You know from past blog posts my love for Pontiac’s Grand Prix. We learned in Memories Of My ’83 Grand Prix LJ how GM radically downsized its G-car platform for 1978 to improve economy. Pontiac then took an aerodynamic approach when restyling the Grand Prix for 1981. The result was an aesthetically pleasing wedge shape with a classic Coke-bottle overtone that I’ve always felt was quite attractive.
Myrtle Motors printed this brochure boasting the attributes of its Grand Prix GT offered in 1986 and 1987. Approximately 30 such examples were built. Do you know of any?
My grandfather purchased new an ’83 Grand Prix LJ that initiated my firsthand experience with Pontiac’s ’81-87 G-body. The April 1986 issue of High Performance Pontiac magazine (or HPP) contained a feature article on the new Grand Prix GT—a dealer-installed performance package from Myrtle Motors in New York. The sinister and stealthy black GP exuded performance. I was so captivated by it that when I took possession of my grandfather’s ’83 Grand Prix LJ in 1995, I immediately replicated many of Myrtle Motors’ performance modifications in my own car.
This article in the April 1986 issue of High Performance Magazine introduced the Grand Prix GT to consumers across the county. It hooked me on the car for decades to come.
I read the Grand Prix GT article in HPP countless times over the years. I’m still so enamored with the Grand Prix GT that I wrote a blog post about it and asked any former or current owners to contact me. While I’ve yet to find anyone who owns a Grand Prix GT today, I received a message from Dave Brooks who ordered one new and he had several pictures to prove it! I’m excited to share his story and those photos with you.
Dave Brooks owned ‘79 Trans Am that he cruised around the Baltimore, Maryland area. The Grand Prix GT replaced it.
Dave is a lifelong Pontiac enthusiast. He was living in Baltimore, Maryland during the 1980s and his first Pontiac was a ’79 Trans Am that he bought in 1983. “I was around 20 years old at the time and Pontiac was the brand to own,” he says. “My Trans Am was equipped with a 403-ci Olds and I added a test pipe and opened the hood scoop to improve performance. I cruised the area all the time and was often with my buddy who had a ’77 Can Am.”
The restyled G-car for 1981 immediately caught Dave’s eye. “While cruising around in my Trans Am, I’d to see a black Olds Cutlass with chromed Keystone wheels driving around and thought it looked great,” he says. “I also really liked Buick’s Grand National and Chevrolet’s Monte Carlo SS. I thought the Grand Prix was good looking, too, but there wasn’t a special performance model that set it apart.”
When Dave learned that Myrtle Motors was offering the Grand Prix GT to buyers, he called the dealership and placed an order for this 1987 model.
Regarded by consumers as GM’s performance division, when compared to the G-body offerings from other interdivisional brands the lack of an optional Grand Prix performance package left a noticeable void in Pontiac’s 1980s lineup. While the Pontiac’s 2+2 aero coupe would eventually be introduced in midyear 1986, it wasn’t quite in the same category as the Grand National, 4-4-2, or Hurst/Olds.
Penn Pontiac hosted a car show in the Baltimore area and Dave attended with the Grand Prix GT. Notice the blacked-out grille texture. It was otherwise fully chromed on typical Grand Prixs.
Myrtle Motors was a large Pontiac dealer with a storied past selling and racing high-performance Pontiacs. To fill the void in the G-car marketspace, the Myrtle team created its Grand Prix GT. Like many others, Dave first learned of the Grand Prix GT when reading the High Performance Pontiac magazine article. “As a Pontiac fan who felt the Grand Prix was good looking, I immediately fell in love with the Grand Prix GT. I called Myrtle Motors to ask about buying one.”
To Dave’s dismay, he found no Grand Prix GTs in stock. “While on the phone I asked the salesman if I could order a new 1987 model,” he says. “I knew exactly what the Grand Prix GT was, so he didn’t have to sell me on the package or its equipment. And because mine was a custom-order, I was allowed to select plum (purple) interior and add removeable t-tops.”
