writer: Kevin Diossi, Thomas A. Demauro
photographer: Thomas A. DeMauro
Though in 1997 $600 could go a long way toward buying groceries, paying rent and purchasing small electronics, who would've believed you could still buy a decent project car for that price? Even 11 years ago, a $600 car was more like a disposable camera. You used it and threw it away. But there were a handful of lucky individuals who were still able to find a buildable treasure. Some discovered them nestled away in barns, having sat since the Carter administration. Others were simply the beneficiaries of owners who were in over their heads and forced to let the car go for a fraction of its true value. For the rest of us-then and now-it's a dream. It's not every day you drive down the street and see a $600 '67 LeMans convertible sitting on the side of the road-but that happened to Bill Van Sickle in September 1997.
Air Ride suspension provides this Pontiac with flat cornering and a smooth ride, according to owner Bill Van Sickle. It also allows him to raise and lower the ride height at the flick of a switch, giving it major cool points. Besides the in-the-weeds stance, you may also notice that Bill cleaned up the exterior by removing all emblems and trim, except for the side gills.
Actually, his brother-in-law, Jimmy Efird saw it first. He was a driver for UPS at the time and was on his route through Marshville, North Carolina, when he spotted this LeMans ragtop.
Bill, then a commercial general contractor, was looking for a convertible, so he came by to take a look. "It was painted a faded Carousel Red, had a torn white top, was rusty, and didn't have any brakes, which made driving it on the trailer a thrill," he recalls. However, it did have a transplanted 400 and the asking price was too good to pass up, so he bought it.
After he got the Pontiac home, Bill began to visualize the build. "I like hot rods and customs, so I wanted to try to mix the two without one overpowering the other, and stay subtle." With this in mind, he began to tear into the A-body. The original plan was to build a nice driver and perform most of the work himself. He intended to freshen up the engine, fix the rust, paint the body in the original Champagne color, and put the stock black interior back in. It became clear after dismantling the LeMans that the wear and tear was much worse than he expected. "The rear quarters, rockers, floorboards, and fender patch panels all had to go," says Bill.
What initially attracted Bill was the dramatic Coke-bottle shape of the '67 LeMans. The laser-straight body is the result of multiple body shop efforts to restore the clean lines. Adding some character to the rear are custom flat Lee taillight lenses for which Bill made his own gaskets.
The Buildup
He stripped the LeMans down to the bare body on the frame and rebuilt the stock suspension. The shell was sent out to a backyard body shop, which he later regretted. When Bill got it back, he sent it to Efird Pontiac's paint shop, a dealership owned by his other brother-in-law, Howard Efird. Bill noticed the body filler work on a rear quarter patch panel seam cracked on the way to the paint shop, so the the bodywork had to be repaired. While there, the jambs were painted Champagne.
In the meantime, his father-in-law helped him put a new cam and lifters into the station wagon 400, hoping the rest of the engine was still good.
Soon thereafter, Bill went through a divorce and the project stalled. He came out of it with his "shop, tools, and toys" intact, however.
He decided to start over on the LeMans with a new plan. His shop had an I-beam that ran across the width of the building. Originally intended to pull engines, Bill found it worked perfectly for lifting the body off the frame. "Then we were able to work on the frame more easily," he says.
When the ragtop was purchased, the original 326 engine was nowhere to be found. In its place was a station wagon 400 on its last leg. Bill replaced this with a 400ci H.O. engine out of a '67 GTO, but it didn't last long, either. When it blew, he took the initiative to have a performance rebuild done with forged pistons, a Comp cam, an aluminum intake and a Demon carb. To add to the hot rod feel, a set of Cal Customs valve covers and an O'Brien Truckers air cleaner were added. Bill can keep cool, even with the top up, thanks to a Vintage Auto Air system.
Bill also made a new acquaintance, Wendi, who was willing to lend a helping hand with the Pontiac. "When she lifted her sandblasting hood in 95-degree heat and was smiling from ear to ear, I knew I had a keeper," he says. She sandblasted the frame on a rotisserie and sprayed it with epoxy paint. Together, they continued with the project.
They modified the front spring pockets and the fabricated rear bag perches for an Air Ride CoolRide suspension package. Large sway bars were used, 1-1/4-inch front and 1-inch rear. Stock 11-inch disc brakes in the front were mounted to Fatman dropped spindles, and stock 9.5-inch drums were retained on the 12-bolt Posi rear that was liberated from a '66 Chevelle. The '66 GM rears are roughly 1-inch narrower than the '67 units, which helped fit wider tires in the wheelwells and maintain a decent-looking wheel offset. Speaking of wheels, the LeMans wears 17x7-inch front and 17x8-inch rear American Racing Salt Flats. A set of 235/45-ZR17 front and 255/50-ZR17 rear Fusion ZRi tires add plenty of stick in the turns.
The engine was taken to Walt Hollifield, collector and restorer of multiple concours GTOs. Walt is well-educated in Pontiac powerplants as well. He determined the as-delivered 400 motor was junk, and suggested using the bone stock 360-horse '67 GTO 400 H.O. engine sitting on a stand in his shop. He mounted the 400 in the LeMans, along with a Turbo 350 transmission. His friend, Rich Brown, handled the wiring.