WORK IN PROGRESS ...
Being essentially copies or 'body doubles' to the Chevrolet Monza, the 3 other GM division H-Bodies included many items that were standard on all models, Monza included. 1975 saw the Vega-styled dashpad standard on all 3 models and was replaced with the 75 Monza Towne Coupe-styled dashpad for 1976 and remained constant till the end of production in 1980. 1976 saw the introduction of an optional 5-speed overdrive manual transmission which was available till 1979, 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatics were standard for all 6 years.
BUICK SKYHAWK
Buick launched it's H-Body the same way Chevrolet did, with a
2+2 Hatchback which was essentially a Monza with Buick
badging and emblems. Buick even used the same grill
openings for its '75 as the Monza. The Skyhawk was offered
with only Buick's 3.8L V6 engine, and remained all-Buick, the
only engine option the Skyhawk was ever offered with
throughout the 6-year model run. Skyhawks were sold on 2
models, 4S07 and 4T07 with the T07 models being the bare
bones 'S' Skyhawk while the S07 was offered with slightly more
features to begin with. This would remain constant throughout the model run.
1976 saw a new, and totally unique option added to any car, let alone a Buick. The introduction of a glass roof, called an Astroroof by Buick engineers. It was given an RPO Code of C06 and is, by far, the rarest option for the Skyhawk. The Astroroof also came with a thick aluminum 'targa' band than ran across the roof from passenger to driver's side, just behind the door frame and glass roof. With 1976 being the anniversary of the United States' independance, Buick came out with a special package for the Skyhawk, called the Free Spirit. A little known decal package that featured bold, colourful and wide decals on a silver Skyhawk. '76 also saw the introduction of a 5-speed manual transmission available as an option.
1977 saw the introduction of a bold new look for the
Skyhawk as well as a stunning new appearance package.
The front end still included the quad-headlight front facia,
but with a new 'egg-crate' grill between the headlights and each light was housed in it's body coloured opening. The special edition was called the Nighthawk and featured dynamic reflective decals and unique wheel covers.
1978 continued with the same 'egg-crate' grill but the Nighthawk edition was to become a one-year only option, and a rare one at that. Otherwise, '78 Skyhawk's remained virtually unchanged from the '77 model year.
1979 introduced 2 new special packages for the again, totally redesigned front end Skyhawk. The packages were the Road Hawk and the Designers' Accent Edition. The newest front end saw the number of lights
halved to 2, larger rectangular headlights that sandwiched a
larger, more open grill with a new hood to complete the
package. The lower front facia remained untouched from the
'75 model.
1980 saw few changes, and like the Starfire, Skyhawk
production was ceased after just over 8,000 units to complete
production runs on the Monza and Sunbird. The only
noticable changes to the 1980 Skyhawk was a beefier-looking horn button for it's sport steering wheel and the deletion of the 5-speed transmission from the option list.
OLDSMOBILE STARFIRE
Oldsmobile also went the route of the Skyhawk, coming out with a 2+2 Hatchback that differed little from the Monza, except for it's badging. Olds did make one unique change, something that Buick did not, and used a distinctive Oldsmobile grill opening, replacing the long rectagular opening found on the Monza and Skyhawk with 2 smaller rectangular openings for air passage to the radiator. 1975 Starfire's could only be ordered with Buick's 3.8 V6 engine, a 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual transmission and featured 4-spoke body-colour 'Super Stock' steel wheels with bright trim rings and centre caps. 2 models of Starfire could be ordered, 3T07 Starfire and 3D07 Starfire SX. The T07 was the bare bones model while D07 included extra options to begin with. This remained constant throughout the model run.
1976 saw just a couple major changes to the Starfire. The GT trim level package was included in the lineup as was 2 different wheel covers that were added to the standard Super Stock rims (which also featured Chrome look for the GT option).
