This is Lee's newest car. Newest OLD car. It is a 1967 Pontiac Lemans. This is the basic car that the GTOs were made from. Basically, the GTOs have a high performance package that the LeMans did not.
Lee found this car on eBay and won the bid. It was in Connecticut. That is a long drive from southwest Virginia. He rented a car trailer and took off. He was a bit nervous because the guy wanted cash and Lee had never seen the car in person. He reminded me that this was not craigslist when I expressed concern.
The seller had been on eBay for quite sometime and has 100% positive reviews. Lee spoke to him and found he had been in the Navy about the same time Lee was. That seemed to be the kicker to trust this guy.
Because GTOs are a LOT more expensive than the LeMans, many people have been buying the LeMans and putting in all the high performance things, engines, etc. Then they sell it as a GTO clone and they are getting almost as much as the original GTOs Now the straight LeMans are becoming pretty rare.
At one point it seemed like Lee was going to do that, too. But after he saw the car, which he had only seen on eBay, he is now planning to keep it original. This car has less that 100,000 miles. It has the original paint, which is mostly good, with a few dings and scratches. It has what looks like the original upholstery. Next he will look for the build sheet. According to the sales history, the car has been driven less than 6,000 miles in the last 22 years. It has been garage kept.
Lee is pretty stoked at getting this survivor car. He will pretty it up some and make sure everything runs perfectly, although it is pretty good now, and then he might take it to some car shows. He may even take it on a trailer to keep the mileage down. They call cars that people haul everywhere to keep the miles down trailer queens.
So Lee will put this queen in our shop for now. Hopefully he will still have some enthusiasm for finishing the Corvair ramp side pickup that has been languishing in the shop all winter.
Well, would you like to touch metal parts in below freezing weather? Neither does Lee.
My husband has bought and sold a couple of cars on ebay. The last time he said "It's only on the other side of the Beltway!" But when we looked it up, it was around the Baltimore Beltway! Long drive.
ReplyDeleteLove the color! It reminds me of a Chevy Supersport my dad had back in the late 60's. This should be a fun project for Lee.
ReplyDeleteEveryone know that boys (and men) must have their "toys" and looks like Lee got a good one. I too would have been wary of traveling such a distance for a sigh unseen cash sale. Glad all worked out OK.
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