If you happen to fall into the late “Gen X” demographic as I do, you may have noticed a nineties revival happening right under your nose. Car fans will point to RADwood shows as being the harbinger of the movement, but for me, the trend hit home when I started seeing Friends T-shirts on people who were not even alive in the nineties. Depending on whether or not you’re into that kind of thing, you’ll find that this 1991 Pontiac Sunbird LE Convertible evokes either affection or revulsion, but either way, it’s for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Medford, New Jersey, for a very reasonable $7,800.
One thing every nineties kid who was even remotely into cars will remember is the exhaust note of GM’s 60-degree V6. That engine and its familiar growl (for good or for bad) seemed to power about 68 percent of cars in my Michigan hometown. It definitely gained a reputation for making a lot of mechanics a quick buck on intake manifold gasket replacements, but all-in-all, I’ve had pretty good luck with these engines in the two cars I’ve owned that had them.
For 1991, the 140-horsepower 3.1-liter variant was newly optional on the Sunbird, replacing the previous year’s 2.0-liter turbo four. The 3.1 lost 25 horsepower to the boosted engine, but it made up for it by offering a little more smoothness and simplicity; plus, you have to admit that most front-drive GM engine compartments of the 1990s were fairly clean compared to their 1980s forebears.
The Sunbird LE Convertible was available with “breathable white vinyl” upholstery for those occasions when the owner forgot to put the top up as they ran into the store. For being 35 years old, the interior looks almost new, but the seller points out that this is a two-owner car with only 27,000 miles on it.
This is the list of recent work and maintenance that has been done on the Sunbird, in addition to a catalog of its power options. Aside from “weak” front dash speakers, this is one of those rare specimens where everything seems to work, including the air conditioning.
Speaking of that, it’s worth bringing up that this is a 1990s Pontiac, so the interior decor and controls reflect that. The radio is a small square between a vent and an open (and somewhat useless) binnacle. The cassette deck is mounted low in front of the shifter, and that shifter still “stirs” a three-speed automatic.
And it has those seat belt towers that you could literally see from outside, one of the most obvious forehead-slappers of the entire car.
My memory tells me that Sunbird Convertibles were everywhere in the early- to mid-1990s, but that might have just been Sunbirds themselves. Unfortunately, Pontiac didn’t seem to break out convertible production, but if the Cavalier’s totals were suggestive, the J-body cars fell far short of their American competition. Only 5,882 Cavalier convertibles were sold in 1991 (after a year’s hiatus), while 29,074 Chrysler LeBaron Convertibles and 21,513 Ford Mustang Convertibles were produced.
Maybe it was the price: The convertible started at $14,414, almost $5,000 more than a Sunbird LE coupe. That means that this Sunbird is still on the depreciation curve, but that only benefits those who are feeling nostalgic for their high school parking lot, circa 1997 or so. Nope, the Sunbird might not be the car you think of first when you reach that time of life where a convertible is in the cards, but if you’re of a certain age, you might find yourself saying “Why not?” Especially for $7,800.
Related Reading
Car Show Classic: 1992 Pontiac Sunbird SE Convertible – The Most Appealing J-Car? (by Brendan Saur)
Cohort Find: 1990-95 Pontiac Sunbird Convertible – One Of The Best Kept J-Car Droptops Still Around? (by Rich Baron)
CC Capsule: Passed On The Left: 1994 Pontiac Sunbird Convertible – Just Like Mine, Only Turbo-less (by Keith Thelen)
These cars, like all the GM front wheel drive products of the ’80s and ’90s are complete and total crapboxes. Don’t even ask me how I really feel.
Mmm, tempting challenge. Try to resist…
While I have never aspired to own one these always seemed quite nicely styled (especially the interior) and a small car with a V6 has some appeal. Given the condition, mileage and recent work done this one seems like a nice buy for someone looking for a modern classic.
Never drove one that I can recall but I did get a ride in a coupe version once.
I think this group is call the W cars from 88-95 it started with the chevy Beretta then to the BOP sister cars Ok had an 89 it was a nitemare to work on !! the crank sensor is so buried I had to make a tool to change it ! and on the regal was a 2 year & only regal window switch ! ……
These are J bodies, W bodies are the GM10 line of midsize cars that officially replaced the RWD G body line; the Cutlass Supreme, Buick Regal, Grand Prix, Lumina. The Beretta was the L platform, which is kind of a hybrid of the N body and J body in some aspects as I recall.
