1981 Pontiac Grand Prix

Personal luxury powered by 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix engine family.

Exact-year stock-presenting Grand Prix retained for coupe profile, grille, vinyl roof, bright trim, wheel covers, and stance context.

Bodies Two-door five-passenger personal-luxury coupe

Configurations Grand Prix, Grand Prix LJ, Grand Prix Brougham

Engine range 231 V6, 265 V8, or 350 diesel V8 by application

Chassis G-body front coils, four-link rear, and power front discs

Production Exact configuration ledger remains unresolved

Story

1981 Pontiac Grand Prix

The 1981 Grand Prix family combined two-door five-passenger personal-luxury coupe with Grand Prix, Grand Prix LJ, Grand Prix Brougham configurations. This page keeps those factory choices together without treating an engine, stripe, badge, or trim package as a separate car identity.

Engines and transmissions

V6, gasoline V8, and diesel paths require matching fuel system, emissions equipment, transmission, axle, cooling, dates, and records. Transmission, induction, cooling, exhaust, axle, emissions equipment, and dates must match the selected engine path.

Chassis and brakes

Base, LJ, and Brougham paths changed cabin, appearance, wheels, tires, and chassis equipment while sharing the coupe architecture. Brake, steering, spring, damper, axle, ratio, wheel, and tire equipment varied by configuration and must be reconciled to factory and car-specific records.

Body, trim, and proof

Start with VIN or serial, body tag, title, shell, and ownership history. Then reconcile drivetrain, chassis, protected finish, cabin, trim, dates, and records. Replaceable badges, stripes, wheels, or a swapped engine cannot establish factory configuration.

**Exact-year Grand Prix retained for the split grille, quad lamps, hood ornament, bumper, hood contours, windshield, and roofline; the background Corvette and display material are excluded.**Bull-Doser via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Price history

Values

Nominal dollars from original price sheets, auction archives, and approved value references.

Original Price

A verified original price is not yet available for this car.

Values move with paperwork, originality, options, condition, venue, and body style. High bids and guide values are labeled separately from completed sales.

Reference records

Options, Colors & Components

Source-backed details for trim, chassis, production, and authenticity.

Engine Details

231 V6 231 cu in Buick V6 · Regular gasoline path · engine assembly / specification
265 V8 265 cu in Pontiac V8 · Optional gasoline V8 path · engine assembly / specification
350 Diesel V8 350 cu in Oldsmobile diesel V8 · Optional diesel path · carburetor / specification

Transmission

Factory transmission Three-speed automatic transmission

Options

Engines and Induction summarized from reviewed factory and marque references.Classic Muscle · Reference illustration

LJ Grand Prix LJ factory · appearance · Codes, dates, installed hardware, body identity, and records must agree.
BROUGHAM Grand Prix Brougham factory · comfort · Codes, dates, installed hardware, body identity, and records must agree.
265-V8 Pontiac 265 V8 factory · performance · Codes, dates, installed hardware, body identity, and records must agree.
350-DIESEL 350 diesel V8 factory · performance · Codes, dates, installed hardware, body identity, and records must agree.
G80 Limited-slip differential factory · chassis · Codes, dates, installed hardware, body identity, and records must agree.

Paint

11 Cameo White factory · solid
19 Starlight Black factory · solid
24 Medium Blue Metallic factory · metallic
50 Solar Gold factory · metallic
75 Mayan Red factory · solid

Production

Transmissions summarized from reviewed factory and marque references.Classic Muscle · Reference illustration

1981 Pontiac Grand Prix family total · 0 · reported

Authenticity

Rear Axle and Ratios summarized from reviewed factory and marque references.Classic Muscle · Reference illustration

Model-year identity 1981 Grand Prix VIN or serial, body tag, title, shell, drivetrain, trim, protected finish, and ownership evidence that agrees · VIN or serial plate, body or trim plate, chassis, title, build records, and ownership history · fraud detection
Engine and transmission Configuration-correct engine, induction, transmission, controls, stampings, castings, and dates · Engine, induction, gearbox, shifter, pedals, stamp pads, castings, dates, and records · numbers matching
Axle, brakes, and suspension Application-correct axle, ratio, brake system, steering, springs, links, and dampers · Axle housing and carrier, brakes, steering, suspension, dates, service records, and build evidence · date correctness
Paint, exterior trim, and cabin Plate- and record-supported finish, moldings, badges, wheels, upholstery, instruments, and controls · Body and trim plates, protected paint, upholstery, hardware, dashboard, and restoration records · trim correctness

Still Researching

production No reviewed public ledger reconciles 1981 Grand Prix production by body, model, engine, transmission, axle, paint, trim, options, plant, date, and surviving-car status.
paint colors Reviewed references establish representative factory colors but not a complete body, trim, stripe, special-order, plant, and build-date compatibility matrix.
interior Broad cabin equipment is documented, but the complete upholstery color, material, body, option, and production-date matrix is not publicly reconciled.
authenticity markers Public model references cannot prove one survivor's born-with shell, drivetrain, chassis components, paint, trim, options, or component dates.