What's it worth - 1973 Pontiac Grand Am in a Barn

This car has been sitting in my parents barn for well over 20 years. They rent out a few spots in their barn for storage, and the owner stopped paying for storage well over 10 years ago. They have tried for years, unsuccessfully, to contact owner. The house has been sold and this car must GO! They are in the process of getting a mechanics lein title for it, so they can sell it. There's an engine under that hood. It was towed to its current location.

TLDR: What is this 1973 Pontiac Grand Am worth?

Are these things rare/desireable/worth anything more than scrap? What $$ should they advertise it for?

They made only 34,445 Grand Am coupes in '73, so they were never terribly common when new. Add in the propensity for rust in '73-'74 and these are pretty scarce on the ground. The problem is, their rarity and a market for them that isn't exactly booming means that parts aren't exactly common, so restoring one is a labor of love. For example, I notice that the Endura nose cone is heavily damaged and the rear bumper filler panel is MIA, and they aren't available anywhere. If those were intact, someone who was restoring one would probably pay dearly for the whole car just to get their hands on those. Considering the condition, and without knowing the drivetrain (they came with 2-barrel and 4-barrel 400s and 4-barrel 455s), I would say $1500-2000 tops on a very good day, and I like these cars.

Given the level of body damage and that it's likely to need a lot of mechanical and interior repair too, I personally wouldn't offer more than a dollar for every cubic inch displacement. If I were selling, I'd list it for $1500 OBO - or maybe $1000 OBO - and hope for the best.

The "Colonade" A-bodies aren't as popular at the earlier ones, but people still build them and they kind of have a niche as "When you want something that's mechanically like a '60s muscle car, but can't afford a '60s muscle car."

MadScientistMatt wrote: I personally wouldn't offer more than a dollar for every cubic inch displacement.

Tree fiddy. Scrap price, I'd imagine.

They are rare, but the market is limited. The Endura noses all go bad, but you can get fiberglass replacements.

Actually, those cars were pretty decent mechanically - I believe the suspension is mostly the same as a second generation Firebird/Camaro.

The main Pontiac forum is http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/ I checked the for sale ads and only found a couple Grand Ams in the last year or so. I'm guessing that one would go for $1500 - $2000.

I really like those, but I'm afraid in that condition it just isn't worth much. If there is any value it would mostly be in the engine. I know that Pontiac engines have the displacement stamped on the block, but despite currently having a disassmbled 400 in my workshop I can't tell you exactly where. The cylinder heads are should have numbers/letters on easily visible pads between the middle two spark plugs, a serious Pontiac engine person will be interested in knowing that too.

If 455, get running. Turn tires to smoke. Sell when tires are gone.

I'll agree with those that say that in that condition, it isn't worth much. Some will be interested in the engine, if it's a 455.

stuart in mn wrote: Actually, those cars were pretty decent mechanically - I believe the suspension is mostly the same as a second generation Firebird/Camaro.

Nope, the Firebird/Camaro was an F-body, the Grand Am was an A-body, totally different chassis. F-Body was a unibody pony car with coil sprung front suspension and leaf springs in the rear. A-Body was body-on-frame intermediate with front coil springs and a coil-spring 4-link rear suspension

That said, the '73-'77 A-body chassis was one of the first that was entirely computer designed and it was lightyears ahead of the popular '64-'72 chassis and the first and second-gen F-bodies. They actually handle really well and you can fit a 13" rear tire without flares or minitubs and several companies like Detroit Speed & Engineering have stepped up with really good suspension parts.

Barn like that is not worth too much.

$200 Challenge FMV. That is what you wanted to ask, right?

