69 Pontiac Lemans

[68SWB4x4]

This car came with the wife... Our first date she asked me if I wanted to drive it. Marrying her was obviously a no brainer...

It has a cool history.

Her Great Grandmother bought it brand new and it's been in the family ever since. My father in law has had many hot rods over the years and added the GTO hood, Rally II wheels, dual exhaust, mild cam, Edelbrock intake, 4brl, on the original Pontiac 350

Other than that and being repainted do to fender benders its 100% all original and even the interior has never been repaired (drivers side needs new springs its starting to sag which will lead to tears if not replaced soon)

Right now I am just trying to fix all the little things and upgrade as things need to be replaced. Next up is a quick ratio steering box (its leaking pretty bad) 4 wheel disk brakes and some 17" rally IIs (or 18s if I can find something stock looking that looks better so I can run bigger brakes)

I would like to convert to C5 brakes and upgrade the suspension/handling a bit. The springs/shocks need to be replaced. It leans to the side in the rear.

Eventually a LSX motor and 6 speed but for now the Pontiac 350 works fine and the car is fun to drive.

[lolife99]

Such a cool car!

[flashed]

Very nice ,Im in .

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Such a cool car!

Thanks! Puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

Originally Posted by flashed

Very nice ,Im in .

It will just be little stuff for the most part.

If anyone could recommend some 18" rims that look similar to stock/Rally IIs I would be open to suggestions

[flashed]

YearOne has some similar based on the 71/72 Chevelle wheels .

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by flashed

YearOne has some similar based on the 71/72 Chevelle wheels .

I really want the Rally II year one 17" rims but they won't clear c5 brakes that I want to run I need an 18" rim

[Keith Seymore]

Very nice, but I'm a little torn: I'm not sure how I feel about her great grandmother! buying a car from the era I grew up in!!

K

[flashed]

Sorry ,I didnt realize YearOne's wheels were 17" only ,I would like to have them for my 72 El Camino SS but not in the budget .

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by 68SWB4x4

I really want the Rally II year one 17" rims but they won't clear c5 brakes that I want to run I need an 18" rim

They make 'em, but they're expensive as hell.

http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...wv8834042.html

Cool list of upgrades. I would recommend looking into keeping the Pontiac. It's rare enough to find a Pontiac with a Pontiac motor in it anymore, let alone an original motor. I would still add the OD to it, but I'd probably go with a 5 speed. That extra gear is somewhat useless.

Very cool car.

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

They make 'em, but they're expensive as hell.

http://www.classicindustries.com/pro...wv8834042.html

Cool list of upgrades. I would recommend looking into keeping the Pontiac. It's rare enough to find a Pontiac with a Pontiac motor in it anymore, let alone an original motor. I would still add the OD to it, but I'd probably go with a 5 speed. That extra gear is somewhat useless.

Very cool car.

Thanks for the link... I think I will pass for now haha...

I don't see how an LS2 or whatever wouldn't be a Pontiac as they came in the 04-06 GTOs but that is a whole other topic. The Pontiac 350 isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Due to budget and where we live (country road lots of potholes, I am thinking to stick with the stock wheels for now and just upgrade the brakes with the right stuff Rear + 2 kit for this car it will be plenty of brakes IMO.

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Very nice, but I'm a little torn: I'm not sure how I feel about her great grandmother! buying a car from the era I grew up in!!

K

haha! I guess she was pretty old when she got it, we are both 30 (well I'm 29 still )

Her Grandmother is in her late 80s now but drives a Magnum on chrome 20s that is pinstriped. Pretty cool

[68SWB4x4]

Changed out the passenger side mirror to original from whatever it was that was on it today that didn't match at all. Stuff like that bugs me





They don't completely match as it came stock with the optional remote mirror on the drivers side but it fits it looks better. Not that satisfied with the fit of the mirror from OPG I gotta play around with it a bit more.

Also replaced the rear view mirror as the stock was extremely tarnished. The original was black and this one is beige so I have to paint it at some point. Hard to tell in pictures but its a big difference.




Just some little things...

[68SWB4x4]

Not much going on as I enjoy driving it and the Burb has been taking most of my time. The brakes have been slowly going out and I need to do some work on the carb now after sitting for 2 months it won't idle so something got gunked up. I really want to put on a rebuilt Q-jet but I will hold off for now. Anyway I replaced the brake booster with one from The Right stuff detailing and it can brake again! I did a video install here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cT...ature=youtu.be and a whole write up here http://carmelvalleyclassics.com/2015...ontiac-lemans/

[HeavyD]

Nice car! Love the Pontiacs, dont see many around anymore in my area. Ona side note, is there any way to keep the gold color to the new booster? Clear coat?

