hello all im new to the site, and have got a 1985 sunbird turbo convertable with 60.000 miles on it
i was hopeing i could find out how rare this car is , thanks

Well you definetily have a rare car.There are some members here who have sunbirds that are both hardtop and convertible that are turbo versions.Two are 1984,the other maybe a 86 I can't recall.YOU have some serious LOW mileage and that is super rare!! As for what it is worth depends on condition,and options.Just as a example start price 1500.00-3500.00 give or take.I have seen some seriously NICE jbodys for sale and sold and highest was a 87 cav z24 1owner 34k sold for 4750.00.Also some have had verts sale for 3500-4000k .I hope you stay with us here and frequent the site and SHOW some pics.I use photobucket myself and use cardomain bc my car is over there.So hope this gives you a BIG wave of coolness because you have a sweet car to have and I know once our other valued members chime in and see some pics they will drool to wish they had your car as well.In short I have a 1985 cav type 10,3rd owner(sister had it 2nd) done loads of work on it,restoring it and just go to cardomain and you can see the full history RONSOLDCAV .I just said yesterday I wished MORE people would join new in our 1st gen forum and thanks for doing just that.COOL ride and stupid rare literally,KEEP IT.If you have any ?s just ask most of can assist or suggest things to help you.

Car sounds nice. Would love to see some pics, esp of the hood insulation if you have the vented hood. Does it still have the turbo decal script on the doors? Manual or Auto?

John A- welcome to the site! Great bunch of guys here and your car is a welcome addition to the family. No production numbers at my end but it was a 'relatively' low production number I am sure- there were not many on the road even back in the day. Looking forward to hearing more about your car and maybe some pics!

Paul- sorry- no pics of the hood insulator from my long gone '85 S/E turbo hatch, but I do recall the insulator mat was not 'fuzzy shag carpet'- it was more of a semi stiff waterproof dense black material- imagine cardboard if it were waterproof.

All the more interesting to me at the time was the the hood louvers seems to be sealed off at the bottom by this insulator- they were def not functional for cooling the engine bay. I really do not know how water drained on this arrangement....




(Quoting a past member)-"Never underestimate a First Gen"

this car has all power , windows, locks, seats, top, looks to have recardo seats, air , bronze color with tan top and still has the turbo script on the doors, runs good,
the bad is the top is shot, and has sat for over 10 years,
was just wondering if it would be better to keep stock or mod a bit (has anyone tryed to intrcool ? )
ill try to get pictures up soon and some of the hood insulator

Sounds like a cool car - looking forward to seeing pics. That door script is one of the main ways to tell an 85 from an 84. Mine sat for 8 years, just take your time . I would recommend light modification. I tried intercooling and it did not work as advertised for me.

John Mac - My vented hood came sans insulator - I wish I would have kept my old one. Been trying to get pics to have a new one worked up. The vents seem to attract the heat just enough to warp and not do much else . I love the way they look with the 6 light front end so I had to add them when the time came.

Welcome Aboard John!!

To get you started " The Standard Catalog of American Cars" lists the only model for '85 as the "LE' version and that bodystyle number is C67. This will be the 5th, 6th, 7th of your VIN #, so you can verify that. For the 1985 year model there were only a total of 2114 Convertibles.
The Turbo engines were standard on the top line "SE" but this line did not have the convertible. Turbos were optional on the base and "LE'.
Some parts are starting to get darn hard to source for the Pontiac 1st Gen J's. Overall though parts in general are cheap compared to the newer stuff today, and a heck of a lot easier to work on to boot. Tops can be replaced without taking to a shop. You can go here to check out 84Conv and his photos :
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=28&i=14014&t=14014

Hope you decide to keep her and drop by to share your adventures. We love to see some photos!!



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since i just got this sunday and have not done anything to it , it may not be the bell of the ball but no rust and runs good

as a hello and HI im john and to dam close to 50, the reason i ask about the intercooler was ive had a few (4) turbo cars in the past, 84 buick GN, 87 buick GN, 90 turbo grand prix, and a 2004 wrx, i was thinking k&n filter, adjustable wastgate, intercooler, and free up the exaust.
better air flow more boost, cooler charge, and get it all out might pick up some HP ?

