1978 Pontiac Sunbird Auction Find

1978 Pontiac Sunbird Auction Find. So I've made the first part of this video a while back. But i held on to it hoping to find out what happened to this 78 Sunbird and it finally showed up at the local pick n pull. I had a feeling this is where it would go. I believe its fate was sealed when some tree or something fell on the on it, destroying the hood, damaging the fender and clipping the header panel. It looks to have sat since about 2003 so. They even rebuilt thr little 2 barrel Holley carburetor on the iron duke 4 cylinder under the hood. The interior was rough but mostly all there. Unfortunately no one stepped up to the plate on this one ans she soon will be crushed.

[@edb8689]

My mom had a red 79 hatchback sunbird. I loved that car. I miss it still all these years later. It was red with black interior. She traded it for a 86 Firebird in the summer of 1986.

[@ezsteev63]

That bird is dead.

[@OrangeBoss-ww8eb]

the sun has set on that bird man

[@toyoscio]

lol

[@nickcaruth8939]

YELP

[@ВиталийБескиеру]

Hi hi If ther is the Chan's to buy this car....who I have to contact if? Please response me... Please it's very important for me

[@jas4925]

The irons dukes at least lasted better than the vega 2300.

[@googleusergp]

The Vega got better by the 1976 and 1977 model years, but by then, the damage had been done. Much the same with the GM diesel. Once they got it right, the damage had been done. Same with the Fiero. Once they got it "right" in 1988 by equipping it with its' own suspension, not borrowed from something else, GM dropped it. Same with the Impala SS, they get it right, boom it's gone after 1996.

[@joetaylor2394]

Destined for the crusher

[@slowroush1]

Where is this yard located???

[@XCELERATIONRULES]

GM.really went to hell after 1977...sad

[@THX-kw2jh]

That Sunchicken is a Gonner.

[@ClassicRideSociety]

Yep long gone. They crushed it

[@nathankim7664]

If not for the significant body damage and multiple sites of rusting, I think it would've been savable. But I'm 90% certain that if you take the radio, it'll work after dusting it and adding WD-40 to the volume pot. But it's too bad, the rear styling is a lot like a Toyota Celica with a cool front end that tries to be on par with the Trans Am front end.

[@davidjames666]

it looks like a Chevy Monza

[@jsciarri]

One of the most underestimated engines GM ever built was the Iron Duke, especially going into the mid 1980's until production ended in 1993. Those engines were powerless and noisy but were nearly indestructible. Here on Long Island the Grumman LLV mail trucks used that engine and are still in use here today.

[@googleusergp]

Correct, the LLV stood for "Long Life Vehicle" and was made with GM mechanicals (basically a RHD S Series GM platform) with a Grumman body. They are coming to the "end" of their lives now. You see more Ram Promasters and other types of mail trucks on the routes, but there's still a lot of LLVs. My route driver still uses an LLV. AMC also bought the 2.5L for many of their products as well.

[@googleusergp]

@jason9022 The current LLV trucks are GM based. Other routes such as rural routes and special routes may use other makes, but the bulk of them are GM S Series RHD based.

[@tonyfriend7413]

yes this is Another GM car that will soon be rolling out as a future new Toyota for Jan's toyota lot across America or maybe Canada..August 30th. 2020..

[@kennethsouthard6042]

Unless this Sunbird had been somehow owned by George Washington, I can't see how it would have ended up anywhere else but the yard.

[@morgansword]

For some young boy and his first take apart car... cause I stopped liking them when they were new. It would come around for sure but the cost.... dang, your over extending yourself with new plugs. They did run and fairly good but wow ugly on a stick

[@beargaming6200]

that wasnt a good car when it was new

[@ls6-ss413]

They make decent drag cars but like to twist if you Know how to make them really hook. Takes quite a bit of cagework and subframe work to reinforce them. Then all you have is a sunbird with too much money in it. Lol. That shit about not looking under the hood is so stupid bro....

