978 Grand Prix was quite a departure from what past buyers had grown accustomed to. “Your grandpa and I went to McKenzie Pontiac in Omaha see the new-for-1978 Grand Prix in person,” my dad recalls. “We really didn’t like them. He felt the changes were too drastic, and I agreed. When the time came for to replace his ’76 Grand Prix, he ordered a 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme because he thought it was better looking than the Grand Prix.”
Pontiac went on to produce 228,000 Grand Prixs for 1978. Was the strong volume due to its size reduction and redesign? Was it a result of Pontiac’s healthy position within the industry? Or was the 1978 model simply riding on Grand Prix’s 1976 and 1977 resounding success? I’ll leave that for you to decide, but one point that’s certain, after just three model years, the G-body was restyled for 1981.
The Grand Prix was restyled for 1981 and I feel the 1981-1987 styling was quite attractive. This particular photo was taken at the 1983 Detroit Auto Show and looked much like the Grand Prix LJ my grandfather purchased new.
Pontiac took an aerodynamic approach with the ‘81 Grand Prix. It appeared slimmer with a pronounced wedge shape and gained the famed Coke bottle styling reminiscent of the 1965 Grand Prix. “Your grandpa really liked the refined appearance for 1981. He felt Pontiac did a much better job with the styling. The more he saw them, the more he liked them,” my dad said. My grandfather ordered a ‘83 Grand Prix LJ through Rattigan-Rhoden Pontiac in Missouri Valley, Iowa and he took delivery in March 1983. I remember riding to the dealership with him and driving home in the last new car he would ever purchase.
The wedge shape introduced on the 1981 Grand Prix was born in an aerodynamic lab. Pontiac claimed the low nose and high deck lid styling reduced aerodynamic drag by 20 percent at highway speeds when compared to the preceding style. The effect significantly improved fuel economy.
My grandmother selected the color combination, which consisted of Code-22 Light Royal Blue Metallic exterior with a Dark Royal Blue half-vinyl roof, and Dark Royal Blue cloth interior with 60/40 bench seat. The LJ package also included a painted pinstripe, which perfectly accented its body line. As a performance enthusiast, my grandfather selected the LG4 305-ci 4-barrel V-8, full instrumentation including tachometer, and Rally II wheels. Because he and my grandmother took frequent road trips, he opted for the optional 2.29:1 economy axle ratio (gasp!). He also added A/C, cruise control, and rear window defroster.
My grandfather purchased this ‘83 Grand Prix new that model year. I took ownership in 1995 and immediately replaced its worn white-lined 195/75R14 tires with white-lettered 245/60R14 B.F. Goodrich tires. The visual impact the beefy tires provide can be seen in this photo, which I snapped a few days later.
I always felt the Grand Prix was attractive and comfortable and enjoyed riding in it. My grandfather kept it garaged and I would wash it for him during the summers as he kept watch in his folding lawn chair in the shade. When he passed away in April 1986, the Grand Prix remained in flawless condition and had just a few thousand miles on it. My grandmother continued driving her Buick Riviera, but my dad encouraged her to also drive the Grand Prix as well to maintain its mechanical condition. She eventually sold her Riviera and the Grand Prix became her daily driver for the next few years.
I felt the Grand Prix was very attractive in Light Royal Blue Metallic and was quite proud of its appearance. Using a point-and-shoot camera in low light produced the graininess in the photo, but it accentuates the shapely body.
My ’76 Trans Am was my daily driver through high school and I would soon be entering college. In the spring of 1995, my grandmother decided she wanted something newer and found a then-late-model Riviera. With just 39,000 miles on the Grand Prix’s odometer, my dad felt it would make an excellent car for me to drive to college in the fall. Upon my high school graduation in May 1995, he bought it from her and gave it to me.
Another view from that same photo session, which based on the foliage was taken during the fall. The time frame was 1996.
I remember being excited that my grandfather’s car, which I found so attractive and helped maintain in my youth was entrusted to me. I recall taking ownership on a Saturday morning and I drove it directly from my grandmother’s house to Alford Tire in Omaha where its white-lined 195/75R14 tires gave way to white-lettered BF Goodrich Radial T/As in 245/60R14. The new rubber completely transformed its visual appearance giving it a muscular stance.