Hi John,
Welcome to the site. Car looks great.
I have a complete top with rear window for your car if you are interested. The color is buckskin and I'm willing to let it go cheap. PM me if you are interested.


John,

Also too close to 50.

Beautiful!! How 'bout that "Turbo" in the insulation - never saw that before!!
Your main worry is the floor pan , especially on a 'vert. If all there is well, you gotta a gem on your hands there!!



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the car came from new mexico to oregon no body rust at all, in the one picture the stripe from the top to the rear wheel is water i had just got it under the carport

GM did a one off intercooled 2.0 turbo Sunbird. A pics of it appeared as a 3 sentence long blurb in the 'developments' section of an edition of Car and Driver, circa 1988. They mentioned only that it was intercooled, peaked at 180HP, and no word on future development chances. As we know, it was a dead end.

-the other John- past 50, and has stated for the record "50 is just a number'



(Quoting a past member)-"Never underestimate a First Gen"

That is a unique color and seeing it is exposed to a degree to weather.I might suggest buying a waterproof car cover like I have for my car(garaged) but my new civic has one too and it sits outside.I bought it from walmart for 68.00 plus tax.Keep in mind some walmarts do not carry this (super wals) do and a good investment to keep it shielded from wet.I can see it needs some tlc and that is normal.Car does look good and like the pics.Tired from drvg all day in wet,plus some snow(not falling) but on road edges and sand,salt.I drive a big truck to explain that.Cool car you have.

John-

Thanks for the pics. Nice looking car - very tight body and paint. You confirmed my fears - the hood insulator for the vented and non vented hoods appear to be the same part. So that means I let the part I needed go with my old hood. Ugh - I hate it when I do that.

You car looks like a great starting point. Looks like you need an oil fill cap - yours appears original and they dry up and no longer seal well. I used one from a later pontiac and it works fine. I would get that and wash it off and chase any leaks in that are to be sure - oil being forced out the cap can be indicative of headgasket issues - common on these cars. It is so nice to see a car without the ziebart undercoating.

Happy to help however I can - Welcome!!!

John-

Modding the airbox and exhaust definitely help. I went to a magnaflow muffler with a z24 exhaust that was larger than the stock bird one (and pre-bent) . I also swapped on some 2.0 turbo parts along the way. Sounds like you have been down the turbo path before so you know monitoring is key. We will have to talk more as you get into it. I am sure you will want to start talking to Alan, Shannen, and Tony as they are the experts. I have been learning from them. But that is how we do it here, we all learn and share with each other.

thanks for all the help and info , but i get the feeling its all for not ( wife is thinking she realy likes the way it looks ) lol
i guess if shes put up with me for 23 years that i cant say no.
but i do get to work on it

If the wife likes your '85 Turbo thats Great!!
There is always a chance for a "His & Hers " down the road!! These cars are like Lays 'tater chips....can't have just one!!



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Neat car. Color combination, chrome trim on rocker supports, and turbo decal on door combine to make car look like Chryco product from same vintage. I just love seeing cars that live outside the rust belt.

There are some success stories about 2.0 turbo cars with added intercoolers but the 1.8 turbo engine isn't just smaller version of 2.0. Less compression, different cam, cyl head differences all need to be tuned in chip. I worked with Paul94Z28 some using my 2.0 calibration as a base but there are enough engine differences that it's definitely not plug and play. Another young man I knew from New York (Protonus) ran into trouble trying to use a 2.0 calibration in his car when it turned out someone had replaced the original 2.0 with a 1.8. I wouldn't plan an intercooler unless you have time / energy to invest in tuning to go with it.

ok thanks.
different engines respond different, but im putting the cart before the horse.
first is tune up, and change fluids, get it on the road first and i may be happy with it without changes