[@davidrubin1895]

Not one of the more desirable models I just don't see it making it off the lot

[@nickcaruth8939]

MY DAD HAD ONE JUST LIKE THIS ONE..BOTH DOORS DIDN'T OPEN SO WE DID WHAT THE DUKE BOYS DID JUMP IN AND OUT THROUGH THE DOOR WINDOWS....LOL BUT IT NEVER BROKE DOWN

[@chrislemaster2695]

ON the Oldsmobile 88 next to is that a 1994 or 1995 I need a red armrest if this has one i would but it and pay you to ship it

[@MrSFSTUDIOS]

Pretty rough example. I would pass. The cost to restore it would surpass the value of the vehicle.

[@outcastprojects6733]

To bad it wasnt a 305 5 speed car!

[@MindsEyeVisualGuitarMethods]

I wasn't going to leave a comment, Until the end... Your video is so spot on showing just about anything anybody would need to see and for me I couldn't believe that you were smart enough to include the trim tag. I've collected a bunch of these cars. The only thing missing was the build sheet I wasn't Expecting you to dig that deep but there actually isn't easy 12 find in the 78 model year just behind the passenger seat plastic backing. But I'm sure the car is long gone now I would just like toPin down the actual date of production, And see what sway bars the car got since it had the radial.. tune suspension. That interior badge would probably net $5 to 10 on ebay. This one was built almost exactly 2 months intoroduction on the 39th day during the third week of September 1978. What's making these cars disappear even faster is the rear tail panel. The type of plastic they used crumbled away in the sun after 20 years. And you can't find a replacement anywhere. Anyways it was cool to get the info off of the car to ad into my records. Thanks for taking the time on this one. . Oh and then I saw my impossible to find seats but they're too far gone. ah well.

[@ClassicRideSociety]

👍

[@Monaghan]

Ahhh the visible start of the decline of GM quality.

[@googleusergp]

It happened before that, but yes, typical GM small car quality, or shall I say lack of it.

[@nickcaruth8939]

YELP

[@christophereichorn5036]

Killer Mozna!

[@mom2huskies]

My parents had a Sunbird in the 80s. They didn't have it very long. At the same time I had a 63 Chevy II with 200K on it. One day my dad took the Sunbird to the garage and I had to pick him up. The mechanic at the garage came out and said that my Chevy with 200K on it would still out last the almost new Sundbird, and he was correct. You know your new car is crap when a car with 200K miles on it is a better choice.

[@SuperRobbie1976]

they removed the steering wheel so you could'nt steal the car antitheft device lol

[@VagaMundos.]

Hey mate how can I contact you or the person in charge. I am looking for parts for an 80 sunbird.

[@ClassicRideSociety]

This car is now at Pick n pull Auto Salvage in South Dallas TX

[@brittballard4030]

I'd buy it right now but I live in Tennessee I'd restore it and paint it black and put a gold bird on the hood.

[@davidjames666]

I can pick it up, and drive it to Tennessee for you. then we can enter our car in car shows and win lots of money. ok?

[@kbtruck65blair64]

Those were okay, I liked the Chevy Monza Coupe.

[@toyoscio]

Lordstown proud

[@tomfrazier1103]

A friend drove one of these for a while. It was a cheap car he had no respect for, the "Shitbird". Does anyone restore/fix these?

[@ClassicRideSociety]

I think they have a loyal following. There is a forum and Facebook groups i believe

[@tomfrazier1103]

@@ClassicRideSociety I've noticed the decried cars often have the stronger followings, notably Corvairs & Edsels. Here in Hawaii, it was mostly a big three+Packard show. Where I grew up in Cali the Stdebaker-Nash-Hudsons had a strong showing, with all manner of Europeans postwar. In Hawaii, the heavy military & Naval presence brought in a lot of European oddballs, and VWs were ad popular as anywhere in the States. I still dug up the serial plate of a 1909 3 cyl.. 40hp Kissel. Old street photos here show a lot of wooden station wagons. I liked to see the rhd Datsun 240s

[@garbage854]

Would be cool to restore 😀

[@emeyer6963]

My cousin had an 80' Sunbird that stayed on the road until the mid 90's

[@googleusergp]

