hey anyone else have a pontiac j2000 1983-87 hatch back car i have only seen 3,one looked like mine a red 84 and a white one.My was a two tone blue light blue top dark blue bottom,now its midnight blue met.

Those are rare to see here in nc as well.I drive a tractor trlr and I do not see the j2000 hardly ever.I see more cavs versus those.Oh wait now that I think of it I did see one in my u pull it yard about a month or more ago.Not sure what it may or may not have left.It was light blue and four door.

Are you looking strictly for "J2000" branded cars?

I think the only year it was officially known by that name was 1982, after that, they brought back the Sunbird name, but some versions still had the J2000 badge. I've seen plenty in my time.

The Skyhawk/Firenza hatchback was so rare I thought they didn't exist. I only ever saw 1 Firenza back in the day, and never saw a Skyhawk until a few years ago on Ebay, and to this day have only seen 2 in person--at the same place (uhh...Motorman would probably be able to tell you where that was)

well i have a 1983 j2000 two door hatch . i have seen two skyhawks three z24s and two firenzas and there was one in hotrod with a lt1 and six speed but had a chevy front,and the drag j2000 .I want to put a ecotec or find a z24 and rob the v6 and make it a gt lol, mine is the j2000 se hatch back with the turbine style wheels but i need two center caps

the j2000 se had two different wheels they both were turbines just like the trans am (knight rider) a bowling ball style hub cap or center caps

The 82 J2000 and 83 2000 hatches were rare even back in the day, as was the '83 Firenza. They started to sell better by '84 as the J2000 Sunbird when the trim pieces and interior were more attractive and not so plain.

Buick was late to the party w/ the hatch and it was a short run-Skyhawk hatches were always in fewer numbers, even by 86-87.

Really rare even in the mid 80's were Firenza GT hatches, be it the original 4 cyl decal package in '85, or the '86-'87 GT that was the Z-24 equal w/ V-6 and FE3 package. Buick T-type turbo hatch was rarely seen but instantly spottable thanks to those Shelby wheels.

I came within inches of buying a new '87 turbo T type hatch (125 MPH speedo, red, loaded to the hilt) but bought a used '85 Sunbird S/E turbo hatch for half the price instead.

Most rare I ever saw was a stealth '86 Firenza 6 cyl w/ no exterior clues except for the 14" wheels/tires, and the additional horizontal vent openings across the header panel between the quad headlights. I test drove it while it was new on the lot. My recollection was it seemed a tad softer in handling than the Z-24 hatch but they were very close.

I still have a vivid recollection of test driving a new '86 Z-24 hatch and was shocked at how crisp the steering was. I guess that is a part of why I picked one up last year.

I was the perfect age for 1st gen J bodies- 22 in '82, and I was a J body nut. I took a buch of photos on dealer lots. I gotta get around to scanning and posting them here some time.

sorry- we need an edit fuction- '84 was the 2000 Sunbird, not J2000 Sunbird. My bad.

i so want to put a v6 or a eco in my hatch. damn i miss driving that car. i went to my moms house the other day just to see it again .I made a mistake on the wheels they are turbo casts not turbines but i need 2 center caps lol

John Mac..... glad you didn't buy that red one because I have it now :>

The Buick hatches were only made last half of '86 and '87 whole year. Stopped production
in '87 on them and GN's. Only made 5 turbo hatches the entire run in '87 & I have a couple...
coupes they made only 4 !!!!

Wayne.... this is the one you didn't get to see, and it's a dream !

Hey Motorman,

The one I almost bought was at Bellavia Buick in East Rutherford NJ. Red exterior and IIRC, grey interior. Auto, loaded w/ everything except for the sunroof.
This was October of '87, and the deal I was working on was $14,500- a rather hefty chunk for that time and for a J car. I was happy w/ the '85 Sunbird S/E at 7 grand- it was the right choice given I was making $9.50 an hour at the time.

Could that be one of yours? If so, glad it is with our community!

John... yes it's mine.
I had posted this info b4 on here, trying to recall when but....

5- hatchbacks

1 Artic white (mine)
1 Red (mine)
1 Silver- location unknown
2 Blacks... one was totaled in Kansas City-have carfax report from old j-bod member on this one. His Mom worked at assembly plant where it was made. The other one isn't too far from where i'm now. Owner has promised the car to me when it goes up for sale.

Thats it.... all five of them. Not a stick car in the bunch, after all who would buy a Buick that wasn't auto :>(

So did you get a better deal than the $14,500 on that red one?

Just wondering, that is a hefty price for a J back then, considering an 87 Trans Am could be had for about $2,000 more than that.

Instead of the Skyhawk Turbo T hatch , I bought a '85 Sunbird S/E Turbo hatch that was at Bellavia Buick's used car lot. Had 29K on it at the time. Unlike the GNX of the same timeframe, no one was thinking collectability for these J cars. I don't think anyone was even aware of the low production numbers.

So at 7K, the slightly used Sunbird was a better choice for me. It was 2 tone red over silver, 1.8 turbo auto, all options except power seat- that was a lot of options.

The Bird looked great and was a blast to drive- when everyhing was working. At it's best, I raced a Z24 hatch to a dead even tie over a 1/4 mile straight back road. 85 MPH speedo was a joke though. 85 was at the 4:30 position on the dial and I had it past that to around 7 PM (no peg I guess). On the interstate at a steady 65 mph I recorded 33 MPG quite a few times.

Alas, I had a lot of electronic issues that the dealership had a hard time diagnosing. Then a slight oil leak that I should have left alone (my Dad was pissed it was ruining his driveway) snowballed into a head gasket repair that was done wrong- ruined the cam and that too had to be redone. THEN they said the turbo was passing oil, so I had the turbo replaced along with the water cool jacket modification. All these repairs cost $700- 800 a clip at a time I was making peanuts. Then it started running rough again due to more electronic bugs.

It was around then i noticed the door inner/outer welds along the bottom was starting to rust and getting worse quickly. I had enough and sold it inearly '91 for 3 grand. I missed the car, it's perforance and good looks but did not miss all the crippling repair bills.

If I had a crystal ball and done it all over I would have ordered a stealth (non GT) Firenza SX hatch with the V6 and FE options. Good looking and a helluva more reliable engine.

Funny you mention the speedo, I remember with my first Hawk, 2.0 engine, I had it floored for about 5 miles on the highway racing a hopped up version of a Ciera. I remember the guage flopping around from 30 minutes to 15 minutes at max speed which I estimated to be around 100mph.