I didn’t realize the Sunbird ever used that weird square GM radio, think the only other cars that had them were the GM10 Grand Prix, Cutlass Supreme, and Regal (and the latter two switched to normal radios partway through their run). Certainly complicated installing an aftermarket head unit. I had a ’82 J2000 (which is what they called the Sunbird that year only); every change they made to the interior since then made it uglier.
My stepdad had one when my Mom met him – I was always puzzled by the cassette being separate from the radio. Then I bought a beater ’98 Malibu and it had the same set up (except it had the same CD player as the GM trucks of that era)
The highest Grade 1 value I can find for this car is $4850.
I think the mileage might have helped it; it’s been marked as sold.
Pontiac really cheaped out on the 1990 restyle, the J cars prior for all their faults at least had distinctly unique facias between brands, but this literally is just the Cavalier nose with a few very minor tweaks.
A friend had a job delivering pizza in a Sunbird around 1991. He complained that the seatbelt literally went across his forehead instead of his shoulder. Looking at that strange contraption, now I see that he wasn’t exaggerating!
Speaking of cheaped out, it appears the HVAC heater function only works through the floor vents. I didn’t see a button for the air conditioner so it could be turned on/off with the sliding control set to dash vents. Or maybe the Vent position would allow heat also.
My son had a similar year Oldsmobile with the same 3.1L engine, It was smooth and reasonably powerful, but I believe the head gaskets went bad. But research shows it could have been an intake manifold gasket. There had to be many of these engines around due to the Chevy Lumina being so popular.at the time.
I’ve owned many cars with this engine since 1996. 3 in my driveway right now. In every case the engine outlasted the car, 200k miles easy, one with 318k and counting. I’ve heard similar examples from many other people. The later 3100 is the engine with the notorious intake gasket problem. If the flat top 2.8/3.1 had a similar problem, then I’ve never experienced it.
The crank sensor might be tougher to access in the J body (I have A bodies). In the L body I had to swing the engine forward to access the rear plugs. In the A body, the crank sensor is pretty easy for me to pluck out, but takes awhile exercising it if it’s never been removed. Still much easier than the crank sensor behind the crank pulley on the 3800 family.
This engine along with the 2.8 had that beautiful exhaust note. That’s another thing I love about these engines. Even more pronounced with a Dynomax Super Turbo style muffler. In the early 2000s, Holley made a Flowtech 304, complete 304 stainless turbo muffler that sounded similar to the Dynomax. I bought 3 before they quickly vanished from the market. I still have them, swap them between cars. One has been on the 318k car for 22 years, along with a 304 stainless cat, and a 304 stainless pipe I built using sections from JC Whitney. Still in great condition.
These engines had a lot of low end torque as well. Where it counts. I read long ago that from 0-30, these would beat a Cadillac 4.9 V8. Of course after that, the show was over. I used to tow my 5×8 enclosed utility trailer with a 3.1 6000 wagon and it did great. But it did cut the gas mileage almost in half.
As far as the Sunbird itself, I wasn’t a fan of the later front end styling like this. I preferred the 80s noses. But overall they were good looking cars.
My first car in high school was an 1983 2000 2-door sedan (J2000 in 1982, 2000 in 1983. and 2000 Sunbird in 1984 – finally just Sunbird by 1985 LOL). For a kid’s first car it wasn’t the worst thing you could have back in the early 1980s. And it thankfully had a 5-speed so it could at least get out of its own way off the line through second chirping the tires with the right clutch pop. The buzzing of that Opel-designed 88hp OHC 1.8L four-pot (GM code LH8) left a lot to be desired.
But it got great fuel economy and the Lear Siegler front buckets were Firebird like. Also, it had a decent Delco cassette stereo system with four speakers: 6×9″ in the back and 3.5″ round in the front dash. What was needed was more power, and the later Sunbirds got it as this case showed (same with the other Js). I’d have loved to have had the turbo 150hp but by my senior year it was 190hp L69 Z28 time.
A lot of hate on these cars, and with a slush box in grandmother 4-door sedan or worse wagon form, yes. But the 2-door coupes and sedans with the 5-speed were fun cars for what they were at the time. Way better than the Ford Tempo I also test drove that was on the “dad approved” list for my first car. Certainly better looking with the “baby ’77-’78 Firebird” teardrop quad headlight looking front end.
A car like that with a five speed could be a lot of fun. I disagree with the earlier comment about these being crap boxes. Had a couple cousins that drove sunbirds and cavaliers of the late 80’s early 90’s vintage. I did the service work on those cars for them. They were pretty reliable at the time.