NickD wrote: They made only 34,445 Grand Am coupes in '73, so they were never terribly common when new. Add in the propensity for rust in '73-'74 and these are pretty scarce on the ground. The problem is, their rarity and a market for them that isn't exactly booming means that parts aren't exactly common, so restoring one is a labor of love. For example, I notice that the Endura nose cone is heavily damaged and the rear bumper filler panel is MIA, and they aren't available anywhere. If those were intact, someone who was restoring one would probably pay dearly for the whole car just to get their hands on those. Considering the condition, and without knowing the drivetrain (they came with 2-barrel and 4-barrel 400s and 4-barrel 455s), I would say $1500-2000 tops on a very good day, and I like these cars.

You can see there on the rear trunk lid (lower left on the lid) a "6.5 Litre" emblem, so that makes it the 400 ci. (if that's the original trunk lid)

SVreX wrote: Barn like that is not worth too much.

LOL. Yes, they sold the house and threw the barn in for free !

Thanks for input guys. They have contacted the junk yard, and can get $400 sight unseen by scrapping it. So I guess anything over that would be welcomed. They live over 2 hours north of me, and I'll be heading up there this weekend. Is there enough value (above the $400) to justify putting this thing on flee-bay or anything other than the usual List-of-Craig?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: $200 Challenge FMV. That is what you wanted to ask, right?

hehehe, The thought crossed my mind, but only briefly. Two reasons: 1) Mom & Dad want $$$ from this garbage 2) Its going to take a LOT of work to bring this back to life and it just doesn't interest me.

So it's by Fort Wayne? Auburn?

East of Fort Wayne (between New Haven & Woodburn)

i would give you a crisp high five for it

and I am in Indiana so i could hand deliver said high five

NickD wrote:

stuart in mn wrote: Actually, those cars were pretty decent mechanically - I believe the suspension is mostly the same as a second generation Firebird/Camaro.

Nope, the Firebird/Camaro was an F-body, the Grand Am was an A-body, totally different chassis. F-Body was a unibody pony car with coil sprung front suspension and leaf springs in the rear. A-Body was body-on-frame intermediate with front coil springs and a coil-spring 4-link rear suspension That said, the '73-'77 A-body chassis was one of the first that was entirely computer designed and it was lightyears ahead of the popular '64-'72 chassis and the first and second-gen F-bodies. They actually handle really well and you can fit a 13" rear tire without flares or minitubs and several companies like Detroit Speed & Engineering have stepped up with really good suspension parts.

front suspension is the same as an F body, and the chassis was good enough to survive until the 96 model year in B bodies... these A bodies are really good driving cars, and if it has the swivel bucket seats those alone are worth about $300 even if the upholstery is shot..

I always liked those...you never see them anymore. A neighbor had one when I was kid, it was white with some kind of red white and blue striping from the factory.

Scrap that car and we'll kill you. Twice.

stroker wrote: Scrap that car and we'll kill you. Twice.

Sold, how soon can you come get it?

Imo.....whatever the engine is worth in your area. That's pretty rough and really.....you can't even get a hold of the owner to get it back to him. That alone should tell you its marketable worth lol

73-77 GM A Body was very popular on the short circle tracks for a long time (especially the Monte Carlo). Speedway Motors has some stuff for these also.

I say keep it, clean it, if it doesn't run please find a Pontiac 400, and Challenge it.

Does it have the bucket seats and console? Some A bodies had swivel bucket seats

Oh man, that Grand Am is in sad shape.

These are my favorite variation of the "colonnade" 1973-77 A-Body cars, and one of my favorite Pontiacs, period. They are really nice looking cars, and were more or less a "gentleman's GTO" of sorts. They almost offered these in both wagon and SD455 form! There's even one concept wagon out there that has the SD455! Also, the 1973 GTO hood bolts on and is super cool.

Yours is in really rough condition, but someone restoring a Grand Am would love to have it for parts. If I lived nearby, I'd be by with a cherry picker to harvest that 400 at the very least. They are getting hard to come by up here. I would think that you could get $500 pretty easily for that on one of the Facebook groups like Pontiac Pickers Classifieds.

I read the article and thought it said trans am. The look of confusion was priceless.