TAC Spotlight => Projects & Restorations => Topic started by: 737driver on March 28, 2023, 10:30:22 PM
-
Last October I purchased a 1968 Lemans convertible. I found one that looked really nice so I drove down to Temecula, California ( about 5 hour drive from Las Vegas). This was a second owner car, and was original purchased and owner by the original owner until 2022.
This car had 350 with a QJ carburetor and a 200 4R trans. The car ran well but had a few minor issues. It was a 4 drum brake car, and although mechanically it was okay there were several improvements it needed.
I upgraded the front and rear suspension to the Detroit Speed Engineering package. I used this on my 72 Lemans and loved it.
I put a new brake system disk brakes on the front and upgraded drums on the rear. I also added a new parking brake setup that is electronically activated. The system is from EStopp and I really liked how it works. Essentially it’s a push button setup that replaces the floor mounted parking brake.
I removed the engine to replace the rear main seal. This was my first time doing that on a Pontiac engine. It turned out reall good, hopefully no leaks with the new Viton seal. I cleaned the motor and repainted it. I put a set of RA exhaust manifolds and a new dual exhaust system. I used the exhaust from Waldron exhaust and used the 2.25” GTO style exhaust system. The car originally was a single exhaust . I also used a Sniper EFI in place of the QJ.
I replaced the radiator with a new one from Cold Case . I used one with electric fans and the install was very easy. The radiator mounted with no issues and works quite well.
It had a 200R4 transmission and that had some minor issues. Mainly with the TV cable and how it was installed. I addressed that issue and added a lock up torque converter. I switched the rear axle gears to a 3.73 posi unit. I went with a set of 17” Rally rims in place of the 15” rims.
I changed the heater core and was very happy I did. The old was was a hair breath away from failure.
Right now the car is almost ready for driving, and I still have a few more things to do in the meantime.
Jim
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/1D08EDD9-0513-44ED-90FE-EC81C57FBC0C.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/0B1B8E61-7CB2-4362-A57F-5A5BCDB581BF.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/529E78A5-DEB6-4DDB-935C-F072FB6EBA8A.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/ECA7AB99-419E-4EBD-BA92-4B8CDE4EC414.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/6F89BDC6-CE81-4700-BA10-FA8323257D10.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/525FDB99-9BCD-4E19-865A-ED79AFE61C9D.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/47A3C543-7CFF-45A6-B64C-E85A0C5F64DA.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/D2505315-5698-4FAE-8598-B82C9DD48A42.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/C15AFB16-9E48-4BF1-A8FD-D08E62DA7F9A.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/630BF2BF-1D26-45F3-9340-EBBD247246D8.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/2A7E6CB6-E509-49DD-99F7-C16806B663B6.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/8E19CAFE-DA60-4141-8C58-B9AAFE31AC17.jpeg
https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/815A2470-D2F6-4E11-9DF6-0F742DB71B64.jpeg
-
Beautiful car Jim, Sounds like some nice upgrades as well.
-
Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?
Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge! I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.
-
Great car. You have a knack for picking my favorite Pontiacs.
-
Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?
Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge! I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.
I’ll get some pics of it and post them up. I tested the EStopp yesterday and it works really well. I used a set of universal 110” brake cables in place of the stock parking brake cables. Overall it’s a pretty decent setup.
Jim
-
That is a good looking car!
-
That is a good looking car!
Why I like this car;
1) it's a convertible.
2) Very original looking, my mom had a hardtop same year and a girlfriend did too. So there is the nostalgic aspect, these were great cars.
3) Don't get mad at me, but there are a lot of GTO's and TA's out there and not a lot of Formula's or Lemans. It's nice to see something just a little different.
4) Jim's workmanship speaks for itself!
-
Thanks for the compliments! For all the reasons stated above I really like the Lemans. I do love the GTO and especially the TransAm but I also love the different Pontiac A and F bodies.
Jim
-
Just to make it easier to see this awesome car. Here you go.
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/1D08EDD9-0513-44ED-90FE-EC81C57FBC0C.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/0B1B8E61-7CB2-4362-A57F-5A5BCDB581BF.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/529E78A5-DEB6-4DDB-935C-F072FB6EBA8A.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/ECA7AB99-419E-4EBD-BA92-4B8CDE4EC414.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/6F89BDC6-CE81-4700-BA10-FA8323257D10.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/525FDB99-9BCD-4E19-865A-ED79AFE61C9D.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/47A3C543-7CFF-45A6-B64C-E85A0C5F64DA.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/D2505315-5698-4FAE-8598-B82C9DD48A42.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/C15AFB16-9E48-4BF1-A8FD-D08E62DA7F9A.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/630BF2BF-1D26-45F3-9340-EBBD247246D8.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/2A7E6CB6-E509-49DD-99F7-C16806B663B6.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/8E19CAFE-DA60-4141-8C58-B9AAFE31AC17.jpeg)
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/r721/jc73driver/815A2470-D2F6-4E11-9DF6-0F742DB71B64.jpeg)
-
Man, that is sweet! I love it!
All I wanted to accomplish on my car this winter was to install a set of coil-overs on the front end. That hasn't happened yet. Meanwhile, you're completely done going through this thing...And it's still a little too chilly to drive with the top down in the evening!
Congrats on the new ride...I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it this season.
In high school I had a buddy who had a '72 Convertible Lemans. Jim's was red, but seeing yours still brought a smile to my face.
Enjoy.
-
Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?
Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge! I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.
Here are some pics of the EStopp.
-
More pics of ESTOPP
-
Interesting setup.
-
To be honest I really like this setup, mainly because it allows me to to have the kick panel speakers. It does work as advertised and I like it. I made my own mounting support for the bracket to mount it to the frame which may have been overkill but it works very good.
Jim
-
To be honest I really like this setup, mainly because it allows me to to have the kick panel speakers. It does work as advertised and I like it. I made my own mounting support for the bracket to mount it to the frame which may have been overkill but it works very good.
Jim
Very cool - my parking brake is a bit of a pain to clear my kick panel speakers in my T/A too.