1987 Pontiac Grand Am SE the end of the malaise era..... will it run?

[@malonemills5507]

Damn. McDonald's is hell on some folks

[@greasebellygarage]

So are drugs but some people recover enough to make dumb, poorly punctuated comments on random KZbin videos.

[@flameonhood]

I can never skip a pontiac video

[@greasebellygarage]

I have more coming

[@MrOlea]

one of the best cars I've owned was a 1991 Pontiac Grand Am Le 2 dr coupe.

[@robertdiehl9003]

Beautiful car. Super trendy when new even today

[@freestang6662]

We bought a stripped down '86 brand new off the lot. Four cylinder, five speed. I think the only option was a/c. It was the best running American made car we ever had. Nothing sexy about them, but I think the dependability helped save the US auto industry.

[@greasebellygarage]

The 2.5 l iron Duke 4 cylinder was a pretty good engine too .

[@TheAlexdylan97]

That car needs to be saved i wanna see it!!!

[@greasebellygarage]

it was sold to a local in Pennsylvania. I imagine it will surface on the internet at some point in the future

[@Jonathan_Taylor]

This was the car that Pontiac gave me as a service loaner, when I was getting my fire wall recall done on my 84 Fiero..

[@greasebellygarage]

I had my Durango worked on one time and they gave me a Jeep renegade.... lol

[@TheREALOC1972]

These mid 80's-early 90's along with the mid-late 70's cars are making a comeback as daily drivers again, big time.

[@greasebellygarage]

yeah I've been trying to Target those myself. they're some of my favorites, reliable and still easy to fix in most cases. and the older ones are exempt from emissions now which is great

[@TheREALOC1972]

@@greasebellygarage Yeah the olders are exempt from emissions plus they are still relatively cheap that's why they are so popular. The mid 80's-early 90's are cheap and they are still pretty simple to fix and get back on the road but will never be worth much money, that's why people are putting them back on the road as a daily driver. one the young couples at work has a 87 Celebrity wagon as their daily driver and they have a 76 Cougar that are building into a weekend fun car to go to Cars and Coffee's and local car shows with. Earlier this year they sold their newer cars after they were paid off and took that money to put into the Celebrity and Cougar and they are taking the money they used to make their car payments with and putting half of it into a saving account to be use as a down payment on a house and the other half they split between vacation fund and just to live a little bit better each month, I'd been telling them both that they should do that for a couple years because financial freedom when your young is the best way to go.

[@remmor669]

Great channel! Thank you.

[@greasebellygarage]

you are welcome! much more to come!

[@Fast-Burn-Productions-LLC]

That thing was almost the cost of a Grand National . Imagine if the guy bought that instead of a Grand Am. Imagine how much a GN would be worth in the same mileage and condition!

[@greasebellygarage]

excellent point .. you're right, a new gn was around 15k I think ... wow

[@thomasthurston6656]

87 was the last year of the GN. Most were sold before they hit dealer floors. I'm sure they were marked way up in CALIFORNIA SoCal. I don't remember seeing many on lots new. I do recall Hurst Olds and the Chevy SS.

[@chadsteininger8436]

Love these 2 door grand am and 6000le cars. Good find! Wiring pigtail from the crank sensor to the icm usually goes bad. Will kill the injectors or the IGN or both.

[@greasebellygarage]

I was almost second-guessing myself about leaving the car behind but I always go with my gut and I'm sure that the problems you described were just the beginning. in the end I just didn't feel it was worth hauling it a thousand miles home. there were some things that were crumbling apart as I was touching them. I've been down that road before you know. thanks for watching my video. I'm a big fan of '80s cars.

[@chadsteininger8436]

@@greasebellygarage if I had something like that today, I'd swap in good ol ls4!

[@greasebellygarage]

@chadsteininger8436 that would be super sweet!!

[@topher8634]

Damn, I was anxious to see if the A/C clutch was going to pull in.

[@greasebellygarage]

Me too ha ha! I ran into some issues off camera.... I was so bummed

[@joshtumblin5893]

My mom’s 1985 Olds Calais had the 3.0 v6 was a very good engine. You don’t hear anything about them though, only the loud quad 4 most of them got or the iron duke vibrating engine. Mom’s was hunter green she loved it.

[@greasebellygarage]

I never really cared for the quad 4 that much. I mean it was a pretty powerful little unit but I heard they overheated constantly.

[@robertdiehl9003]

Love the maintenance log notebook. I do the same.