I replaced the Grand Prix’s original exhaust system with an custom-made exhaust system with dual Flowmaster mufflers. I took this photo series of photos after having the exhaust installed. It’s difficult to see the tail pipes because of the lighting. You might also notice the rear sway bar I installed.
That summer I had Madhatter Muffler and Brakes in Omaha remove the original after-cat single exhaust system and install a Y-pipe and 2.25” aluminized piping with dual 40-series Flowmaster mufflers and tail pipes that exited behind each rear tire. The car looked even sportier and the burble it emitted put a smile on my face. I also added urethane bushing and end links to the front sway bar, pirated a rear sway bar from the local salvage yard, and installed a 12.7:1 steering box from a Monte Carlo SS. I was very pleased with how it handled.
After a couple of years of daily use, the original paint was starting to show its age. I had Chelak’s Auto Body in Bellevue repaint it in the same color using base/clear. It looked like a show car.
During the mid-to-late ‘90s, Summit Racing was offering high performance PROM chips for wide array of applications and the ‘83 Grand Prix with LG4 305-ci was one. It supposedly improved fuel mixture and spark advance of the computer-controlled Quadrajet and HEI, respectively. I bought one and quickly installed it and can remember the disappointment when I didn’t notice a darn thing. Looking back, I would have probably been better ditching the computerized components and installed conventional units and optimized the fuel and spark curves manually. I didn’t, however, have the knowledge for that at the time.
I opted to leave the body side moldings off during the repaint. I felt it greatly enhanced the appearance lending a clean and sporty look. As you can imagine, I was careful about parking!
In addition to the aforementioned 2.29:1 axle ratio, the Grand Prix was equipped with an open differential, which wasn’t ideal for Nebraska winters. After a couple of years I sourced a used 7.5” GM 10-bolt axle with a limited slip differential with 3.08:1 gearing from an S10 Blazer and friend and mechanic Jeff Broveak installed it for me. The deeper gears drastically improved acceleration. What’s more, while highway economy took a slight hit, in-town economy actually increased!
At the time Nebraska used a numeric to denote county registrations and alphanumeric characters for plate identification. “1” signified Douglas County, which Omaha is within. A friend at the DMV was able to secure “1-GP 83” for me.
I cut my teeth on the drag strip in the Grand Prix. I made dozens of quarter mile passes in the years I owned it and it was deadly consistent. Despite ambient weather conditions, the 305-ci rated at 145 hp never ran better than 17.09 or worse than 17.20 seconds. Trap speed hovered between 78 and 79 mph and only once, on a cool fall evening did it ever reach 80 mph. I was disappointed and surprised to find that despite how much stronger the Grand Prix felt with the 3.08:1 gearing on the street, and short times on the track did improve, it didn’t equate to a single hundredth over the length of a quarter mile when compared to the 2.29:1 gears.
Carrying on the tradition set forth by my grandfather, the Grand Prix was always clean and I maintained its impeccable condition. As the original Light Royal Blue Metallic finish aged, I had Chelak’s Auto Body in Bellevue, Nebraska repaint the body in its original hue using a base/clear process. The result was absolutely stunning.
After the body was repainted, the Grand Prix looked so good that I entered it in our local Pontiac show. This photo of me and my dad with the car was taken in 1998.
By the summer of 2000, the ’83 Grand Prix had about 135,000 miles on it, but no one would have believed it. Then we experienced a terrible hailstorm and its exterior body panels were badly damaged. It was so severe that the insurance company totaled it. I was able to buy it back for fraction of the payout, but it wasn’t worth the investment to fix. I decided to sell the Grand Prix and buy the ‘90 Formula 350 that my dad was trading for a new ‘01 Grand Prix GTP. The Formula became my driver and in September 2000 I took delivery of my ‘01 Trans Am.
My grandfather saved the Grand Prix’s original paperwork including its window sticker. The new owner wanted that when he purchased the car from me. Years later I found its build sheet, which I remember finding above the headliner when we pulled it down to replace the material. It’s all I have left from that car.
Over the years I lost track of the ’83 Grand Prix and don’t have any idea whatever became of it. I’ve remained vigilant looking for it to appear on our local Craigslist or worse, in the local salvage yard, but neither has happened thus far. So it still may be out there waiting to be rediscovered. Time will tell, but until then, I’m thankful for the fond memories that will last a lifetime.