The LeMans spent 20 years as Pontiac’s mid-size automobile, giving life to the GTO muscle car in the middle of the 1960s. It was given a luxury model in the early 1970s, appropriately dubbed Luxury LeMans. In 1975, they dropped that moniker in favor of Grand LeMans (like a Grand Ville, only smaller). The seller has a 1978 Grand LeMans that looks rough on the outside, but nicer inside and runs well. Located in Emeryville, California, this cosmetic project is available here on craigslist for $6,000. Thumbs up to Tony Primo for the tip!
Pontiac marketed the Grand LeMans from 1975 to 1981. For the first three years, it shared the Colonnade styling of the LeMans (and other GM intermediates), then these cars were downsized in 1978 for better fuel economy. The seller’s example is one of those more sensible autos that could use smaller engines to get the same job done. It’s powered by a 305 cubic inch V8, likely paired with a TH-350 automatic transmission. And we’re told the 59,000 miles on the odometer are honest, as the car was sparingly used in its earlier days.
Exposure to prolonged periods of sunlight has done a number on the green paint and dark green vinyl top. The paint is quite faded while the top covering is almost non-existent. We’re told the matching interior is in pristine condition, so why is there a towel on the bottom of the back seat? And the headliner has the typical 1970s affliction of most General Motors cars – it has a case of the droops.
We’re told this Pontiac has been regularly maintained and serviced, regardless of what we might think of the appearance. No mechanical problems are lurking to terrorize the next owner. That caretaker will only be the Lemans’ third owner in nearly 50 years. Important to California residents, this automobile is smog-registered for another year. And this fancy ride has working air conditioning. Pontiac sold more than 21,250 copies of the car as a 4-door sedan in 1978.
Cars from this era are relatively common in the SF Bay Area, the asking price seems like a stretch unless this is someone’s dream car. Potential buyers willing to put in the work should be able to find a car in similar condition for a fraction of the price.
Steve R
Did anyone else notice in some pictures that there is an armrest and some that don’t have an armrest? Car looks nice but what is up with the front seat?
That front seat was the 60/40 front seat often sold for added front passenger comfort. Supposedly there are separate controls for that seat to move differently than the drivers seat.
If you look closely you’ll see the center armrest makes the seat appear as one solid bench. It is not. The armrest is stowed in the upright position in these photos.
My issue with the seating surfaces is the description that they were “leather”? They are vinyl. No leather was available with this level of automobile. I think the seller might have meant to say “leatherette”.
My wife’s car was a 1980 Pontiac Lemans Safari wagon. It was a hand me down from her parents. It had a similar bench seat without the center armrest. It had vinyl upholstery. It developed a nasty transmission leak. She stopped driving & it was an extra car that we didn’t need. The other issue was her parents moved out to the dessert southwest. They lost the title. We donated the car to the American Lung Association.
did a lot of Granada, Plymouth Volare, and Pontiac LeMans comparison back in 1979. After comparing ride, comfort, driving characteristics, pretty much all the important stuff, I decided to go LeMans. The special order came in, dealer called and had it ready for delivery, everything was great, until. We were maybe 1 minute off the lot when I heard from the back seat “dad, how do we roll the windows down”. Never gave it a thought during the several weeks of making the decision what to buy. Learned alot about looking before choosing, the old man should of known better.
No need to roll the windows down, there’s an ash tray on each side. Problem solved.
We sold a lot of these back in the day. Personally, I thought these were the only A bodies that managed to retain some looks. The Grand AM was the supreme being and I might add that it still used a Pontiac engine (301). The LeMans went to the SBC. I know that some people complained bitterly about the SBC taking over but you have to admit that it was an economical engine to produce, and it was adaptable as it could get. Very little wonder why the SBC was such a favorite amongst the hot rod crowd.
Ugly as hell back then and even uglier now. This is horrendous and I actually appreciate some older cars. Not this one.
Nothing screams Angels Flight polyester pants and Bee Gees 8 tracks like this GM green paint!
If I recall these things were a byproduct of the oil embargo and the California political emissions scam so the engine is bogged down with so much smog stuff a 4 cylinder Honda is faster. On the other side after your teenager learns to drive with all this technology on cars today buy them this so they actually have to pay attention to the road.
Typical G- body, it has been stolen or at least someone tried to steal it. It has a different color column that has Buick stalks, and a 82 and newer cruise stalk. Having owned 15 78-87 G-bodys, currently still own 2 that I cannot leave unattended or someone still tries to steal them. I had a 79 Base Lemans sedan back in the 80s, it had the 301 with a 4 barrel that my neighbor bought new. For its time it moved fairly well, and I can attest from personal experience that Honda 4 cylinders of the day were not faster.
I am not belittling this car when I say this. I don’t know prices in California. I do however know Arizona prices well. I have a 79 Malibu Classic 4dr as a hobby car that sees daily driving often. My interior isn’t as good as this one but my exterior far excels this one. Since (if it does indeed) run and drive and given it has a Chevy V8 it is a $2000.00 to $2500.00 car if it passes emissions or can be fixed at a reasonable price in order to pass emissions. Not every county in Arizona requires emissions testing but Maricopa (Phoenix metropolitan area) does. This car would be more likely to find a buyer in the Phoenix area than other parts of the state. I’ve bought and sold cars occasionally for over 30 years so I have some experience with the car market in Arizona.
This seller has very lofty ideas what his car is worth? It might have been a well optioned car? He was able to get it running enough to sell it? Personally he’ll struggle to sell it. He’ll have to find that unique buyer willing to acquire it for all cost because they remember it very well. Maybe they had one as a teenager or their girlfriend had one? These models were used up & thrown away years ago. It’s unique in that there are soo few examples left. He might get that buyer?
needs a lot of cosmetics. be a solid 3-4k car
For a 2 door with decent paint and headliner, sure. This is 4 Grand high.