[@greasebellygarage]

this guy wrote down every time he waxed the car.... at least until 2015.

[@dewdogg869]

Glad I found the channel

[@greasebellygarage]

I'm glad your here! I hope you enjoy!

[@sethp1200]

Shame you didn’t get it running. My friend in highschool had an 89 it was 4cyl auto awesome car ran the hell out of it tough car lot of memories he only changed the oil probably 5 times in 400,000 miles oil pump finally quit lol he’s been looking for another one since

[@greasebellygarage]

the iron duke is unstoppable

[@CertifiedShadetree]

I'd have lost my shit over that car!🤣 My first car was an 87 Grand Am LE. Had the Iron Duke, though. Was slow AF, but cornered like it was on rails. I have the steering wheel from that car hanging on my garage wall (it was basically a Trans Am wheel without the steering wheel controls.) Mine had that "info center" below the radio and the digital odometer. AND it had the composite headlights!!🤣 Sold it to my brother, and he hit a deer with it. In retrospect it was a ginormous POS, but I had a lot of good times in that car..

[@greasebellygarage]

it was indeed a really cool car. unfortunately, storing it in that garage was not the best plan. probably it would have been in much better shape a few years ago I believe. before the roof started leaking. I will always second-guess myself about passing on this car. but everything happens for a reason. thanks for watching my video. I appreciate it

[@CertifiedShadetree]

@@greasebellygarage I have a soft spot in my heart for those old 80s GMs, so I couldn't click on it fast enough! So thanks for making the video!!👍👍

[@greasebellygarage]

@CertifiedShadetree you got it

[@1959Pontiac]

I had a blue 87 Grand Am. It was a good car for me.

[@greasebellygarage]

I've heard people rave about how good they are

[@enjoythesho1992]

Those little grand ams are super cool little cars we had one in the family growing up quad4 with a 5 speed little thing would move

[@greasebellygarage]

they were everywhere when I was a kid

[@Bossbugg90]

You gonna be able to fit in that thing. Sheesh.

[@greasebellygarage]

yup fat will squish flat....

[@jonathangoldberg7777]

i saw this car one one of the facebook forums im on. i was really tempted to buy it but the price was to high back when i saw it with no proof of it running. really love the car. i actually have an 88 sedan same color but really love the coupes more. for the right price i would fiddle with it. im in Florida as well shipping that thing would be so expensive.

[@greasebellygarage]

Yes that's where I found it and it was not quite as nice as the pictures. but it was still a really nice car.

[@ES-ny2vk]

Interesting that a well optioned 1987 Pontiac Grand Am SE cost nearly $14,700 when new. Kind of pricey back then considering the V6 Beretta my parents bought new in 93 (with a standard airbag and ABS brakes) was only $13K.

[@greasebellygarage]

I know I was kind of shocked at the price when it was new

[@topher8634]

3.0, 3.3, & 3.8 we're all pretty much the same engine. Just minute displacement differences. Remember the Quad 4?

[@greasebellygarage]

Yes.... Lol I hated the quad 4 but I kinda liked it at the same time

[@SouthsideKidd550]

@@greasebellygarageThe Quad 4 was loud, buzzy and unrefined. But it was a damn good motor. I've seen folks in the Buena Vista, GA and Columbus, GA areas who own Quad 4 powered cars still driving them in 2024.

[@thomasthurston6656]

Buick motors. Quad 4 was Olds.

[@GMCGUY-]

THE 3800 3.8 LITTER V6 THAT GRAND PRIX GT HAD ARE THE BEST 👌 ENGINES WAY BETER THAN THE 3.1 3.0 3.3 3.6 THE 3.8 LITTER 3800 IS AN AWESOME ENGINE SO RELIABLE ❤❤❤❤❤

[@greasebellygarage]

@@GMCGUY- I agree

[@pete2076]

My ocd is killing me seeing the fuses upside down and the words on the fuse box right side up

[@greasebellygarage]

I didn't do it.... I swear!

[@robertdiehl9003]

I replaced those ignition control every 6 months back when I had my 1991 buick lesabre. They went bad lokw clock work....

[@greasebellygarage]

I must've replaced it 6 times in 4 years on my grand national.... I started buying standard or napa and they lasted longer

[@TheAlexdylan97]

what a cool car

[@greasebellygarage]

I agree

[@robertw2902]

Dang! Those cars were pretty expensive. I bought my 89 F150 lariat 4x4 new for $13,001. Kinda odd an 87 Grand Am costs more.

