1973 Grand Am 7.4 litre coupe (Page 1/1)
Rick 88 AUG 10, 08:43 PM
This is probably too old for most of you. When I was young my father ordered a new 1973 Grand Am Coupe with the "7.4 litre" (actual badge on the trunklid) 455 cu in V8,
It had power everything, factory tach and gauges, 5 Honeycomb wheels, Turbo 400 automatic, dual exahust and 3.42 posi differential. It ran pretty good for a 73 and suprised a lot of unsuspecting cars of the day. The 73 was a one year only body style. 74 and 75 looked similar but were not the same as the 73. A few were produced with the "6.5 litre" 400 cu in V8 and a 4 -speed manual.

Do any of you remember these, or know where a nice rust free example would be for sale? I always liked that car even though it got about 10 mpg.

tesmith66 AUG 11, 08:05 AM
Good luck in your search. G3's (73-77 GM A bodies) are getting scarce. They were the first (and only) of the "colonnade" body style cars that were hastily thrown out there in response to the government's soon to be imposed vehicle rollover requirements in 1973. For whatever reason, those requirements never materialized and the public wasn't too keen on the big looking cars with the giant B and C pillars. They sold OK, but collectors did not like them so they are almost all gone now. A few are getting some love now, like the 73 Chevelle SS 454, the Laguna, Grand Prix and Olds 442, but I haven't seen a Grand Am in ages.

I have a 75 El Camino SS, and am having a very hard time finding parts. The restoration industry just skims over or completely ignores that generation of A-body. Been trying to find a 4 speed console for decades, but the few times I have, they are very high $$$$- like in the 4 figure range. Swivel bucket seats are the same deal.

So... if you find one grab it. It won't be cheap and it will be rare.


Found this on the web...
California Kid AUG 11, 09:48 AM
GM Employee Car Show this year:
Joe 1320 AUG 11, 12:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by tesmith66:

Good luck in your search. G3's (73-77 GM A bodies) are getting scarce. They were the first (and only) of the "colonnade" body style cars that were hastily thrown out there in response to the government's soon to be imposed vehicle rollover requirements in 1973. For whatever reason, those requirements never materialized and the public wasn't too keen on the big looking cars with the giant B and C pillars. They sold OK, but collectors did not like them so they are almost all gone now. A few are getting some love now, like the 73 Chevelle SS 454, the Laguna, Grand Prix and Olds 442, but I haven't seen a Grand Am in ages.

I have a 75 El Camino SS, and am having a very hard time finding parts. The restoration industry just skims over or completely ignores that generation of A-body. Been trying to find a 4 speed console for decades, but the few times I have, they are very high $$$$- like in the 4 figure range. Swivel bucket seats are the same deal.

So... if you find one grab it. It won't be cheap and it will be rare.


Found this on the web...



Yep.. That generation is severely overlooked. Tucked away I've got a 73 ElCamino, 74 laguna, 75 laguna, 76 laguna and I'm on the hunt for a Can Am. Big, roomy coupes!

Rick 88 AUG 11, 01:27 PM
Well I was doing some searching and came across a 74 Grand Am 4 door sedan. Not what I wanted but it must be pretty rare. It has the 15 in Honeycomb wheels, full tach and gauge panel and get this...... it's a factory 4-speed. One one other drawback, no A/C! What an odd combination. My fathers car stayed here locally, and was kept in very good conditon for years, unit it was wrecked by the owners son.

The Can Am's are nice cars too, but were not avaialble with the 455's like the Grand Am's. The 73 442's were also good looking colonade coupes. 74's had much heavier front bumpers.

My fathers 73 looked like the Florentine Red coupe pictured in the following link, except it had the factory honeycomb wheels. I loved the NACA hood, cool instrument panel, steering wheel, and louvered quarter windows. These cars also were the first to have the dimmer switch on the turn signal, instead of the floor. They also came with reclining buckets with adjustable lumbar support on both sides.

http://www.tachrev.com/GrandAm1973-75.htm

[This message has been edited by Rick 88 (edited 08-13-2012).]