balthazar

When you -at times- made a half billion in a single year, and that career peak was 20+ years ago, I can see it being possible. Not smart, obviously not prudent, but possible.

>>"I thought it might give some of you insight as to why Pontiac is being shut down."<< Sorry; his answer doesn't say anything that wasn't already widely known. What would be insightful is the reason why the 'niche plan' was abandoned, and so quickly.... tho, yup; most of us know the reason here, too. Hopefully his answer provided some insight to you RE the reason GMC is a core brand....

Very nice (for a late '70s). So's the '80 under 'similar cars'. And that's the way Pontiac would've done it up; tasteful yet beefy. These cars are NOWHERE these days- can't remember when I've last seen one.

That would've been pretty cool, but all the '79 400s were stockpiled from '78 production; I doubt the supply was available since the T/A was selling monsterously well in this era.

>>"Yeah... the '70s Grand Ams are the G8's ancestor, really the only overtly sporty RWD 4drs Pontiac had in their past."<< Agreed, tho I kinda liked the '78-80 GA, too, but no motor underhood. I looked for numbers from Pontiac thru numerous sources- could not find a manual trans installation # for the GA. >>"...did Chevy build any 4dr Lagunas with 4spds? I'm pretty sure in at least '73 that the Laguna was available in a 4dr and a wagon.."<< There was a 2-dr, 4-dr and (4!!) Laguna Wagons in '73, but was only a 2-dr in '74-75. "Hi-Po" Laguna S-3 came online for '74. Without a doubt Chevy built Laguna 4-dr manuals, but I can't find quantites there, either.

First year model. No production figures, but total light-duty GMC production (calendar year) was around 140K.

Force-fit the nose onto a period ElCamino, mod the tailgate/taillights, swap the powertrain over, and Camino is happily occupied for the next 12 months or so. I remember a buddy test-driving one of this powertrain at a classic used car lot, but turned it down as 'too much car'. He had been driving an ancient VW Dasher at the time....

Cool for the '90s. Isn't the '90 / Trofeo the elongated rear deck model? Olds did wonders for the Toro visually when they stretched it whenever they did.

Wife's '03 GP turned 100K today. B-59's odo broke at 95K (IIRC), previous owner said it had either about 103K or 105K. It will be rolled back to 00000 (the car will be all brand new). Since I will never sell it, who cares; call the Feds.

The one I miss the most that I got rid of was my '57 F-250. That truck just had... presense. $450, went somewhere in north Jersey in '94. The one I miss the most that I still have would be my '64 Catalina- my daily driver for 2 years. I'd say the B-59 but I hardly drove it before tearing into it.

>>"There's a part of me that wants to make a Cuban Hot Rod out of the B-59 and drop the M.B. 5-cylinder turbocharged diesel in the old half-century old girl to essentially almost double my fuel economy. Balthazar would probably hunt me down & bop me over the skull with a 3/4 inch box wrench, but I think it would be a very cool "hybrid" solution."<< Bopping you over the head would be the 'period' to the 'novel' I would do to you if you replaced a Nailhead with a german bratsmoker. And no- it would NOT be "cool", it would ruin the car. Leave the smoker in the merse. -- -- -- -- -- Old friend of mine has restored an old '60s ferrari- front brake re-do priced out @ $5K, and this is at least 6 years ago. I can buy brand new front aluminum Pontiac 8-lug drums for $670. Add in hardware, rims, lug nuts & center caps and no doubt you could re-do the front there for under a grand.

But volkswagon is 'the car' !

May have replaced the hub for nothing: trailing arm bushings on that side are going. Car 'clunks' over harsh bumps, and you can rock the rear tire east-2-west while the car is on the ground. As it's only 3 bolts, I will tackle it in my shop next week. 2 bars are $204 thru dealer- should be able to scare them up elsewhere cheaper. Dealer wants $190 for the labor.

Had a minute-long 'rain-induced tantrum', got all set up to vacuum out the wife's car and it started raining AGAIN, so I threw a few things violently and felt slightly better.

Saw a GTR last week, very dull shade of dark grey. Didn't recognize it until I saw the tails. It has no presence. Rough '64 Galaxie convert on a trailer, project car. Gorgeous '68 Catalina (maybe a Bonne) fastback, gold, classic plates. Local dealer has a Solstice Targa on the 'display rack' on the corner of the lot, silver, pretty neat.

I'm generally cheerful, but these last 2-3 weeks of rain & heavy overcast have been mind-numbingly depressing.

Super clean '70 Malibu 2-dr, yellow, no rot or damage, in the inner city, no 'classic' plates; just a very well preserved daily.

CaddyXLR-V - >>"And what would make a young professional choose a Buick, over a Lexus, BMW, Mercedes?"<< Because those brands, in general, are 1 - 2 price segments higher, and many YPs aren't dropping that kind of coin like they used to ? >>"Seems like the only younger people considering Buicks are people who already own other GM products."<< Didn't the Enclave disprove this already? Let's see what the Regal does...

>>""People for the Ethical Treatment of Insects""<< For years I have joked about belonging to PETI, and now here it is. Supreme Being; help us. I would love to see these folk out in the Arctic wilderness with an incessantly-pursuing, ravenous polar bear on their trail, as they blubbered & prayed for a wayward hunter with a loaded rifle and a keen eye.

All good (duh!) info. I'm just not 'in synch' with modern iron. IntraWeb states only the GTP had them standard in '03. Traced the brake lines- no 'box'. Didn't see any wire to the rear hub either. Had the dealer run the VIN- no ABS. Both service counter guys were surprised. Non-ABS bearing/hub assembly from NAPA : $88. Looks simple enough to install, but I'm desparately short on time, will swallow the $180 labor (ABS hub- maybe non-ABS hub will be a few bucks less). Thanks.

Will check it in the AM & report...

Hmmm... certainly appears to be a 2-dr hardtop, tho I guess saying so in text was too troublesome. Some monkey-work done- what's with the (painted silver ??) trans crossmember ? Trunk pan looks like it might be fresh, not reassuring. This is without question an 'in-person' inspection..., expecting to be disappointed. If it's a 2-dr hardtop with a running, period Pontiac V-8 and no structural rot, I'd give him $900.

Is there a positive way to tell if an '03 GP SE has ABS or not? Code on the decklid code label? There's nothing hokey like "ABS" on the wheel centers or brake pedal. Bought a rear bearing/hub assembly as one in the rear is bad, counter guy asked if it has ABS & I assumed 'yes', but it's not standard on other than the GTP, and I'm wondering if it DOESN'T have ABS, that I'll need to swap it for another hub. Will possibly be replacing it tomm evening, so a speedy confirmation would be appreciated before it's exploded in the driveway. BTW- GM wanted $435 for this part, NAPA: $138.

Pretty small dia pipes, no? Are those 2" tails,... or am I just used to looking at the 3" pipes I have for my B-59? The tips dress them up nicely. I have to fabricate everything under there due to suspension/chassis changes, tho they'll end right before the rear axle this time, so I am jealous at anyone (which would be everyone) else who can buy a ready-made system.

RE: the stripe - I always associate that with the HO, but for '68, that's only the 350HO. But I see an option listed for "Rallye stripes for all Firebirds except the 350HO". I'm not sure what the structural differences are RE C vs. F. Seen plenty of Fbirds apart, but no Camaros up close. Pretty sure no Firebird monoleaf, but my BIL had a '67 with a factory traction bar-type device on one side in the rear.