This 1969 Pontiac LeMans Convertible is hiding a bit of a surprise, but we’ll get to just what that is in due course. It is a car that is said to have never seen snow, and that has been parked for 18-years. Barn Finder local_sheriff referred the Pontiac to us, so thank you so much for that. The LeMans is located in Limington, Maine, and is listed for sale here on eBay. In a rather quirky twist, the LeMans has been listed to open at $5,500, but there have no bids to this point. What makes it quirky is the fact that the owner offers a BIN option, and it is also $5,500.
Apart from the fact that the car has never seen snow, and that it has only ever been driven in Summer, there isn’t too much that we actually know about the LeMans. We only get one current photo of the car’s exterior, and that is only of the nose. The first thing that i did notice in that photo was that the front bumper has some pretty healthy looking rust spots, which doesn’t bode well as we move forwards. We can see that the car wears Matador Red paint, and I believe that this is original. The owner also says that the car is wearing aftermarket alloy wheels and fairly new tires. There are a number of photos showing parts and pieces that are included with the car, and it was this photo that caught my eye. It seems to suggest that there might be some rust problems to be addressed in the Pontiac, but apart from the fact that this looks like it is at least impacting the floors, the rest of it is a great unknown.
With no carpets present, we can see plenty of surface corrosion in the floors, but once again, just how extensive the actual rot is just isn’t clear. What we can see of the Gold interior suggests that there will be a fair amount of restoration work required inside the Pontiac. There is an aftermarket radio/cassette player fitted into the dash, but I don’t think that the dash itself has been cut. There is a cover over the dash pad, so we also can’t see what sort of condition this is in. A lot of the plastic trim pieces are looking tired and discolored, but the door trims and the covers on the seats look like they might just be okay. Still, there will be plenty of work required before this car is returned to its best.
Popping the hood reveals the surprise that I mentioned earlier. In all honesty, I was expecting to find a 350ci V8 residing in the engine bay. What I really wasn’t expecting was to find the numbers-matching 250ci OHC six in there. This is hooked to the original 4-speed manual transmission, while the LeMans is also fitted with power steering. Thankfully, this isn’t the standard engine but is the “Sprint,” which features a 4-barrel Rochester carburetor, higher compression, and a hotter camshaft. The end result was an engine that pumped out a healthy 230hp. The engine in this LeMans doesn’t currently run, having last fired about a year ago. Provided nothing nasty has happened in the interim, it might not take much to get the engine back to good health once again. Interestingly, the owner does state that the car has only covered just over 24,000 genuine miles, but he doesn’t indicate whether he holds any documentation to verify this claim.
As you can see from this older photo that was included in the listing, this Pontiac LeMans Convertible was once a very attractive car. Today, it is a car that provides more questions than answers. There is little information about the physical condition of the car, although the supplied photos would tend to suggest that there are rust issues that will need to be addressed. The 6-cylinder engine was a real surprise, and there will be some people who are attracted to the car simply because that engine does make it just that bit unusual. What I will say is that it is a car that I would be very inclined to want to inspect personally, because it is a car with a lot of grey areas.
Love the fact that it still has Sprint motor, four speed! Bucket are nice but gold interior and (repaint) red exterior. Seem ok if not to rusty at 5k.
I would think if healthy that Sprint/4 speed combo has to be worth close to 5K. It’s getting tough to find healthy Sprints anymore. I have always wanted to do a Sprint/4 speed swap into a GMC AD series pickup. Plenty of power and certainly much more unique than a typical small block swap.
The Sprint OHC 6 and 4-speed is a cool and rare combo, especially in a LeMans convertible. That said, I’d be astounded if this car really had 24k original miles. More like 124k by the key scratches on the steering column and the condition of the interior, plus the rust stains on the front bumper.
Or you could always splurge on this turnkey example. Fill the tank and go.
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/franklin-classic-1966-pontiac-lemans/6962814649.html
Now that’s a much better deal … And factory AC …
Looked pretty bad until I saw the old picture; then I KNEW it was bad
Nice car. I really thought that ohc six was going to be the next big thing from G.M. I expected to see all the their v8’s with overhead cams within 2or three years, but it took years before they adopted that technology. Now days just about everybody uses it.
God bless America
GM still does pretty well with OHV V8’s.
And these days, in the aftermarket, with everything available, if someone wants to build a cool ‘restomod’, or generally update their old ride, there’s nothing more common than an OHV GM V8. Want to make your liquid-cooled Porsche 911 faster (and lighter, and more reliable)? Add a GM LS V8.
So, overhead camshaft V8’s weren’t necessarily the future (or at least not yet).