During the early 1990s, the local POCI chapter was able to access the Capitol grounds in Washington DC to photograph their Pontiacs. Dave took a series of photos of his Grand Prix GT that day.
In Fall 1986, Dave was notified that his new ’87 Grand Prix GT was ready for delivery. “When the salesperson called, I took the train into New York City and caught a cab to the dealership,” he says. “I remember the car being everything I expected. It was so beautiful. The glossy black paint was perfectly accented by flat-black trim. They told me how to break in the 305-ci for a long service life, gave me a road map, and pointed me to the interstate. I was so happy to drive it home.”
The stealthy black Grand Prix GT’s side profile smacks of the Buick Grand National, but this one is all Pontiac. The 15-inch Rally IIs provided added grip. The chromed exhaust splitters hark to the Division’s glory days when the feature was commonly found on GTOs and Trans Ams.
The exterior appointments certainly gave the Grand Prix GT a sinister appearance and Myrtle Motors’ performance enhancements were on point for the era. “It wouldn’t beat a Grand National, obviously, but it held its own against many of the Monte Carlo SS and 4-4-2s that I came across,” says Dave. “It would chirp the tires at takeoff. I also installed an aftermarket computer chip, which added even more performance. It handled well with the beefier front and rear sway bars and the 15-inch Goodyear tires.”
The deck-mounted rear spoiler appears to have been pirated from an third-gen Firebird.
Of his Grand Prix GT’s original dual-muffler exhaust system, Dave says, “It had a good sound for a stock system. You could definitely hear it coming in a parking garage. After a few years, the original system corroded and replacement was needed. I wanted something louder, so I added aftermarket Flowmaster mufflers. It completely changed the sound and presence of the car. It was incredible”
The wedge shape and Coke-bottle styling of Pontiac’s ‘81-87 Grand Prix are quite apparent from this angle.
Dave used his Grand Prix GT as daily transportation for the next several years and attended many local shows at the same time. “It was my first black car and it taught me how to keep black looking good. Many people thought the car was a Grand National at first, but people in the know recognized its uniqueness. In 1989 I drove the car to the Pontiac-Oakland Club International (POCI) convention in Dayton, Ohio. It generated lots of buzz. Some knew exactly what it was, but most others didn’t. I kept all its original paperwork in the trunk to prove it.”
In 1995, Dave relocated to Pennsylvania and his Grand Prix GT’s healthy appetite for fuel made the 35-mile commute back to the Baltimore area for work costly. In June 1996, with about 100,000 miles on its odometer, he listed an ad in the York Daily Record. “A mother brought her 17-year old son to see the car. He fell in love with it and they bought it that day. I tried explaining how unique the car was, but I don’t think they truly understood. I even gave him the binder with all its original paperwork. Unfortunately, I never saw the car again.”
Here is the exact ad that Dave placed in the June 29, 1996 issue of the York Daily Record when he decided to sell his Grand Prix GT.
When speaking about purchasing a Grand Prix GT new and driving it for several years, Dave says, “It was a very special car and I absolutely loved owning it. It was a nice driver and ran fantastic. I always enjoyed taking long road trips, especially with the t-tops out. It was really fun to own something with exclusivity. I was told it was ‘one of a few’ Grand Prix GTs produced in 1987, the only one with plum interior, and the only one sold new south of the Mason-Dixon line.”
Dave equipped his ‘87 Grand Prix GT with plum (purple) interior. It may have been the only such example produced!
To the best of my knowledge, Myrtle Motors never recorded how many Grand Prix GTs it produced during that time, but “about 30” is the number that seems most consistent within the hobby. That being the case, there’s a short list of people who can claim to have owned one new, and Dave Brooks may be one of a handful who actually placed a new order for theirs. We’re so lucky to hear his story and see his Grand Prix GT!
Do you have any stories of ‘86-87 Grand Prix GTs? Please share in the comments below!