1977 was a year of big change for the Starfire. The front grill was totally redesigned to reflect the Olds "waterfall" design found on all Oldsmobiles that year but still included the quad-rectangular headlight system. The standard engine was now Pontiac's 2.5L 'Iron Duke' with the 3.8 Buick as an optional upgrade.
1978 saw more changes, including a serious upgrade in under-hood performance. Chevy's 305ci, 5.0L V8 was added to the existing lineup of the 'Iron Duke' and the Buick 3.8. 1978 also saw the emergence of Starfire's top-of-the-line package, the Firenza.
1979 saw yet another major front grill redesign. The standard 'waterfall' grill was revamped and now sandwiched between 2 larger dual rectangular headlights with amber turn-signal lights mounted in behind the grill, not under the front bumper. The hood was also redesigned since the old quad-headlight humpback hood was no longer needed for the dual lighted front end (it featured a less prominant and wider hump profile. The steel 4-spoke 'Super Stock' body coloured or Chromed wheel became, again, the only wheel choice available.
1980 was a year of subtraction rather than change. The last year of production for the Starfire saw the removal of the 305 V8 and the 5-speed transmission from the option list. Due to lagging sales, Starfire production was ended early to accomodate the production and sales of Monza and Sunbird and just over 8,000 Starfires were built for 1980.
PONTIAC SUNBIRD
Pontiac lagged behind it's GM siblings and didn't unleash the Sunbird till the 1976 model year. Unlike Buick and Oldsmobile, Pontiac launched their initial H-Body in the form of a Coupe, not a Hatchback. The front facia was very Pontiac, in that it had the beak-like look (with Pontiac arrow in the middle) that was so predominantly Pontiac but also sported quad rectangular headlights like it's Monza sibling but featured amber turn-signal/parking lights behind the grill, not below the bumper. Front and rear facias were soft eurethane but bumper, both front and rear were large chrome styles found on the Monza Towne Coupe. Grill pattern featured highlighted horizontal and vertical bars. Pontiac offered the Vega 4 and the 3.8 Buick powerplants for '76.
1977 saw the emergence of the hatchback in Pontiac form late in the model season. The Sunbird Hatchback was very different from the Monza though. The grill was the same used on the Sunbird Coupe but the rear end was also the flat panel style found on the coupe, not the wraparound taillights found on the Monza Sport Hatchbacks. Soft facias were present but with the large chrome bumpers found on the coupe, not the facia covered aluminum bumper framework found on the other H-Body hatchbacks. This would remain constant throughout the Pontiac Sunbird model run. 1977 also saw the emergence of Pontiac's newest L4 engine, the 151ci, 2.5L 'Iron Duke' which boasted 32mpg highway and 24mpg city. Buick's 3.8 returned as the other engine choice in the Sunbird. Pontiac also introduced what they called Rally RTS (Radial Tuned Suspension) Handling Package, with thicker front and rear sway bars and 70 series tires. 1977 also saw the introduction of the Sunbird Formula, a special edition Sunbird with various equipment upgrades and appearance items. Grill openings were highlighted by a new honeycomb pattern.
1978 saw the introducation of yet another body style for Pontiac, the Sunbird Safari Wagon. The Safari Wagon was essentially a Vega Kammback body with a Sunbird front facia and grill openings. Grill openings were highlighted by a set of verticle bars.
1979 grill openings were sets of highlighted horizontal bars, similar to '76. Available models included the base Sunbird Coupe, better optioned Sport Coupe, Sunbird Sport Hatchback and Sunbird Sport Safari Wagon
1980 was, like the Skyhawk and Starfire, the final year for the rear-wheel drive Sunbird. The Safari Wagon was dropped from the Pontiac lineup for 1980, as was the 5.0L V8 option. Available models included the Coupe, Sport Coupe, Hatchback and Sport Hatchback. The Formula package saw minor appearance changes and was now no longer available on the Sunbird Coupes. The rear spoiler was also eliminated from the coupe's option list. Front grills featured highlighted horizontal bars this year.
