At $4,500, Is This 1990 Pontiac Sunbird Turbo the Budget Classic We Need?

With its driveline specs and fun convertible top, today’s Nice Price of No Dice Pontiac Sunbird has lots on offer. Let’s decide if the asking price is something an eager buyer might offer.

Subaru’s 2.5L Crosstrek

The big selling point made in the ad for yesterday’s 1985 Mercedes-Benz 190E was its fine leather upholstery. To be honest, from looking at its condition and pattern, it sure looked like MB-Tex to me. Far be it from me to argue with the seller who likely knows better. At $10,900, however, a lot of you thought the seller didn’t know better when it came to the car’s price. That manifested in a 75 percent No Dice loss, making it less likely they will easily unload that leather.

I used to have a co-worker who owned the Chevrolet version of today’s 1990 Pontiac Sunbird convertible. Well, it was a white Cavalier convertible but it lacked the Pontiac’s turbo motor and five-speed stick. He drove that Chevy all through college and halfway across the country multiple times without complaint. It was so reliable and cheap to run that he kept it long after gaining the ability to afford something nicer.

This particular Pontiac seems reasonably nice. Per the ad, it comes with 138,000 miles on the clock, and some recent expenditures on some new consumables. Those include a battery, struts and shocks, and fresh tires on the Pontiac family alloy wheels. Other plusses, according to the ad, include a working top, minimal rust, and bodywork that suffers only one small ding on the front fender. And it does have that wonderful Frankenstein switch parking brake between the seats.

On the downside, the windscreen has suffered a crack, there’s a minor tear in that convertible top, and the windshield header trim needs replacing since it’s starting to grow a Lilliputian topiary. Then there’s the crazy stereo system which features an out-of-place head unit and a comically big bass box taking up the entire rear seat. That can all could easily be given a heave-ho if not too much monkeying has been done to the wiring.

General Motors introduced the J Car in the U.S. in 1982 as the Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Olds Firenza, Cadillac Cimarron, and Pontiac J2000. Pontiac would rebrand its J the Sunbird in 1985 and that model carried on until 1994 when it was replaced by the redesigned Sunfire. All in all, the J-Car platform served GM remarkably well, surviving almost a quarter of a century with little change to the shared bits beneath the skirts.

Of course, this one is of particular interest because of that 1991 cc SOHC turbo four that sits sidesaddle beneath the hood. Originally designed by GM subsidiary Opel in Germany, and given the LT3 designation here in the States, the multi-port fuel-injected four makes 165 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. Here that’s paired with a Getrag 282 five-speed manual, the same gearbox that found its way into the better versions of the Sunbird’s sister sporty car, the Fiero. Imagine if that mid-engine commuter had been fitted with the Sunbird’s turbo motor too. That would have put some sass in its ass.

This Sunbird seems to have plenty of its sass left in it. It has a clean title too. What might all that be reasonably worth? The seller is asking $4,500, perhaps in the realization of the limited appeal the stereo offers. Could the car be worth that much in its present state?

What do you say, is this turbo Sunbird a deal at that $4,500 asking? Or, does that price mean this is a Bird that won’t get flipped?

You decide!

Omaha, Nebraska, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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