[@greasebellygarage]

I know I thought this car would have been around 10 grand or so. brand new and 12 fully loaded

[@robertdiehl9003]

Such a plush interior when you knew what fabric was used. Today's synthetic whatever cloth used is a fire hazard .

[@greasebellygarage]

crushed velour... gm had it right back then

[@samgiles2765]

I own a silver 1988 Grand Am and unfortunately 20 year old I was running late for work and I ended up crashing into a ditch rolling end to end at 90 miles per hour impact but I walked away with just a sprained shoulder and a cut on my hand no one know how I walked away I don't even know how I walked away

[@greasebellygarage]

I'm glad you made it okay!

[@myrtistaylor5759]

When he said "Sell as parts cause of the condition" i was like that car dosint even seem that bad, this dude obviously never been to somewhere like Wisconsin cause shit is rotten here

[@greasebellygarage]

yeah I'm not used to rust. I'm a Florida boy. ultimately with the age of the tires on the car and the other issues like the odometer not working and the moldings being unobtainable, I felt the car wasn't worth hauling back 1100 mi to Florida. so I chose to do what was best for all parties involved.

[@TK-ff5kc]

Bought a new 1986 Monte Carlo SS. 16,639 out the door.

[@greasebellygarage]

seems like a much better deal, doesn't it?

[@CertifiedShadetree]

Regarding the side mouldings, in my case, rust formed around the rivets holding the retaining clips in place. By the time you saw a rust bubble form above the moulding, it was already too late. You'd pull off the moulding only to find the area surrounding the rivets completely rotted away. I learned how NOT to use bondo while attempting a "fix" of my GA's door skins.🤣🤣

[@greasebellygarage]

I was worried that may be the case with that car. I was totally disappointed that those moldings were crumbling, but only on the driver side underneath where the roof leak was. that and the odometer not working correctly were the deciding factors for me.

[@CertifiedShadetree]

@@greasebellygarage Yeah and even if it was minty, would anyone really want to daily drive it? I'm sure maintenance parts are readily available, but certainly nothing else on the car, as their heyday in the junkyards was 25+ years ago.

[@greasebellygarage]

@@CertifiedShadetree exactly

[@grabasandwich]

27:26 I remember seeing a bunch of GMs from this era running around with a bad coil pack. You could tell as they were running on only 4 or 5 cylinders and sounded awful!

[@topher8634]

@@grabasandwich very common failure. Coils and control module. Otherwise pretty indestructible. My first car was an 89 Pontiac 6000 and while I put about half a dozen alternators and coil packs on, it had the original engine and transmission when I wrecked it 10 years later with 495K on it.

[@greasebellygarage]

When I had my grand national, I kept both in the trunk at all times

[@grabasandwich]

@@greasebellygarage I vaguely remember hearing stories like that. My first car was an 80 Monza Spyder with the Buick 231 but it still had a distributor of course. And I seem to remember some GMs having the coil pack bolted to the side of the block underneath the car??

[@greasebellygarage]

@grabasandwich there was an engine where it was mounted in the side. I think it was a 4 cyl. but my memory is fading.....

[@topher8634]

@@greasebellygarage 2.8 and first gen 3.1 V6. It was on front by the starter. 2.5 Iron duke/Tech 4 it was in back of the block, the crank sensor was mounted to the back of the module and loved to break off-often leading to dropping the oil pan, which wasn't too terrible.

[@kippaseo8027]

Growing up as a kid in Miami in the late 1980s I remember seeing these everywhere. My older brother had add a girlfriend that's trove a black one of these. I remember that she had a lot of weird electrical issues in the dashboard. I remember my brother telling me that if you saw a 2 door then it was owned by somebody and if it was a 4 door Sedan it was most likely a rental car. It's sad that as many as were sold of these N Bodies I can't remember the last time I saw one in the past 10 years am I and believe me I would have Noticed. I remember once flying to Cleveland with my parents in the Avis rental car we had was was a 1990 Olds cutlass Calais. It was funny to see all of the GM N Bodies lined up in a row. I actually don't remember any of them being Buick buick's but I do remember all of the oldsmobile and Pontiac cars cars perfectly lined up which now reminds me of that famous magazine cover with all of the old A Bodies lined up. I swear there every rental car was either a Pontiac grand dam, Ultimate bill Calais, Or Corsica.

