1967 Pontiac Le Mans

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patrick_slegers

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Hi everyone,

I'm new here :-)
I live in Belgium and I'm thinking of buying a '67 Le Mans. I found one in Denmark (800 km from my home) but I don't know much about these cars.
Is there something specific I need to know, look or ask for?
It's a 455 cui automatic coupe.

greetz,
Patrick
 
Hi and welcome,

To answer your question, we would need to know more about the car your buying, what price is the owner asking?

800 K is a long way to travel to just inspect one car, I looked at many cars near and far for myself and others. I suggest always have other cars to look at the same day if possible.

Most cars especially classic cars for sale are misrepresented either by greed or ignorance so do not trust what you see in the description or in pictures and videos will be true.

I have been disappointed too many times, like I said earlier make sure to have other cars to inspect on your journey so you will not be wasting a trip.

Have the owner send you many pictures of the car of everything that you would consider to be a deal breaker if certain items are worn or severely rusted.

For example if you have no way of replacing quarter panels, trunk pans and floor pans and do not have it in your budget to deal with a car that needs a total restoration, insist that these areas of concern are photographed after your request and also insist on a video walk around of the car.

Anything we would recommend or suggest to do or look for depends on the cost of the car and how it is being described.

So post a link to the listing so we can see what your interested in.

From there we would give you more detailed information about what you should expect from a purchasing this car.
 
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To start with the 1967 LeMans did not have an option of a 455 so it does not have the original engine.
 
Thanks for the replay!

@ melsg5: you're correct, it's a 400 cui.

Here you can find the add:
http://www.flintholmcars.dk/brugte-biler//vis/2147250910/Pontiac-LeMans-455-7.3-Coupe-aut.-2d

I also send the dealer an email and this is what he wrote to me:
'This is the original 400 cui engine in the car, it runs really well. There has been another shifter handle. It is 100% without rust Vinyl roof is changed. The lacquer is the original, it has been used and has been spotted. If the car gets a new lacquer, you have a super fine and healthy car.'

greetz,
Patrick
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Is that 149,000 Euro's which is 163,000 dollars! That is crazy if correct.
1. There is only one picture of the engine and it appears that the AC has been removed and the engine is modified.
2. Do the last 6 digits of the VIN match the number stamped on the ID pad in front of the passenger side cylinder head?
4. What is the engine code on the ID pad, how do you know what engine is in it without that code?
5. Why no pictures of the underside to show the condition of the frame and suspension?
 
the amount translates to around $21892.00 based on Danish Kroner conversion.

from what I see the car no longer has A/C, they admit to the car needing paint, the body looks solid, but I seriously doubt the paint is original like they claim. it does have a after market steering wheel and shifter, the grill has been blacked out. the hood is wrecked with the pins.

One thing that has me concerned is the giant positive cable under the hood that powered up I am guessing a removed aftermarket stereo system so who knows what else they hacked up installing the system that appears to be gone.

all of this would cost a lot of money to make right.

If I saw that car in the USA I wouldn't offer more than 10K for it and that is if it accurately represented. However There are many different models of that car so you need to know exactley what model it is. while you asking for more pictures and engine numbers ask for the vin

Considering where you live its not like these cars are flooding the market so as for the price it may be a fair price for what it is.

However before I drove out there I would insist on close up pictures of all the body panels and good pictures of the under carriage make sure they give you pictures of all the weather stripping and the bottom of the doors the entire floor pan. and you want pictures of the entire bottom side of the drive train, rear end , transmission fuel and brake lines.

You will want the dealer to provide the casting numbers off the engine so we can tell you for sure what engine is in the car. this car may have a boat anchor engine in it.

I imagine for the asking price you could have your choice of many nice cars, this one could prove very expensive to restore if your wanting a perfect ten car.

If your wanting a fun weekend car to drive and tinker with, its is a good start provided nothing is rusted out.

I have seen nice GTOs in the states in about the same condition or better for the same price or just slightly more expensive.

A GTO would provide you with better resale down the road and cost nearly the same to restore.

All this being said this is a nice leMans but your paying top dollar from a dealer that is making money off of you. the same car purchased from a private owner, could be purchased for much less provided you can find one near where you live.
 
Thanks guys for helping me out!

I'm not a mechanic guy, so I do not see it if anything is missing on the car (A/C). I have a few friends with American oldtimers, but they're not specific Pontiac specialists, that's wy I asked for some help via this forum.

And yes, it's true, you don't find a lot of Pontiac LeMans or GTO's over here. The problem is that you first have to trust on pictures and than decide if the trip is worth it or not, sadly most of the time the car looks much better on picture. If I could trust someone for 100%, I would buy one directly from the US.

I will take all your points and send an email to the dealer. As soon as I get an answer from him, I'll let you know.

Thanks guys, much appreciated!
Happy holidays.

greetz,
Patrick
 
the main thing you should get from what we have mentioned is, this car was owned by a younger person that modified many things, this could be a good thing if the modification were improvements over stock parts.

For example if you have a well built engine with high flow heads with desirable casting numbers on the heads and block. that is great for performance yet bad for economy and could effect the resale value making it higher or lower.

I had a 1968 firebird with a highly built 428 with high compression that ran like a speed demon yet the high compression engine would eat flywheels and starters constantly demanding all of my time and money for parts and fuel.

If the engine was stock, sure it would have been slower, but I could have enjoyed driving the car more and feeding it less of my time and money.

If you could get the dealer to provide a video similar to this video Mona made of her Pontiac just not as extensive it would give you a better idea of what the car is like.

take pictures of the cash you would be using to buy the car on a current news paper with the date showing, and send it to the dealer any dealer even one in the USA. this may motivate them to make a video and take better pictures.
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did you ask him anything he might not want to answer?
 
Think so.
Just asked the dealer for some detailed pictures and info...
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