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1976 Pontiac Astre Base Coupe 2-Door 2.3L

Condition: Used
Make: Pontiac
Model: Other
Type: Coupe
Trim: Base Coupe 2-Door
Year: 1976
Mileage: 7,200
VIN: 2C11A6U545816
Color: White
Engine size: 2.3L 2294CC 140Cu. In. l4 GAS SOHC Naturally Aspirated
Number of cylinders: 4
Fuel: Gasoline
Transmission: Automatic
Drive type: RWD
Interior color: Gray
Vehicle Title: Clear
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1976 Pontiac Other Description

Hello All,
This is a 1976 Pontiac Astre. In the US these were sold for 2 years 1976 & 1977. The 1977 they got the all iron "iron duke" 2.5 liter. My car came with the last year of production 141cuin (2.3 liter) single overhead cam iron head aluminum block "dura-built". These dura-builts were the worst engines GM ever made. In 1970 GM introduced the Chevy Vega with its dura-built engine. (For more detail wiki both the Vega & the Astre) So long story short both the Vega and it's engine received improvements every year until the final year of production in 1976. In 1977 the engine was gone and the car was renamed the Monza. So 1976 has the best suspension and best engine improvements. With that all said now the history of this car.
It was purchased new in Hatboro PA by an old lady who only drove it to bingo. She died. The kids sold it to the neighbor. He never drove it. He sold it to his neighbor. He let it sit under a tarp for 30 years. His wife made him get rid of it. He had it towed to Red's Auto Center in Hatboro. I purchased it from Red's on Halloween of 2015. I towed it home on my car trailer. The odometer read 3465 miles - the title read 4000 miles. By all indications this is correct ( I saved one bias ply tire for you the buyer A78-13). I will now explain what I did to bring it to life.
There were 3 major systems to be addressed - fuel & engine, unibody structure rot, and wheels & tires.
I removed the fuel tank. In it was an inch of death petroleum and water. I drained the tank and did research on tank rehabilitation as there are no after market replacements. So I chained the inside to physically remove the rust and solidified paraffin wax. After the chaining I acid soaked the tank for a week with a pH of 3 acid solution. The I soaked it for an hours with pH of 10 water to stop the acid. Then a few water rinses then I used the POR system (paint over rust - see Jay Leno and POR) and coated the tank. Next a new in the tank electric fuel pump - reconditioned the fuel sending unit (no replacements available - works perfect now) and a new rebuilt 1 barrel carb from Summit Racing. For the Engine - I pulled the plugs and poured in Marvels Mystery Oil and let it soak over night. I put in new battery cables and a new battery. With the plugs removed I spun the engine over 30 times or so - I then did a compression check and all 4 cylinder are exactly 160psi. So I put new plugs in (the old plugs don't exist any more so I got the equivalent) And it fired right up. The automatic transmission was 2 quarts low in fluid - I topped it off and I had forward & reverse.
For the 30 years the car sat there was a battery in it. The battery housing cracked and acid leaked out onto the unibody structural component underneath it. This stretch of the unibody was trash. From the front of the passenger side wheel well to the radiator support there was virtually nothing left. I cut it all out - fabricated a replacement piece made of 10 guage steel and 1/8" by 1" angle iron and made a stronger than original replacement patch. The steering idler arm connects to this patch and after the repair the car rides perfectly strait with out doing an alignment including slamming on the brakes. I have a car lift available and you may inspect the repair along with the rest of the car.
The tires were all bias ply and dry rotted and the car sat on flats for quite a while. The wheels are factory steel with dome (dog dish) center caps. I wire wheeled all 5 wheels removing all the rust and then painted them with 3 coats of the closest to original silver wheel paint I could find. The tires I got from Walmart (Tire rack didn't even have the size) of 175 - 70 -13. While flushing the break lines we found a leak in one of the brake lines under the driver seat and put a splice in the line.
So now all 3 aspects have been addressed. After a few illegal trips around the block - I tag it and insure it and take it to NJ inspection and boom a nice yellow 1-2018 sticker first time threw. Next I make it reliable. I purchase all new hoses, belt, wires, cap, rotor, brake pads, air filter (the filter is big deal), wiper blades, head lights, marker bulbs, and last but not least a retro radio. The radio in it was a 1970's replacement (with FM) that didn't work and there is only the one speaker in the dash (also replaced with a Radio Shack speaker). The retro radio uses the original GM knobs but is digital. So we made every aspect of the car work but never changed the originality of it. I have not cleaned the dash or any part of the interior except vacuum the rug.
The body is all there, with the original paint, but has patches of rust - some patches go all the way through. I show 2 of the biggest in the pics. So what I did was wire wheel the rust down to metal and hit it with 3 coats of rustoleum - to make it look better and preserve it for the eventual restoration.
I made 3 repairs to the interior. I used gorilla tape over a tear in the drivers seat vinyl, I took the driver side door panel off and lubed the window track as the window was hard to roll up and down, I put a sheet metal patch on the fire wall by the squirl wheel heater blower to cover over a rust hole that prevented the blower from doing its job efficiently. I got a flat and used the original bumper jack and used the spare for 1 week and about 200 miles. Rear defrost fan works - and rear deck card board cover is rotted. The original power wire to gas pump is by passed with a new wire.
So my 2013 Ford Focus ST motor took a crap on February 18 2016. It has been at the dealer until 5-10-16. During that time the Astre became my daily driver. The odometer now reads 7300 miles. During this time I have driven it in freezing cold, snow, rain, wind, dark, late, fast, traffic jams, you name it. Never has it not started on the first turn of the key - nor has it acted up in any way other that typical carburetor hesitation when cold.
Again this is the only one for sale - you might find a Vega but not a Pontiac version. My concept all along was to keep it as original as possible. I have not even cleaned the dust off the dash. You can bring this back to like new condition or just drive it. It's only original once.
Now for the price break down on what I have invested so far. All prices do not include tax so add 7% to everything I state.
Car $500
5 Tires $250
Battery $100
Frame Parts $100
Gas tank $100
Carb $150
Bulbs $50
Radio $175
Air Filter $35
Wheels & Breaks $100
All 4 springs and shocks $200
Fluids and Oil filter $100
Hoses - radiator & heater $50
Ignition Wires Cap Rotor Coil Spark Plugs $100 ( I kept the originals )
New timing belt and water pump break parts bulbs ect in box not installed yet$150
Shit I forgot $100
Plus my labor.

On May-13-16 at 08:01:13 PDT, seller added the following information:

Also I forgot to mention - come take it for a test ride - I filled the tank up on Monday - drove it to work Monday and now I'm back to driving my Focus. If you leave me your car and some forms of credentials - you can take it overnight - show it to the wife (or husband for approval). Guaranteedto get thumbs up while driving it. I had a guy get out of his car at a traffic lite a few months back and chase me down to try to buy it. I told him no - he said why not - I said it's my daily driver - he said bull shit - had to of been there.

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