Ford has had some success with the Coyote motors, but they take up a bit more room (they don’t fit everywhere a simple OHV V8 might).
Never seen snow. Only driven in the Summer. Twenty four thousand original miles. The second picture in the eBay ad shows that those claims are lies, it makes you wonder what else the seller is lying about. The cars one saving grace is the engine and transmission, but that might be enough to justify restoration of this car if the rust is too bad. If that’s the case it might make a good engine/transmission donor as well as a parts car for another convertible restoration.
Steve R
I agree, Steve. One of the pix shows rust in the right side rocker panel and door. The front-on shot, when enlarged, shows all sorts of chips from the front edge of the bonnet, as well as rust in the grill. The chips of paint around the steering column key area would not have occurred in just 24K miles of summer driving. This car has at least 124K on it from the condition of the few shots we get. Further, it’s in Maine….even if it was only driven in the spring/summer/fall, there’s still salt on Maine roads, and if the location is close to the ocean, salt in the air. While the ad says the title is clear, there is also a comment about Maine not requiring a title. Well, North Carolina certainly does and makes it almost impossible to get a title when one doesn’t exist.
As you say, with the rare drive-train, and a better price, it would be worth restoring.
This car is near me. Maybe I should check it out. For your information, Limington is no where near the coast. It is in western Maine near the NH border. The poor storage alone could account for the rust. Sold a 66 Tempest OHC6, last year and a 67 OHC 6 w48k miles at Barrett Jackson this summer. Cool engines.
no title I’d bet
Maine does not issue titles for older cars. I know it is weird, but I gave my Dad an 80 Eldorado which had a Colorado title. Maine simply issued a registration for the car and he kept the old Colorado title. Then when you sell, you provide the registration like a title. Weird, but it works for them. I do not believe this car never saw snow or salty roads or only went 24K miles. From the looks of it, I bet is was at least 224K. I have owned too many low mileage cars. None were worn like this one.
My big brother had the same car, bought it used in 1970, it was green, w a white interior and white convertible top, black console, 4 speed, dual exhaust, but it was a sleeper, 350 330 hp 4 barrel. No mags, full PMD wheel covers, smoked a lotta guys muscle cars
In an ongoing debate with CA about my ’93 Allante which I bought used in NH (for $3000) and then moved to CA which will not believe that NH will not issue a title for a pre-1999 car, since the “bible” they use does not mention it. I bet Jay Leno somehow has done it, but I don’t have his influence. AS for that 6 it was peppy enough in a Firebird for anything a normal person would ask of it on the street, and a lot better than the contemporary Camaro with the Chevy 6 and the 2 speed Powerglide.
There are private companies in California that do mainly titles for for dealers, fleets and garages, many will often work with individuals. Find one of them, I knew a guy that owned such a business, they did everything the DMV would do from VIN verifications to issuing pink slips and registration tags. It’s worth paying someone to avoid the hassle.
Steve R
Maine has similar rules, but I found out you can acquire a title, but it is not required by Maine. I think NH. is the same. Vehicles that have a model year of 1999 or older are not titled
New Hampshire does not issue titles for vehicles that have a model year of 1999 or older, except for heavy trucks with three (3) axles or more, or truck tractors whose gross vehicle weight exceeds 18,000 pounds which must always be titled regardless of age. Also, vehicles that are over 25 years of age may only be titled at an owner’s request.
1995 is the cutoff in Maine for titles. My 68 dart was stolen, and since I had not registered it yet, and the previous owner was deceased I didn’t have a leg to stand on. Thief was able to register it with forged bill of sale. Stupid law!
Your right …
Rough as stucco, but it could be or was a cool car at one point. All it takes is cubic money…
The Ebay ad states “Espresso brown was the orig color” so it’s obviously had a re-paint at some point. The seller seems to have acquired a lot of needed parts for a car with only 24k. The claimed mileage is doubtful unless the car was left outside for extended periods. Still, for the money, you’d get the Sprint engine, 4-speed and a restorable convertible. Or keep the engine/4-speed for another project and part out the car along with the extra parts. Maybe you can get the car for less if no one snaps it up for the ask.
Rare & Rough.
Whars with all the warnings about coming on the property ?
Looks like seller thinks he’s sitting on a gold mine. lol. People.
I had a ’69 LeMans, same power train setup. I still have a picture of the car sitting in front of a mechanic friends garage in Windham, New Hampshire.
I took the car to Framingham, Mass. and had a speed shop make a custom dual exhaust doe the 230 H.P. SIX Banger.
A guy in school had that car in a mint green with the OHC 6 but I don’t remember if it was a stick. It was neat, although not really fast. Was very clean. I hadn’t thought about that in years…