Yikes, this 'bird is indeed a turd.....these were not a good response to small cars from Japan, that's for sure. They weren't bad looking with the right equipment and options, but the quality wasn't really there and customers tired of them quickly. We got the VIN, we win: 2 for Pontiac, M for Sunbird Sport, 07 for two door hatchback, V for 2.5L (151 CID) four cylinder with two barrel, aka "Iron Duke", produced by the Pontiac Motor Division, 8 for 1978 model year, U for Lordstown, OH assembly and the rest is the production sequence. We got the tag, we can brag: 78 for 1978, 2HM07 for Pontiac Sunbird Sport Hatchback, U for Lordstown, OH assembly, A51 for bucket seats, 11L and 11U for white upper and lower exterior paint, 24X for Light Blue interior trim, 10C for third week of October 1977 production. These were produced in Lordstown, OH (VIN code "U"), Southgate, CA (VIN code "C") and St. Therese, Ontario, Canada (VIN code "2"). These had an option for a Chevrolet 305 in some years and the H body ran through the 1980 model year.

[@garymckee8857]

I have two stories about this type of vehicle.# 1 I had an ex girlfriend that had one but it was an Oldsmobile orange in color white interior V6 a very nice girl but I was stupid and I had a friend who's farther was a captain for a major airline who gave him a Chevrolet version that had the V8 4 speed I can't remember was that a 265 like the first small block? But it couldn't run with my 69 Road Runner that I paid 300 dollars for in 1982.

[@googleusergp]

The 262 or 305 V8 Chevrloet small block were optional in certain years. You had to drop the engine if I recall to change certain spark plugs.

[@mom2huskies]

My parents had an early 80s Sunbird, brand new. At the same time I had a 63 Chevy II with 200K on it. Needless to say, my Chevy with 200K lasted longer than the Sunbird {Sunturd}.

[@googleusergp]

@@mom2huskies The early 80s (starting in 1982) would have been J body front wheel drive cars, sharing the same platform as the Olds Firenza, Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk and Cadillac Cimarron. It was actually called a J2000 in 1982 and didn't get the Sunbird name back until 1984.

[@doug9066]

I remember the Pontiac Sunbird's when I was a kid, I was 11 in 1978 but I remember these cars.

[@dowen1511]

Dam wow I had one of them in the early 90s a formula one had a 305 and 4 speed in it ran out daily good to do.a hell of a burn out and drift good. Fun car which I would of thought about how rare they are only paid 500 bucks for it too and it was very clean as well.

[@topperthompson2713]

Death Traps sister got killed in one!

[@jameskoinzan8062]

Sorry to hear that

[@Monaghan]

Sad to hear that 😔

[@oliverdelgado6952]

Dam

[@jasonsheppard7877]

Sorry for your loss my 3 older brothers drove off a bridge in one ..they survived but damn it was bad!!!

[@steveb6103]

🤮 straight to the crusher for that one. Up here in the rust belt it took 2 years for those to rot out. And they took the turn signal switch!

[@walterbatman7949]

Vintage sunbird haven’t seen one of these in years

[@lateefcarrere1649]

What a shame.

[@OsoBlanco17]

Daaamn I thought the Sunbird was strictly an 80s brain fart.

[@aa64912]

Not much left of it. Sad

[@HondariderLee]

Make one heck of a sleeper ........hot rod......

[@googleusergp]

When you said "update" you sounded a bit like Robert Stack from Unsolved Mysteries. He would use the same voice when he would provide an update to a case that was discussed on the show previously.

[@mcqueenfanman]

I had an H body back in the 80s for a summer. It was a 75 Monza hatchback, had the 2bbl 2300 engine, 4 spd trans, full gauges, mag type hub caps, and f-r sway bars. It was slow but handled pretty well. In the local paper there was a standing "wanted" ad for these cars. I heard they make great week end racers.

[@CR7659]

Neat little car. Shame it went to junk but it's fairly rough to try to save. That tilt column is the flip part. Bolt into Monza maybe Vega too.

