For as tough and cool as the GTO looks, it’s LeMans counterpart can look equally unassuming and plain. I’ll let you decide which way this one leans or if it’s a mix of both. This 1967 Pontiac LeMans convertible was sent to us by a Barn Finds reader who found it here on Ebay in Stevensville, Montana. After 26 bids the current high bid is $17,205, but the reserve has not been met.
The second-generation Pontiac LeMans spanned the 1964 to 1967 model years. Two-door, 4-door, and station wagon models were available, inclusive of this 2-door convertible. Of the 104,902 LeMans built for the 1967 model year, just 9,820 of them were convertibles.
This is a mostly original, unrestored, claimed 40k-mile LeMans. The light blue paint is a repaint and shows some checking, but overall it appears to be in pretty solid shape. The white convertible top has been replaced and looks nice. The seller claims there is no rust. The wire wheel covers and whitewall tires tame the look of this LeMans. If you’re looking for that “tough and cool” GTO feel, I’d think a wheel and tire replacement would go a long way.
The blue interior looks like it’s in great shape and the seller refers to it as a “time capsule.” The seats, carpet, and door panels are all original. Up front there are bucket seats void of a center console but there is a floor-mounted shifter. The carpet is faded and the steering wheel is cracked, but that feels a little nit-picky for a 53-year old car that is presented as original and unrestored.
Under the hood is a 326 cubic-inch V8 that is backed by a 3-speed manual transmission. The seller says this LeMans runs and drives like new, the 326 “performs flawlessly,” and is “a joy to run down the road.” The clutch is noted to be in good working order and the front end is described as “tight.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if this LeMans ends up as a GTO clone or tribute. An original, unmodified LeMans is a much more uncommon sight in my experience, so I’d find it difficult to not preserve it. The seller says they want to see this LeMans “go to someone who will enjoy it for years to come.” Are you that person?
Beautiful car the only thing I’d do is change the 3 speed to a 4 speed and set the three speed on the shelf!! So just in case!!!
Agreed, this car should remain classy, not trashy. However, I would swap in a 5-speed, convert to period discs and add sway bars. Just enough modification to permit it to contend with modern traffic.
That would be an excellent plan to upgrade the car. The 5 speed would cost more but allow the car to cruise at lower rpm and less noise.
Tim.. I would look at that 3 speed very very closely..I had a ’67 leMans.. 3 speed.. Mine was built shortly after the Muncie transmission plant burnt.. During this time span GM went to Ford and Chrysler for the 3 speeds…They just re drilled the mounts or the bell housing and changed the transmission input shaft..these trannys are very rare… Hate to say it .but… The Chrysler tranny was superior to the Ford…
Saddlesore I remember hearing about Chevy using ford 3 speeds not so much about Chrysler though!! I had multiple Ford cars with 3 speeds!! Most coulmn shift!! I was pretty good getting rubber from first to second and I lost second gear quite a few times!! I really wasn’t very easy on them!!
Some rallye 1’s and some redlines would look great too
Nice car.
Except for “too much stuff sticking out the back”.
Yes, the hitch should be removed and pipes routed and hidden behind the valence with a turn down (as original).
If I show this to my wife she’ll buy it immediately. Then I’ll be figuring out how to get it to Georgia and where to put it once it’s here.
And this is a problem why?
the 326 is a great engine. My father had one in a 1966 Tempest. Great power plant for cruising
Actually, the trailer hitch poking out the back is a good sign. It means that THIS was the car to do the job. If your “show car’ doesn’t start or runs poorly, you take something else. If your TOW CAR doesn’t run well,you fix it.
@steve. It also discourages tailgaters!
Another GTO wannabe. Nice car, but not the real deal. As a former owner, of a ’65 Goat, I’m a little prejudiced. Take a close-up look at the body, steering column & body spiders. Under the hood should have been detailed, along with new padding.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/324269365937
As I’ve always said, presentation is everything, if you want the big bucks. IMHO.
Just love the fact it’s still a LeMans, not a GTO wannabe. Really hope it’ll stay that way. It’s probably easier today to locate a GTO(legit or fake) than an unmolested nicely optioned vehicle like this one.
Personally I find the opposed ‘C’s/ bananas/ parentheses taillight treatment from the ’66 Lemans/ Tempest to be the best-looking version to adorn this body – a design feature found on several other 60s Pontiacs and even the ’64 Beaumont
A ‘67 GTO hood will fit on this car, correct.
What other “key” part could be added to make this car cooler and meaner
Besides the obvious wheels????
