“Sunbird offers new thrills for the thrifty.”
1980 was the last model year for the rear wheel drive Pontiac Sunbird, Pontiac’s variant of Chevrolet’s Monza. Initially available in base coupe, sport coupe, and sport hatch (a base hatch was added mid-year, but the wagon was permanently gone), the Sunbird received few changes for 1980.
The standard engine was the LX8 Iron Duke 2.5 liter/151 ci inline four with a Rochester 2SE two-barrel carburetor, making all of 86 bhp. Optional was the LD5 110 bhp 3.8 liter/231 ci V6 with a Rochester M2ME two-barrel carburetor. A four-speed manual was standard, with an optional three-speed automatic available.
Mileage with the inline four and four-speed manual was pretty impressive in 1980: 22 city/35 highway by the day’s standards. Getting decadent by spending $545 for the automatic and the V6 combination took mileage down to 20 city/27 highway. With the V6/automatic transmission pairing and an 18.5-gallon fuel tank, a Sunbird owner could expect a range of 320 to 350 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.
Not much came standard for the $4,371 base price (approximately $18,700 in today’s dollars), especially to our 2025 eyes. Feature highlights for a base Sunbird included a bright grill with park and signal lamps, whitewall tires, Custom wheel covers, and “Sunbird external identification.” Inside, base Sunbirds included tinted windows, vinyl front bucket seats, and a Delco AM radio.
Moving up to the sport coupe ($4,731) or the sport hatch ($4,731) added body color mirrors, “custom” vinyl bucket seats, and various moldings, but was still rather austere. Luxury trim ($195) added cloth seats along with snazzier carpeting and door trim.
A Package, Individual Options & Production Numbers
Available only with the sport hatch, the rare (only 1% of production) and expensive ($674, or about $2,900 in today’s dollars) Formula Package added a front air dam and rear spoiler, along with blacked-out grille, and BR70-13 white lettered tires (nearly equivalent 195/70R13 tires are available from BF Goodrich) on 13-inch cast aluminum rally wheels with trim rings. It wasn’t all bark and no bite: the Rally Handling Package was included, with larger front and rear stabilizer bars. Inside, a tachometer and other rally gauges were included. The whole combination meant that a sport hatch with the Formula Package, the V6, and the four-speed manual came to $5,630 (about $24,100 in today’s dollars). The 0-60 time for this top-of-the-line Sunbird was probably around 10 seconds—not far from some versions of the line-leading 1980 Firebird Trans Am.
Individual mechanical options included variable-ratio power steering (the most popular option and required with the V6) and power front disc brakes. Inside, you could add Custom air conditioning ($531), a tilt steering wheel (which required power steering), and an AM/FM stereo cassette player (two different 8-track radios were also still available). A removable sunroof was also available for $193.
The rear wheel drive Sunbird sold well even in its final year, partially because of the extended model year. Almost 188,000 were sold, with over 100,000 being the base coupe, making the Sunbird the best-selling of all the 1980 H-bodies. Pontiac would return partially to the Sunbird name with the 1983 2000 Sunbird convertible version of the J-body—by 1985, the Sunbird name would once again stand alone.
The View From 2025
Stock Sunbirds of this generation almost never come up for sale in Hemmings Motor News and eBay Motors—they seem to have disappeared entirely despite the fact that Pontiac sold about 480,000 examples over five years. You do occasionally see examples of the “sister” Chevrolet Monza auctioned on Bring a Trailer, but even they are rare.
Make mine Agate Red, please.
Another Sunbird I have written about is the 1984 2000 Sunbird S/E hatchback coupe. I have also written about the 1980 Chevrolet Monza Sport 2+2 hatchback coupe.
Last updated October 2025.
Eighties Cars 