[@LSswapGarage1]

A friend of mine has a 78 Sunbird Station Wagon sitting under a cover in his yard. Was his grandmothers car I think and the thing is in pretty damn decent shape, paint and all. We have to go start it up one of these days and take it for a cruise... it's a car nobody knows what the hell it is.

[@969thewhip]

I had one of the newest Sunbirds you could get! A 1994 LE. But of course they were based on the Cavalier by then.

[@kc0lif]

i like those cars Pontiac sunbird oldsmobile starfire buick Skyhawk and chevy monza if i had money and resources restore car like that.

[@greasemonkey4112]

love the uploads i got to ask you why fire-chicken lol prob stupid question but got at ask :)

[@toyoscio]

6:19 ROFL

[@oliverdelgado6952]

There was a Sunbird Formula of these years

[@adape0884frank]

I remember that in 1991 they were a demand and then as soon as you would wreck one it was useless.

[@mcqueenfanman]

The rear suspension was a preview for the 3rd gens.

[@05gtdriver]

I dunno, these H body GM quadruplets were handsome and could hold a variety of corporate power plants. Good suspension design(torque arm rear suspension). I think a hatchback of any of the 4 brands with LS3 power and a 6speed behind it would make for a sweet restomod.

[@ls6-ss413]

They like to twist man. Been there. Had a black rust free bare bones one I dropped a stock 350 into it. She hooked hard and without a cage I couldn't open the doors very soon after. Couldn't see dropping the money into it to reinforce it so I pulled the motor and sold it. Dude who bought it mini tubbed It, 10 point cage, subframe, etc. Thing still went down the track sideways. It's for sale now as a roller for 3500. He will never get that.

[@adamspitfire]

That rust tho........

[@briang4470]

It looks like it's got vega gt wheels

[@reedb9039]

Straight to the crusher

[@ClassicRideSociety]

A quick stop for parts pulling and then to the crusher

[@garymckee8857]

I have these conversations with Google and I forgot to thank you for the video and have a great weekend.

[@googleusergp]

Ditto, thanks to Benny.

[@justinraystyles3537]

Where's it at!? If I can get it cheap with title ill buy it and fix it!!!!!

[@ClassicRideSociety]

Pick n Pull South Dallas TX. But they arent selling it whole. Parts only now

[@justinraystyles3537]

@@ClassicRideSociety 😢💔

[@NickvanMeel]

Must be a rare model? I have never seen one before?

[@googleusergp]

Nah they made tons of these.

[@NickvanMeel]

@@googleusergp ah ok😝here in the Netherlands they are rare then😁

[@googleusergp]

@@NickvanMeel Sure. I'm not sure many would have been imported there. You had other offerings from the various European countries. If anything, GM's Opel or Vauxhall would have likely been your "GM" offerings over there.

[@NickvanMeel]

@@googleusergp yes, here if is Opel! In Engeland it is Vauxhall👍🏼

[@pinkpantherfanboi4706]

I Never heard of a Sunbird.

[@emeyer6963]

It was for people who couldn't afford the Firebird,A relative of the Vega family.Twin to the Chevy Monza.Buick Skyhawk and Olds Starfire

[@pinkpantherfanboi4706]

@@emeyer6963 Oh ok thanks i just wanted to know what they were.

[@googleusergp]

Sort of an "entry level" vehicle for the Pontiac buyer with a range of sporty and economy models depending on how you optioned them. Poor quality overall and they got eaten up in sales by the Japanese. GM produced them to offset the bigger cars and performance cars of the day so that their corporate average fuel economy would meet standards. So if they sold 120,000 Trans Ams (as they did in 1979), they had to sell these "loss leaders" to make up for the CAFE numbers and have a full range of product for the buyer.

[@oliverdelgado6952]

They made the Sunbird up until to the mid 90s

[@justsumguy2u]

Now that's a car you never see anymore! I wasn't at all surprised it went to the yard---that's the kind of car people will only buy if it's really clean. I doubt the Iron Duck still ran ok---they had a knack for spinning rod bearings and throwing rods

[@NoOne-oe3co]

Nice ride! all fresh and new with a nice paint job would be a head turner now days.