1967 Pontiac LeMans Convertible- It's An Addiction

As the adage goes, the collector never stops collecting, and Pennsylvania native Joe Barber lives it, having accrued a noteworthy stable of Pontiacs beginning in 1987 with the purchase of a '66 GTO. Later, he picked up a '66 LeMans and then a '67 Goat with owner-added Tri-Power.

Now deeply immersed in the hobby, Joe found his next project--a '67 LeMans convertible--in 2005 by way of a friend. "I saw a GTO convertible being towed," the friend told him. Joe found out where it went and asked if the Pontiac was for sale. The response was "no." A few months later, a tree company was at his house to cut down some stubborn branches when one of the men noticed that Joe had three A-Bodies in the garage. He told Joe that his buddy had a wrecked convertible he needed to sell. After meeting with the owner, Joe learned that it was a LeMans with GTO trim--the same car he wanted to buy several months earlier--so he bought it on the spot. The owner had apparently taken the Pontiac out for a spin and kissed a tree, damaging the body. He claimed there was more than $30,000 invested in the nearly completed, seven-year project.

"To make it right again, the LeMans required a new front clip, bumper, convertible top, and paint," Joe says. "The drivetrain and chassis were already done." Fortunately, the damage wasn't too severe for Joe, a 44-year-old collision repair specialist by trade. He sanded the Goat down to the primer, replaced the crumpled sheetmetal, and straightened the entire body. After each of three coats of PPG primer, the LeMans was block-sanded. Then came the application of sealer, followed by two coats of PPG bright-red base, four coats of eye-catching PPG Inferno Red Pearl (costing about $300 a pint), and four coats of clear.

Final wet-sanding was performed with 3M 800-grit and gradually stepped up to the ultra-fine 2,000-grit. Butter wax and 3M polishing compound were applied at the end for an ultra-glossy appearance.

Keystone Bumpers in Pittsburgh rechromed the front bumper, and Dave at Fitzgerald Auto Upholsterers in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, installed a new convertible top and carpeted the trunk.

Ames Performance Parchment seat covers were used on the original seats, and a custom fiberglass-molded dashpad was made. This work was taken care of by the previous owner, Mike Coldwell from Pittsburgh. A custom 12-speaker Sony CD stereo, powered by twin Sony ampli-fiers and a single 12-inch subwoofer, pumps out the tunes.

Little is known about the internal components of XJ-code '67 400 engine since it was already rebuilt by Mike when Joe got it. A 0.030 overbore was done and forged pistons were installed, but the cam, crank, and rod specs are a mystery. On the outside, we can see that it's fed via a Holley high-volume pump by a pair of Edelbrock 500-cfm carburetors on an Edelbrock dual-quad intake. Joe was told that the "670" heads were ported and polished and employ roller rockers. Lighting things up is a full MSD ignition system with Taylor wires.

Allowing the engine room to breathe are 1.875-inch primary Hooker headers with 3-inch collectors and electronic exhaust cutouts. The remainder of the system is comprised of 2.5-inch head pipes with a crossover, Flowmaster two-chamber mufflers, and 2.5-inch tails.

A Turbo 400 with a shift kit mixes the gears, and a 12-bolt posi with 3.55:1 Yukon cogs puts the power down.

Underneath is a mildly upgraded suspension consisting of mostly original parts. The front is stock, save for red poly-bushings and the addition of a larger GTO-era sway bar. Out back, an aftermarket 1-inch sway bar and new air shocks were installed.