PontiacJim's 1968 Pontiac Lemans Sport

1968

Pontiac

Lemans Sport

Verdoro Green (factory color)

Bought the car around 2000 for $900. It's the Lemans Sport having bucket seats, console, low fuel warning light & speed warning speedo. It is beat, but it had the 350CI and 3-speed manual trans - which is why I bought it. I fixed a few things to get it legal and drove it a while. Then bought a 1972 400CI and did a rebuild of the engine, brakes, front & rear suspension, and a new clutch set-up. Oil pressure went south on me and the car was parked in 2013. Decided to do rebuild #2, but frame-off, top to bottom & front to back. Not a "restoration," but more a "resto-mod" leaning towards the mid-1977's era/drag car theme. This will be a multi-year project and I do most my own work on it. 455CI, TKO-600, Ford 9" w/3.89's, VFN fiberglass nose (no hood) & rear bumper, 10" x 15" rear rims, 7" x 15" fronts.

My 1973 455CI. Thought I got a deal for $300. It was stuck, but this happens when they sit outside under cover. Pulled the heads and it looked like the engine was used as a boat anchor. Thick rust & corrosion in all cylinders. Pulled the pan and all bearings were wiped out. The crank got so hot that it warped. Thought all was lost but managed to free the pistons. Took a .060" overbore to clean up. Everything in the shortblock is new. Eagle crank, forged rods & pistons. I worked the 7K3 heads and my machinist installed Ferrea RA IV valves, 3-angle valve job, with matching hardware. Finned valve covers with Moon breathers. Purchased an old school Warrior 2 x 4 Tunnel Ram. Topped it off with a Edlebrock 800 CFM AVS 2 carbs and Hilborn style scoop. Pertronix distributor, Taylor wires, MSD 6AL box. It's all rebuilt and ready to go but in pieces until I'm ready to get the car on the road. Hoping to see about 430 HP/500+ torque and more on nitrous.

White. Bucket seats and door panels. No back seat - going rollbar. Jesen speakers in the new door panels. Kraco 8-track under the dash for era period look. Customized dash. Aftermarket tilt steering column and Grant GT steering wheel. Extra gauges. Short shift handle with Hurst T-handle, no console. Black carpets.

Some early pics of the disassembly. Tearing it all apart. Got my share of the "usual" body work, but the car is generally solid, just not well cared for. Right now I am going with Iris Mist and a cream painted top. Custom graphics and emblems. Rear spoiler created out of a 1970's trans am. Front chin spoiler. Rear window louvers - which I will make.

I'm thinkin' shifting the TKO 5-speed falls in the category of "In-Car Entertainment." Especially when I'm blowing past an LS powered GTO.

Doug's ceramic coated headers.

Sand blasted, POR-15, and Eastwood frame coating on the insides. Modified the frame with additional plating to strengthen the factory suspension mounts. Did a lot of fabrication to the rear suspension set-up. Extra reinforcing, my own "no-hop" bars, tubular control arms, 4" lift kit, reversed sway bar, and more. The front suspension got BB 454 HD front springs, Jeep Cherokee steering box, disc brakes, HD sway bar, and new parts. I also boxed the side rails. I will expand on all this in a later topics so all can see what individual mods I did. Chassis is done and body is now bolted to it with polygraphite bushings.

Bought a set of aluminum slots from Summit, 15 x 10 and 15 x 7. Got Hoosier 15" x 29" x 12.5" tires for the rear. Going with the mid-1970's look.