This 1962 Pontiac Grand Prix Is A Bargain Muscle Car

"DailyTurismo" (thedailyturismo) 11/22/2013 at 12:30 • Filed to: Daily Turismo

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In 1962 GM was enjoying a great start to the NASCAR Grand National season, they'd won 18 of the first 20 races and 12 of those wins were full sized Poncho two doors. 1962 was also the year that Pontiac introduced the Grand Prix and started the muscle car era.

The GTO usually takes the glory as the worlds first muscle car, but the Pontiac Grand Prix actually beat the GTO to the market by two years. Both were heavily influenced by failed narcotics importer John Z DeLorean, featured big engines and minimalistic styling, but the GTO was on the intermediate sized A-body (Tempest) and the Grand Prix was on the full sized B-body (Catalina). The name hinted at its racing pedigree, after all, it had bucket seats and a center shift console, it had to be a sports car! Find this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for sale Punta Gorda, FL currently bidding for $8,700 with 2 days to go.

The Grand Prix started life where the Pontiac Ventura dropped off and was essentially a re-optioned Catalina with minimalist exterior and upmarket options like a Bonneville. The Grand Prix was categorized as a personal luxury car like a third generation Ford T-bird, Lincoln Conti MkII or Studebaker Golden Hawk. This segment emphasized driver comfort and style over performance, but ability to accelerate on demand was essential. This car was designed for the guy that had fantasies of hauling azz instead of hauling kids, but still needed room for five. The white over blue combination is certainly a good choice for this car as it sets of the unique black trim elements of the front grille and the cast aluminum brake drums.

Acceleration in the case of the Grand Prix was accomplished by Pontiac's 389 V8, a 4-barrel fed version borrowed from the Bonneville and good for 303 horsepower. Combined with a 3-speed automatic transmission and standard limited slip differential, the Grand Prix will do a nice squat-and-go impression of a gooney bird at take off. The engine bay appears in proper-nick, with a K&N air filter with obligatory 389 decal properly affixed and some chrome valve covers as the only updates in sight. The car still sports its original style power brakes, steering pump and generator instead of typical updates.

The steering wheel wrap probably covers a cracked clear plastic wheel, but with the over-boosted 60's Pontiac steering you won't be trying to feel the imperfections of the curbing on the corkscrew at Laguna Seca anyway. Other pictures of the dash also hint of some late-nite TV hawker's miracle vinyl repair, but the car still presents quite well, considering its current bids with no reserve.

Need more proof of its sportiness, just take a look at those finned brake drums. Pontiac was so proud of them, they put a special 8-lug wheel on them so that they could show them off. Don't worry, the owner hasn't done some crazy swap from a heavy duty truck, those are stock 8-lug wheels with integrated aluminum wheel hub and brake drum with cast iron braking surface. This is not the car to swap on some fancy disc brakes and 18" wheels.

These first generation GPs seem to still be sneaking in under the radar of many collectors, but that makes them perfect candidates for DT duty. If the bids stay under $11K, this may be a particularly good buy, as long as it can pass muster during a pre-purchase inspection. See a better full sized sports car with room for five? !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

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Originally posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Photo credits: ebay.com

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RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > DailyTurismo 11/22/2013 at 12:33

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I love the original drum setup. I wonder what Tempests are going for these days - that seems to me as a good way to get a uniquely set up muscley Poncho without the ridiculous nature of GTO prices as such - though I'm sure plenty have been raided so GTOs can live.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > DailyTurismo 11/22/2013 at 12:34

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DEM 8 LUGS...

DAT ROOF...

WOW

AMC/Renauledge > DailyTurismo 11/22/2013 at 12:44

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The Grand Prix wasn't a muscle car, but a "personal luxury coupe" designed to go after the Ford Thunderbird, but without going to the expense of designing a different body like the T-Bird had.

It may have been quick for its day, but it wasn't a "muscle car" in the traditional sense. It looked all stuffy and formal by 1968 because it was competing with this:

The Grand Prix was on the GM B-body. The GTO was on the GM A-body. You have it backward.

The "muscle car formula" was to put a full-size V8 under the hood of a midsize/intermediate car. By that measure, the 1957 Rambler Rebel was the first, since it created the intermediate segment and featured AMC's hot 327 V8. The only car in '57 that could beat it was the FI Corvette.

Shift24 > DailyTurismo 11/22/2013 at 12:50

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Come on man there is an important part missing that made pontiac the "sporty" version of GM. Yes they had powerful engines but so did the others chevy 409, 427 buick 401 and nail head 425. But pontiac had something the others didnt, they called it the Wide Track. Supposedly it was to help grip the road better which in some cases Pontiac was correct in saying it helped grip the road better due to a better center of gravity. The made it so there was less over hang of sheet metal past the wheels and you can see it in most of their early 60s cars. Even the Tempest which eventually became the GTO

DailyTurismo > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 12:54

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Yes - you are correct, I mixed up my As and Bs...this is why you never let your kids skip kindergarten folks!

Shift24 > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 13:08

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Come on man if your getting technical the olds Rocket 88 was the first. But I still think the 64 GTO was still the first muscle car that started the golden age of muscle.

