I recently stumbled across a picture of a 1978 Grand Am CA in recent issue of High Performance Pontiac. I had never heard of it before. So I did a little Googling and this is what I found out about it. It is a pity that only 2 were built.

http://www.oldcarmemories.com/content/view/92/114/

I saw one of these in Smoke Signals. One of the show articles or something has it. It was Black with Orange trim. A really good looking car

Yes you did, the Almost Heaven meet.

An interesting Grand Am? From the factory? Who knew...

Looks good to me

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An interesting Grand Am? From the factory? Who knew...

I consider myself fortunate to have seen both of the 79/80 Grand Am El Caminos and the only Fiero convertible and 4-passenger Fiero over the years. Mac McKellars DOHC 421 Tri-power motor is up there as well.

Is it me, or does these Grand Am models have headlights that look way too similar to XJ's?

a 455 with 200 hp wtf wow thats crazy thanks carter admin. anyways its pretty damn cool i wonder if its priceless

I would not say priceless since it represents a "what might have been", not what was. Anything with a Pontiac 301 is going to be deemed underwhelming by most performance critics anyways, since the 301 has virtually no performance aftermarket support for a lot of good reasons. The 301 was Pontiac's attempt to build a more fuel efficient , low comphresion V8. In that, they succeeded but is was by no means a popular V8. My folks '78 LeSabre had a Pontiac 301 V8 in it. It was unimpressive to begin with but it got you down the road, just not very quickly.

I would not say priceless since it represents a "what might have been", not what was. Anything with a Pontiac 301 is going to be deemed underwhelming by most performance critics anyways, since the 301 has virtually no performance aftermarket support for a lot of good reasons. The 301 was Pontiac's attempt to build a more fuel efficient , low comphresion V8. In that, they succeeded but is was by no means a popular V8. My folks '78 LeSabre had a Pontiac 301 V8 in it. It was unimpressive to begin with but it got you down the road, just not very quickly.

None the less, its a really bitchin' ride.

My 305 is a low compression "eco" v8 and I love it to death.

Havoc, I agree in principle. Pontiac was indeed trying to work with what they had to appeal to performance ethusiasts. It just never got off the ground.

Now the difference between the 301 and 305 is a huge amount of aftermarket support the 305 SBC enjoys. It would be simple enough to bore and stroke the engine into a 327 and have considerably more power and torque for not a lot of cash, plus you could keep it numbers matching, etc. The Pontiac 301 enjoys none of that aftermarket support. So you are left to tweak this motor on your own since there are virtual no factory or aftermarket performance parts for this engine.

When was the last time ya saw a 2+2?? This guys from the Pontiac area.

Pontiac's counter to the Gran National.

Because its the same car.

It was really the counter to the Monty ss. Yes there all the same car but this and the fast back Monty were made for NASCAR.

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Pontiac's counter to the Gran National.

Pontiac's NASCAR homologation effort to run the Aerocoupe in NASCAR against the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe. They only made 1,118 total in 1986, and none in 1987, while Chevy made more Montys in '87. I would not say it was Pontiac's counter to the Grand National since it only came stock with the lack luster SBC 305. Still it was the G-body sister car to the Grand National and Monte Carlo.

Pontiac's NASCAR homologation effort to run the Aerocoupe in NASCAR against the Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe. They only made 1,118 total in 1986, and none in 1987, while Chevy made more Montys in '87. I would not say it was Pontiac's counter to the Grand National since it only came stock with the lack luster SBC 305. Still it was the G-body sister car to the Grand National and Monte Carlo.

Guess I meant to say counterpart to GN. This one @ the show had a turbo V-6 and sure looked factory.

If I had to guess, I'd bet they swiped it out of a Regal T-type, Turbo V6 Trans Am, or a GN. My money would be taking it from a Regal. The 2+2 only came with the SBC 305. The V6 was not an option for the 2+2. A Buick 231 3.8L V6 or the Chevy 4.3L were standard and optional engines along with the 305 for the rest of the Grand Prix line.

If I had to guess, I'd bet they swiped it out of a Regal T-type, Turbo V6 Trans Am, or a GN. My money would be taking it from a Regal. The 2+2 only came with the SBC 305. The V6 was not an option for the 2+2. A Buick 231 3.8L V6 or the Chevy 4.3L were standard and optional engines along with the 305 for the rest of the Grand Prix line.

I don't recall the Chev 4.3 as an option. (NOT claiming to know) The Buick 4.3 was used to beef up my internals on the 3.8 that came in my Bird. Tips N help from Buick engineers that went nuts over my engine @ the Sloan show in flint.

I don't recall the Chev 4.3 as an option. (NOT claiming to know) The Buick 4.3 was used to beef up my internals on the 3.8 that came in my Bird. Tips N help from Buick engineers that went nuts over my engine @ the Sloan show in flint.

I worked at the Powertrain Flint V6 Engineering Center (the former Buick Engineering Center) for 5 years. I was lucky to have met Denny Manner, the legendary Buick V8/V6 guru. He lead Buick's V8 program in the 60s forward and lead the resurrection of the 231/3.8L program in the 70s & 80s including the Buick Indy Turbo V6s cars. I am not aware of a production Buick 4.3L V6 unless it was over the counter / special order / race only type of parts. I know there was a 4.1L (252 CI) used by the big RWD cars in the early to mid 80s. The 4.3L I know is a SBC with two cylinders cut off. I had it in all my S10/S15 Blazers.

I worked at the Powertrain Flint V6 Engineering Center (the former Buick Engineering Center) for 5 years. I was lucky to have met Denny Manner, the legendary Buick V8/V6 guru. He lead Buick's V8 program in the 60s forward and lead the resurrection of the 231/3.8L program in the 70s & 80s including the Buick Indy Turbo V6s cars. I am not aware of a production Buick 4.3L V6 unless it was over the counter / special order / race only type of parts. I know there was a 4.1L (252 CI) used by the big RWD cars in the early to mid 80s. The 4.3L I know is a SBC with two cylinders cut off. I had it in all my S10/S15 Blazers.

Your absolutely right. Was the 4.1 turbo crank/rods I have spinnin in the Sunbird. Was gonna say, you should know Chevy and Buick parts are not interchangable. LOL Was given part #'s and the dealership said they wouldn't work. Tried em anyway and was able to pick them up @ Drayton Plains parts warehouse. Gawd that was a long time ago. When did I have TIME to get this old? Also,the 4.1 head gaskets had to be modified, but was the only ones I could keep IN the engine. I can no longer get em, so I hope this setup last me alot longer! Will see you next weekend @ the show.

I can no longer get em, so I hope this setup last me alot longer! Will see you next weekend @ the show.

Dude, TA Performance carries 3.8 and 4.1 Buick V6 head gaskets. Check them out.

http://www.taperformance.com/products.asp?cat=63

See you at the show. I won't make the meeting tonight. More thrashing/moving stuff.

Dude, TA Performance carries 3.8 and 4.1 Buick V6 head gaskets. Check them out. http://www.taperformance.com/products.asp?cat=63 See you at the show. I won't make the meeting tonight. More thrashing/moving stuff.

Thank you. I'm not a Widetracker member, was able to get Gold Eagle products to donate, goodie bag material, doorprizes and I will be representing Coolrides and have a trophy to hand out as well. Justa tryin to help out my FAVORITE show for the last 25yrs. LOL

The site looks like a good place to find parts. Good luck with the moving. I couldn't imagine moving all my stuff.

Frosty said "Dude"

lol