So, let me tell you the story of this car! It is a rare 4-door, no post, 1969 Pontiac Lemans. Only 6400 were made, of which there are almost none left, which I can say confidently after finding only one other 4 door lemans after hours of searching the net for them. The only other instance is the stock GM photo for the advertisement of the car.
It all started on craigslist. I had been avidly searching for a cheap fixer-upper being as it is that I am heading into college working for minimum wage at 9 hours a week. I was about purchase a '66 Dart (not running) for 500 bucks when I happened upon an add for a pontiac lemans. It was being sold for 1500 dollars in non-driving condition. I talked to the seller and discovered that it had the following:
-Newly rebuilt 350 V8
-New exhaust w/ dual flowmasters
-New radiator
-New water pump
-New headers
-New spark plug wires
The only problem was that it came with
failed brakes, and pulling a vacuum leak. Buuut the car also came with a brand new brake booster and master cylinder.
So work began, we replaced the master cylinder and booster and bled the lines. Then we found out that there was a terrible exhaust leak around the collectors. The brackets connecting the pipes were supposed to have 3 bolts each, but each only had 1 bolt holding it together. In addition, the rear right wheel bearing failed a few weeks later, tearing itself apart as we found out when we removed the axle. The headers were completely wrong for the car, as the sit a good 3-4 inches BELOW the oil pan, and have been smashed flat, which in turn has warped the headers where they connect to the block, allowing air to escape. And of course there was the incident where my left rear wheel flew off while driving to lunch from school in the last weeks of my senior year. Luckily there was no damage, but I did replace the 14" impala tires and rims with brand new 15" rims and tires.
So over the course of a few weeks I got around to buffing most of the oxidation out, installing a new stereo and speakers, replacing the intake mainfold, carb, valve covers, spark plugs and wires, oil and antennae. I also succesfully rebuilt one of the brake assemblies which was incredibly difficult due to all the little pieces and high tension springs
No OXIDATION!
And here you can see my new Edelbrock Performer intake manifold and 600cfm carb, along with valve breathers, K&N air filter and edelbrock air cleaner, along with the new 8mm wires.
Work continues on this old girl almost every day. It's had 3 previous owners who weren't so kind to it. One drove it to hell on a ranch, the other was a UCLA professor who decided bumper stickers and stickers all over the dash were cool, and the last owner practiced his electrical work by jerry-riggin a useless cassete player/radio to just about any wire he could find. The interior is original and in great condition, both for the price and what this car has been through. I'll post more pics soon
