First Pontiac - 80 Sunbird

[birdistheword]

Hi all, I am going to look at a 1980 Sunbird tomorrow and would love to get feedback on known issues or what to look for - I've been wanting a retro looking vehicle, can't afford the smokey and the bandit car. Purpose would be a two to three times a week drive 40 miles round trip, so I want something cool, that runs and doesn't have to be fast or anything.

In a perfect world this would be good to go and able to hit 60mph on the highway and sit in heavy traffic for 15-20 min at a time. In a more perfect world I do an engine swap and zoom.

I'm not big on the current interior, but I can fix -seller says they don't drive it often, has other vehicles. Seller also says heater core was bypassed by prior original owner, it's been a California car it's whole life.

1980 pontiac sunbird for sale by owner - Cedar Park, TX - craigslist

Thoughts? What am I getting into here?

 

[92 Sunbird LE]

I owned a 80 Monza (Similar HBody) for 33 years.It had the 151 with a 4 speed and was super reliable . Rust areas to check is the battery tray, front and rear suspension mounting points and floors.Heater core replacement is easy to get to.
My advice is get the a/c fixed because the car is low to the ground compared to all newer cars and you will be smelling exhaust fumes if you are stuck in traffic. ( I did in Arizona for a couple of months when I moved there... No a/c in my Monza)

Join " Monza Madness" on Facebook for parts or help.. most members have come from the old online forums where there is a lot of info.....

The Official H-Body Internet Community • Index page

forums.h-body.org

Doug in P.R.

 

[cammerjeff]

I agree on the interior, that is awful IMO! But it looks like a solid car. The cross flow Iron Duke engine is reliable, but won't win any drag races (especially with the Automatic should be a Metric 200 3-speed) The good news is parts are more available then the earlier 77-78 non cross flow version of the engine.

It should be able to do 60MPH on the highway, but it will take a while to get to that speed. Just like any old car it should stay cool in stop and go traffic. But remember you are looking at a 43 year old car. And things can go wrong, and sitting for long periods can also make things not work well. Check that the lower air deflector is intact, and the clutch fan works. Other than that it is usually just clogged radiators and stuck thermostats that cause overheating issue.

The only real issues with Iron duke engines are soft camshafts (the lobes can wear out, it is a hit and miss issue) and the timing gears strip out. They use a Phenolic material to make the gears, and can strip out. Both happened to my 1977 Iron Duke at around 80,000 miles. It started running poorly (probably the cam lobes wearing down) and then just quite running when the gears stripped a few hundred miles later.

Let us know if you go for it or not.