They’re original only once, and that’s the mantra this seller is using to market his 1967 Pontiac LeMans. The car is in Avon, Ohio, and it’s being auctioned off here on eBay with a current bid just over $13 grand with the auction ending on Tuesday. If you like mid-sized GM coupes with those dog dish hubcaps, you’ll find this one compelling.

This car could very well be all original. It certainly looks like it on the paint side (or is that a bit shiny?) and in the interior. The undercarriage has some dusty, cobwebby-looking stuff, but the car was found in a garage, after all, after sitting there for fifty years. That time lag could account for some grunge, though things look generally rust-free, so the garage mustn’t have had a dirt floor, or featured a moist environment. I am slightly intrigued by the interior of the trunk in this regard. I’ve owned two of these exact cars—a 1967 LeMans and a Tempest, both original and unrestored, and my memory tells me that the trunk paint was not dark like what’s in this car. Maybe it’s the image, but I’d need to see another shot to buy the originality claim. Same goes for the fact that the undercarriage appears to have been painted black in spots. This needs some ‘splaining. But look at the floors, which were apparently photographed when the carpet was changed. Like brand new. I wonder if the seller found the buildsheet when he stripped out the old rug? Mine was under the passenger’s feet on my Tempest. I never looked for the one in the LeMans, because I never had the need to replace the carpet.

So what’s the full story here? You should have some questions. The biggest one is why the engine looks so much worse than literally every other part of the car. How do valve covers lose their paint like that, especially in 11,442 miles and given that there’s no deterioration elsewhere? (I’m not even going to get into the ridiculous yellow plug wires that a professional restoration shop apparently installed.) Second question: why did the carpet need replacing, with everything else in the interior so perfect? Like with the engine, how can carpet be worn-out looking in this few miles? Third, where’s the paperwork that would authenticate any of these claims of low-mileage originality?  Finally, isn’t it a bit too convenient that there can be no claims made as to the driving dynamics of the car, since it can’t be driven until the brakes are replaced? All it says is that with these yellow wires, the “engine runs amazing.”

Then there’s the provenance. This car magically appeared in a garage when the seller bought a house. Well, not magically, but it was just left behind by the prior owner, or something like that. Now, maybe that owner went to heaven, and he doesn’t need a LeMans, but wouldn’t his kids have at least attempted to sell the car, given how excellent looking it is? Or is that paint maybe not as old as to have been sprayed in Michigan in 1967? The seller invites phone calls, and one might be in order to figure out whether this is a clever shading of the situation or a genuine accounting for a miracle, once-only find, which is what is claimed.