In 1964 bought a new 1964 Pontiac lemans burgundy red with white top with
6 cylinder engine with overhead can with 3 speed on the column
21 mpg city 28 mpg highway great auto
Nothing says 1960’s like wire wheel hubcaps! Isn’t the 326 the same block as a 455? All that iron, so little displacement.
I had this very year model. Loved it. Lived in la at the time never put the top up. Mine had a strange original tranny. You could shift it by hiring the gas then letting up quickly so the trans would let you shift without the clutch. I want I want
Yep. Main crankshaft bearing diameter was bigger in the 455, and the stroke was longer. Outside block dimension were the same
Dent in left front quarter?
Back in ’67 I foolishly married and thought my ’65 LeMans two door hardtop, full boat, w/AC and the smoothest Pontiac engine I ever owned, a 326, needed a more “mature” replacement. Even it’s two speed automatic w/console was more than adequate. I put Porches driving lamps in the grills because they looked like the Gran Prix but were real and floated. Lamps are worth a ton now. Weren’t cheat to a working college kid back then. I still have photos of the Sea Foam Green that was a GTO true to be but for the flat hood. The family insurance agent had talked me away from the dream end of the model year ’65 GTO post that I remember like all the girls that skated by as well except the GTO was way nicer!
Wish I’d bought the first ’67 I looked at, a dealership demo 326 HO LeMans 4 door hardtop with those wonderful wire hubcaps. Yeah, I know…Rally Ones or Rally II’s are the go to, but everyone has them. That demo car was set up by the dealership and would fly, for a 4 door. Ended up with a 4 door Tempest Custom, blue w/blue Morokhide interior. Plain looking as could be even with top tier comfort options. I removed the Pontiac lettering off the tail and flat blacked it, put those wires on and, for grins, replaced the 326 fender emblems with 428 emblems. If you did not know the casting give away, the engines indeed looked identical, although you’d never see a 2BBL 428. Correct emblems of the time were left and right, with the numbers swept to the rear of the car by the wind. I still remember a Corvette coming up beside me at a light, looking over at the car and his expression when he got to the 428 emblems and motored slowly away. It was a fun fantasy. As good as my ’65 was the ’67 was its equal in problems.
Of course both cars are long gone but a ’67 like this one in the blue color brought back memories. That wife, thankfully, is long gone as well. While older, I always question if I am wiser. Wisdom does not come with papers as many of us can attest.
All of the Lemans/Tempest hoods are interchangable with GTO hoods. The other key add-ons, GTO logos, inside and out, 4 speed, hd suspension and all important 389ci.
Keep in mind..In ’67 the Muncie Transmission plant burnt..So GM went to Ford and Chrysler for their 3 speeds..They re drilled the bell housing and changed the input shaft..
I had a ’67 LeMans with the 3 speed .. The transmission case had FoMoCo on it..
A very rare transmission..and … I hate to admit it… the Chrysleer transmissions were tougher than the Ford offering.
Ended:Aug 28, 2020 , 9:56PM
Winning bid:
US $19,800.00
[ 36 bids ]
Reserve actually met! Shockingly nice car for the $, best wishes to the next owner – hoping it’ll stay a LeMans forever
Take the original engine and transmission out, slip a fuel injected LS in, along with a six speed standard, nice 3:42 Posi rear with disk brakes! Leave it a LeMans sleeper!
What a great car! A cousin of mine bought one new in ’67, but as I recall it was yellow and equipped with the OHC six and automatic transmission. Unfortunately it is long gone.
Nice car. one of my high school GFs drove a nearly identical 66 model albeit with an automatic.. I would lose the exhaust tips and trailer hitch and replace the crushed out rear springs and (maybe) upgrade to 4-5 speed. The family got a good price but probably could have done much better if they had popped for an engine bay detail and replaced a few belts and hoses. Oh well
I come to this site for listings like this, a well loved, original car treated with respect for decades. Why does this beautifully preserved car have to be looked down as restoration fodder just because it isn’t a GTO? What is WRONG with a LeMans, anyway? Exactly why does it have to be messed with? A mid-sized car like this has plenty of get up and go with the 326 V-8 it was built with. The desirable met. blue shows off the styling nicely. Precious few convertibles still have original interiors still in this nice condition. Other than the things TimM and bry53 suggest, which would enhance driveability, leave well enough alone. Too many nice cars like this have been ruined by greedy flippers, etc., who want to “build” them into a faux-GTO that we already see plenty of running around. Hope it finds a buyer who will leave well enough alone.