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Fortunately i've not found any body rust around the rear suspension, just the replaceable parts like the lateral links and trailing arms are crispy. Fuel and brake lines don't inspire confidence either now that I`m under here. I never thought about the strut towers not designed to hold the weight, I`ll keep it close to factory with modded 2gen links and maybe thicker sway bars only. I wasn't trying to lower it or gain any significant handling benefits, the 1st gens have always been nimble enough for me.

Without being able to see it more clearly, that would be my guess too. Automakers sometimes do a lot of cheapening near the end of a model.

1997 Grand Prix used the Delphi DBC-7 ABS system. 1998 switched the the Bosch 5.3 system that was infamous for module failures. Bosch 5.x is a super common ABS system that was used by nearly every automaker in that era, and they were all notorious for bad modules. It also didn't support tire pressure monitoring, which is why 1997 is the only year to have that feature. In any case, here is a pretty detailed list of yearly changes: https://zzperformance.com/blogs/import1/96-07-gtp-model-differences

There is a good chance GM changed nothing and just made a cheaper A pillar. The lack of the rubber seal around the edge could be the only difference by the exterior appearance.

I would go coilover, but again, make sure there is no rot in the strut towers. You can also get new trailing arm mounts (I think).

Being an N.J. vehicle I'm not surprised to hear about the suspension rot. What sort of condition are the brake lines to the rear in? The car belongs to you, it's your call if you choose to install coilovers, I'd be looking closely at the condition of the rear shock towers to see if they can carry the weight of the car......... seeing as they were never intended to. The car doesn't appear to be *sagging*, if you wanted to keep the car at its present ride height then you could make use of the springs presently under the car, if you decided to *drop* the height then you are looking for lowering coil springs for the front & a custom rear leaf for the rear. Replacement lateral arm bushings are available, entire rear trailing arms also available as well, *assuming* your present lateral arms are still in a healthy state that you can press out the old & in with the new. I earlier this year went thru an entire front & rear rebuild, the route I took was *unconventional*, but it gave me what I wanted from the suspension.