[@greasebellygarage]

there is a scene in planes trains and automobiles where Steve Martin is in a rental car lot there are a ton of n bodies and g bodies in that scene. good memories

[@topher8634]

I turned 6 in '87

[@greasebellygarage]

There were tons of these around back then.... I was 14...

[@grabasandwich]

I turned 8. My Dad's friend had one like this. Not sure what powerplant it had. Oh, and I think my Aunt had one. Her son was being babysat by our other cousin, and one day she decided to put him in the back seat and go for a drive. But she was only 14 or 15 and didn't have her license. She backed into a flat deck tow truck parked next to it, smashed out the back window, gave up and went back inside.

[@John0000000420]

You should have sprayed ether directly into the throttle body... It popped... It would have started

[@greasebellygarage]

it actually popped like four times off camera. the power supply was all intermittent and I think the wiring harness to the crank sensor may have been chewed up.

[@87camro]

Could’ve bought a trans am gta, iroc, Fox body, monte ss, grand national all for the same price......

[@greasebellygarage]

You're right, but that's what makes this so unique I think....

[@robertdiehl9003]

When Pontiac truly built Excitement as thier campaign slogan said. A period of time for electrical advancement plus studio designers actually asked the public what they wanted . Vehicle design today is done by some dope siting at home in his underwear working from home who has no clue what thier doing. Ask any mechanic today... They will agree with me

[@greasebellygarage]

lol.... not much good work gets done in your underwear I've noticed.... I was always partial to the 1985 two-tone colored trans ams. I love the silver and gray two-tone 1985 trans Am when I was a kid that was a beautiful car and it was exciting. not super fast but very exciting

[@Powder86sc]

How much does he want now?

[@greasebellygarage]

he sold the car to a local a few days after I left ..

[@ThatPAScratcherGuy]

I'll take a wild guess and say you may have got gas at Al's.

[@greasebellygarage]

it was Sheetz.... and the pump was really fast...

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

Nice rare grand am, especially with the turbo engine. You drove all that way and ended up with nothing? That car has extremely low mileages and if you store a car, at least start it up once a month.

[@greasebellygarage]

I drove all that way, but I actually looked at two cars while I was in Pennsylvania. the other one should be coming to the channel pretty soon.

[@robertdiehl9003]

Always room for many & plenty. New subscriber here as of today.

[@keyper555]

Well that was a waste of 40 minutes I'll never get back, I watch these videos to see older cars get running and driving again, not to see someone say well no spark, guess I'll go now, thanks for nothing

[@greasebellygarage]

well sorry you're disappointed. there's a little bit more to the backstory that I did not disclose in the video. you'll probably be really interested in one of my upcoming videos, so stay tuned!

[@keyper555]

@@greasebellygarage I will Sir, I was just really hoping to see it breath fire again as I really liked that version of the Grand Am.

[@greasebellygarage]

@keyper555 I know.... I was really disappointed too.. but there was more to the story. things don't always go as planned.

[@jeffreysherman5981]

Dude put some power to this Pontiac n see what happens or get it out of garage ,cmon

[@greasebellygarage]

I did all the above except get it out of the garage....

[@sevany494]

My dad has that car

[@greasebellygarage]

very cool!

[@Crystalcummins-l1f]

The 3.0 was not a good engine the 3.3 and 3.8 was bulletproof

[@greasebellygarage]

I've heard people say that it was and I've heard people say that it wasn't. I remember when I was a kid the 3.0 was a pretty solid engine when it was in the century. but I will say the 3.8 was far superior to all of them.

[@Crystalcummins-l1f]

That's the year I was made

[@greasebellygarage]

I guess 1987 was a great year then!

[@Mervyn001]

Interesting video but I had to stop watching, you panning the camera like a drunk sailor, I was getting dizzy 😂

[@greasebellygarage]

I'm sorry..... I suck at the camera.... my wife complains about it all the time....

[@andymaurice7693]

Sounds like no compression

[@greasebellygarage]

Yes it could have had a stripped nylon timing gear. I guess it did fire like four times total but the wiring was the big mess

[@shawnkapsch4384]

I am interested in buying this car!!! Please reach out to me please!!!

[@greasebellygarage]

he sold it to a local in Pennsylvania, sorry but it may be back on the market soon.

[@RandyWhipkey-x3c]

I had One pure junk

[@greasebellygarage]

yeah, there's always bad apples in every bunch. I think these cars were mostly good but some of them were definitely awful. I even had a Toyota one time that was a piece of junk, a tundra of all things.