Where have all the Sunbirds gone?

[82-T/A]

Hey guys, this is my first post on PontiacForum.com, and wanted to share a few thoughts and ask a couple of questions.

I'm a long-time Pontiac owner... my first car was a 1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6 (automatic) which I bought when I was 18 in high school... (graduated in 1996). It was a pretty sweet car back then, even for it being 9 years old and most of the other kids having BMWs and TransAms, hahah. I incidentally still have the car. I blew the motor in 2000, and I was slowly restoring it, got about 75% of the way through, and then put it in storage in Ocala where it's sat for about 14 years (I still check on it from time to time and replace the dessicant).

Anyway, I've owned... I dunno, 9 Fieros since then, two TransAms, two GrandAms, and a Pontiac Solstice that I bought new back in December of 2005 (was a special order).


Right now, the only Pontiacs I have are my 87 Fiero (in storage), and my daughter's 1985 Fiero 2m4 SE, which she is restoring herself. You can watch all her videos here: Gen Z Garage (she does 95% of all the work herself, seriously).


But here's my question, and please don't hate me. I happened upon a 1987 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo GT Convertible... and I thought to myself... man, that engine would be sweet in a Fiero. So I was seriously considering buying it and then pulling the motor and stripping the car. It occurred to me that I shouldn't seek to trash a perfectly running classic car. But I started looking at Sunbirds (which I'd largely ignored for many years), and I discovered that they made a hatchback version in the 80s... specifically from 1985-1987. The thing is down-right awesome looking, especially when outfitted with all the Turbo GT stuff.

Where have all these cars gone? It's almost impossible for me to even find a picture of a Turbo GT hatchback, let alone a picture of ANY hatchback. Like... I see none for sale, and no one has even taken pictures of their own hatchback GT. They apparently made close to 20k of them... are they all gone? There has to be one somewhere... anyone have any pictures?

I'd be interested in buying one... even if it's an SE. I would be interested in totally outfitting it with the Turbo GT stuff as well, and making it look all stock.

If anyone is totally bored, this is my website that I made decades ago. It has a lot of Iron Duke and GM V6/60 stuff on it if anyone is interested: Pontiac Performance . NET

Also... I'm rebuilding a Camaro 3.4 V6/60 to drop in my original Fiero, once my daughter is finished with her Fiero restoration by the Summer. The 3.4 V6/60 will re-use all the stock Fiero stuff, but will have a crane H272 Cam, 3.4 DOHC pistons in it, etc. I already have all the parts, just need to find the time.


Thanks!

Todd

 

[melsg5]

Welcome to the forum, quite a collection of cars.
Unlike other cars you mentioned, the Sunbird didn't have any aftermarket support. GM A and F bodies and the Fiero have lots of aftermarket choices for parts.

 

[82-T/A]

Welcome to the forum, quite a collection of cars.
Unlike other cars you mentioned, the Sunbird didn't have any aftermarket support. GM A and F bodies and the Fiero have lots of aftermarket choices for parts.

Yeah, it's unfortunate... it's really bumming me out. I mean, I can barely find pictures of hatchback 86-88 Sunbirds, let alone fine a Turbo GT. I'm sure that in the late 90s, people probably figured these were junk cars and no one would want them after they're used up. But the mid/late 80s was such a unique time for the automotive industry. It's sad to see something sporty, quick, and small basically disappear off the planet.

I'm well into my mid-40s... and I'm at that age where I'm realizing that I'm not young anymore. For the longest time, I kind of viewed myself as not being much older than 20 something... though I was always fairly responsible. I used to go to the junkyard in South Florida (U-Pull-It which is now an LKQ site) back in the late 90s and early 2000s. Every car you could possibly imagine would be in there. They had tons of 80s cars, lots of 90s cars, and even 70s and 1960s cars. Occasionally you'd see a 60s Mustang, or something else from that era. You'd even see more unique cars like a pair of AMC motors... an AMC Javeline and an AMX side by side... almost perfect in every way... even Nash Metropolitans... and if I needed something for my VW Bus, there were dozens of 70s Busses there. And... because this was South Florida... you also had Maseratis, Porsches, Corvettes, and Rolls Royces, all from the Miami Vice era... all in the junkyard. There was no shortage of British 12cyl Jaguars, or V10 and V12 Mercedes and BMW sedans and coupes... you name it, it was in there.

I was on a business trip to Miami a few weeks ago. And I decided to hit Harbor Freight by my old house, and bought a bunch of tools and went to the junkyard in my work clothes (yeah, I got a lot of looks... none of these people knew I used to go herein the 90s, haha). And man... let me tell you, what a shock of disappointment.

There was nothing exciting in that junkyard. I mean, the ONLY car I found in there that was even remotely interesting, was a Porsche Boxster. All the other cars in the yard were basically the usual cross-over stuff which is post 60% rear-window NHTSA regulation (that the rear frame of the car has to be within 60% the height of the vehicles total body, which is why all the cars look like s**t from the rear now). Everything that was in there was like... Honda CRV, Mazda MX6, Buick (whatever, they all look exactly the same), Ford Edge... that kind of stuff. I was so incredibly underwhelmed.

We've really entered a very sad and possibly beginning of the end for the automotive industry. I can't really think of much from "now" that people would want to keep, except maybe a Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky, or the current generation of Mustangs. There's not much exciting out there.

 

[92 Sunbird LE]

Any Hatch J Body are rare, if you find one, grab it ... Last one I seen for sale in New Mexico was at least 4 years ago.Cavalier Hatch's are more common but are scarce also... ( Olds and Buick too)

Doug in P.R.

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[pippo]

To answer your main question , the Title of your thread- sunbirds are still here, but not many. They are lowly cars for most people. I have a 87 NON turbo GT, rarer than any other sunbird (only 7% of 87 sunbirds were non turbo). Good gas mileage for the technology of that period. Thats why it still runs, rust and all. Even today, turbo a car, and dont expect it to reach high mileage. Many recalls, etc. But rarely because its a non turbo.