[Advanced Design]

Very nice Pontiac and I love the history. Great Grandma must be pretty cool.

[Boog]

I can picture it now. Granny cruisin with the radio blasting "go granny, go granmy, go granny go". 😉

Way cool pontiac.

[Russell Ashley]

"This car came with the wife... Our first date she asked me if I wanted to drive it. Marrying her was obviously a no brainer..."

Neat story. Not to high jack, but met my wife in 1964 at work. She was driving her dad's 1961 Ford unibody pickup and thought I'd laugh at her if I saw her driving a truck, so she parked it out of sight. I told her that we'd probably have been married sooner if I had known she had a truck, LOL.

That's a sweet Pontiac. I would follow your plan of steering, brake, suspension, wheel upgrades but personally would not touch the original engine unless it's worn out and needing a rebuild. The mods that your F-I-L made to it should give it enough power to make it a fun driver.

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by HeavyD

Nice car! Love the Pontiacs, dont see many around anymore in my area. Ona side note, is there any way to keep the gold color to the new booster? Clear coat?

Not sure I'd like to know as well!

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Very nice Pontiac and I love the history. Great Grandma must be pretty cool.

I wish i would have met her! She did drive it through the garage door at one point by putting it in Drive instead of reverse hence the salvage title haha.

Originally Posted by Boog

I can picture it now. Granny cruisin with the radio blasting "go granny, go granmy, go granny go". 😉

Way cool pontiac.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

"This car came with the wife... Our first date she asked me if I wanted to drive it. Marrying her was obviously a no brainer..."

Neat story. Not to high jack, but met my wife in 1964 at work. She was driving her dad's 1961 Ford unibody pickup and thought I'd laugh at her if I saw her driving a truck, so she parked it out of sight. I told her that we'd probably have been married sooner if I had known she had a truck, LOL.

That's a sweet Pontiac. I would follow your plan of steering, brake, suspension, wheel upgrades but personally would not touch the original engine unless it's worn out and needing a rebuild. The mods that your F-I-L made to it should give it enough power to make it a fun driver.

Thanks for sharing! Yup thats the plans. The engine works great and is fun to drive. Plus 226,000 miles on it without a rebuild so far which I think is awesome.

[68SWB4x4]

It was car week here in Monterey and I got to enjoy the Pontiac a bit as that is what they are for. We enrolled it in the local concours at my wife's work that is for the members there and I guess the help if they happen to have a nice car...

It got parked next to this gorgeous 67 GTO that is an unrestored original.





Proud of HER car


Down the big sur coast



Picking it up the next morning facing off against a GT350



A bunch more photos and a write up of the whole week here and on the Instagram page
http://carmelvalleyclassics.com/2015...015-experince/

[68SWB4x4]

repainted some of the trim emblems yesterday and made a little video

https://youtu.be/fzdkjw6Li60

[68SWB4x4]

Got a bunch of boxes of parts waiting for this weekend.

Moog Stock height springs, KYB Shocks and all new brake hardware.

Hopefully I will get that all done this weekend and have something to post about then its onto the front suspension, shocks, springs and brakes.

[ChrisDollins]

Very cool car, and story. Thanks for taking us along during car week. Awesome cars at the show and auction. That Goodings Auction looks amazing. Crazy stuff there. Definitely nothing I could bid on, just drool lol.

Chris

[68SWB4x4]

Originally Posted by ChrisDollins

Very cool car, and story. Thanks for taking us along during car week. Awesome cars at the show and auction. That Goodings Auction looks amazing. Crazy stuff there. Definitely nothing I could bid on, just drool lol.

Chris

Thanks!

Car week is actually right now but I don't have an in to the auctions this year so I will just go to the free events. There is some badass stuff just driving around

[68SWB4x4]

Put new Moog stock replacement springs & KYB shocks in the back last night but the wife wants it to sit a bit higher and more aggressive like a Chenille we saw that had HD Springs.. I thought the stocks would be right but its not what we are looking for so I just ordered new springs.

Right now the rear sits 27.5" from the ground to the top of the wheel well.

[ChrisDollins]

Originally Posted by 68SWB4x4

Thanks!

Car week is actually right now but I don't have an in to the auctions this year so I will just go to the free events. There is some badass stuff just driving around

Ha! I just noticed that was last year! Cool write up anyhow lol. Car looks good, I think it looks good as it sits. I need to order springs for ours, and can't make up my mind.

Chris