AMC/Renauledge > Shift24 11/22/2013 at 13:10

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The Rocket 88 was a full-size car . GM B-Body. Not a muscle car.

The Rambler was an intermediate with a full-size V8. That's the traditional "muscle car" formula. And the only thing faster in '57 was the fuelie Corvette. That's what I call a muscle car.

Shift24 > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 13:31

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There are full sized Muscle cars. Impala and Belair are the first that come to mind. also the hornet which came out in 51 was a revolutionary car and before it came out the Rocket, which came out in 49, was dominating Stock car. The rocket was the favorite for hot roders and was the first US car to use a high-compression overhead-valve V-8. And technically its smaller compared to cars came out for those years.
also here are some sources
http://www.carsdirect.com/car-buying/wha…
http://musclecars.howstuffworks.com/muscle-car-inf…

http://www.fossilcars.com/blog/classic-o…

AMC/Renauledge > Shift24 11/22/2013 at 14:00

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The reason the GTO is thought of as the "first muscle car" is that it was an intermediate with a full-size V8 engine. Except that it wasn't. The '57 Rambler Rebel was.

The Olds 88 was the same size as the '49 Chevy and '49 Pontiac. Same body. By that measure, the 1936 Buick Century, which mated the Special body to the 165hp Fireball 8 - with 30 more hp than the Olds Rocket V8 from 13 years later - would have been the first "muscle car".

Or the 1932 Essex-Terraplane, for that matter. This '33 Eight was John Dillinger's car of choice.

I get that the distinction isn't quite so black-and-white to everyone. But we've always had big, fast cars. The "muscle car" has traditionally adhered to a certain formula that distinguishes it from a full-size fast car and a compact "pony car". Muscle cars are intermediate/midsize cars.

And the '62 Grand Prix wasn't any faster than any other full-size Pontiac could be in '62. It was basically just a sportier Catalina trim package.

Shift24 > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 15:53

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First the Fireballs were straight line not V, second the 165hp 8 had close to 20 cui on the Rocket 88 (plus were not arguing hp and Buick in the 30s was premier engine wise), and since we are arguing size the olds rocket used a "lighter Oldsmobile 76/Chevy body for six-cylinder engines", and from wiki, know its not the best source but it does have sources cited, "A large V8 engine is fitted in a 2-door, rear wheel drive , family-style mid-size or full-size car designed for four or more passengers"

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_ca… though its source is the muscle car club but some of what they even say is contradicting. the impala SS is muscle but the Wildcat, same frame/platform, isnt? The Catalina and Galaxy are also full size too so at this point i dont think anyone knows. So at this point im at the point where i agree to disagree.

also source on the muscle car club http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/gen…

AMC/Renauledge > Shift24 11/22/2013 at 16:14

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1. The Hudson Hornet that beat the Rocket Olds in NASCAR had a straight-6 and you called that a muscle car.

2. The Buick Fireball 8 made 31.5hp/L in 1936. The Olds Rocket V8 made only 27.2hp/L 13 years later. And the '36 Century was lighter than the '49 88.

3. The 88's body may have been lighter than the Ninety-Eight, but it was the same size as the Chevy and Pontiac bodies. And Pontiac offered an 8 in theirs.

4. The '62 Grand Prix still wasn't a muscle car any more than the '62 Bonneville hardtop coupe was. Same car, same engine, but the GP had a floor shifter and bucket seats.

5. Obviously our points are debatable. But to me, how the 8cyl are configured matters less than the size of the vehicle. If we go with cylinder count as the determining factor, the Century precedes the Rocket 88. If we go with the midsize/intermediate definition, the '57 Rambler Rebel wins. Only if we're talking about a V8 specifically does the Rocket 88 win. And by none of those definitions does the '62 Grand Prix qualify as a muscle car.

Vincenzo71 > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 18:00

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Even before the whole "personal luxury coupe" thing, cars like this GP and SS Impalas were known as "Super Cars"....

Vincenzo71 > DailyTurismo 11/22/2013 at 18:00

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"This is not the car to swap on some fancy disc brakes and 18" wheels" I like you

AMC/Renauledge > Vincenzo71 11/22/2013 at 18:11

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The '62 GP was a Bonneville hardtop with "sporty" trim. It wasn't faster than the Bonneville. It was a trim package!

Vincenzo71 > AMC/Renauledge 11/22/2013 at 18:14

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The Bonnie included. B-bodies with the big V-8s were super cars, not muscle. That's all I be sayin

Shift24 > AMC/Renauledge 11/23/2013 at 01:47

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Never argued the GP just argued size. GP and Bon were more luxury than what i consider a muscle car. And there is alot out there that can beat a V8. Heck what most consider the last Muscle car wasnt even a V8, it was a turbo V6. I just think its a smaller body for an Olds with a go fast motor and how it was marketed. And to me Muscle is a 2 door, meant for the average joe, big V engine, and not a pony/sports car or meant for trans-am racing (ie Camaro, Firebird, mustang, javelin, and Challenger)