The Pontiac Can Am was a limited-production muscle car that was made for only one year (1977) and was part LeMans and part Trans Am. Pontiac’s marketing partner, Jim Wangers, conceived it, but it may have been too little, too late, as only 1,377 copies were ever built (5,000 was the original target). The seller’s car is a barn find which may have been in one since 1995 and has been revived mechanically, but loads of cosmetic work remain. Located in Olathe, Kansas, this project Poncho is available here on craigslist for $11,000. A thumbs up goes to Rocco B. for the tip!
By 1977, Pontiac’s most famous muscle car, the GTO, had been out of production for three years, stifled due to increasing insurance premiums and tightening emissions controls. The Trans Am had emerged to take over that role and would stumble into infamy by being featured in the good old boy’s movie, Smokey and the Bandit, in 1977. Wangers pitched (and sold GM on) the idea of a LeMans-based muscle car with the Trans Am’s W72 400 cubic inch V8 that produced 200 horses based on the then-current measuring stick. The new Can Am got its name from the Canadian-American Racing Series.
Whatever potential the Can Am had ran out of gas when the mold for the rear spoiler presumably got broken, and GM decided not to continue the car as the Colonnade intermediates of 1973 to 1977 were in the process of being downsized for 1978. You could get a Can Am in any color you wanted as long as it was Cameo White. And you could get any transmission you wanted as long as it was a TH-400 automatic.
The seller’s Can Am was parked in a barn for more than 30 years with 106,000 miles to its credit. It’s an original car, including the rust found in the rear quarter panels. The seller got it running and says the W72 and tranny now work as they should. The car’s original 15X7 Rally wheels have also survived. A restoration is in order, but when you are finished, you’d have a vehicle of which only a few hundred copies may still be around.
My 4th grade math teacher would advise me to choose the same car, in much better condition, posted earlier this week for $32K and save myself the pain and additional $40K above this car’s asking price to get it equal to it.
Well said Wayne, 5K would be my top to dive into this challenge.
Another seller that thinks they have too much of a great thing.
What’s the old saying, you can polish a turd all day, what you have at the end of the day is still a turd.
Another wannabe hillbilly get rich quick scheme. Good luck!
Let’s say I win the Powerball tomorrow night. THIS is the one I want. I have always loved the look of these, but this one is rough enough that I would not feel guilty about going full performance resto-mod. Maybe go with the Camaro ZL1 drivetrain, full suspension and brakes, stuff, the whole 9 yards. That’s a car I would never sell.
Restorable but needs immediate attention on rust and mechanicals.
The interior needs sanitizing and replacement.
GLWS!
another le mans with a shaker scoop. seller says its loaded. he is right looks to be loaded with rust. 4k tops.
I graduated from Olathe High School in 1981, si there is a possibility that I know the seller! Unfortunately Olathe has grown a lot since that time and always gets a bit of snow, which the city’s public works department believe should be treated with enough salt to raise the salinity of the Pacific Ocean to match the Gerat Salt Lake! A lot of guys that had the nice cars bought a $500 “winter beater” to save them. Unfortunately this car is new enough that it probably did a few tours as the winter beater.
It’s Pontiac Can Am week on Barn Finds! If you look back this year, I think there have been more Can Am’s on here, than I believe existed!
Columnade. Nice design and power plant, considering the era (error). Relatively rare. Hard one to argue on flipping. Not totally bad investment but more like 6-8 considering the restorative body and upholstery required. Then there is making that 400 crisp and less 77 and more 71-72. Tough equation. Gotta love it.
I have done over 15 restorations. How many have you done? Close math equations are more common than the high profit ones.
I love these cars, but $2500.00 is plenty for this example. As an earlier commenter said, you can’t polish a TURD.
I drive by this car in Olathe on a regular basis. It’s really cool to see it sitting outside the guys shop but it is as rough as a cob. I hope he comes down on the price a little bit and I hope someone saves it. It’s too much work for me, although I would love to have a Can Am.
Very cool car! But as difficult as they are to find parts for, you’d be ridiculously upside down by the time you were done restoring this one. Hopefully someone will save it