1968 Pontiac Lemans

[737driver]

Last October I purchased a 1968 Lemans convertible. I found one that looked really nice so I drove down to Temecula, California ( about 5 hour drive from Las Vegas). This was a second owner car, and was original purchased and owner by the original owner until 2022.
This car had 350 with a QJ carburetor and a 200 4R trans. The car ran well but had a few minor issues. It was a 4 drum brake car, and although mechanically it was okay there were several improvements it needed.

I upgraded the front and rear suspension to the Detroit Speed Engineering package. I used this on my 72 Lemans and loved it.

I put a new brake system disk brakes on the front and upgraded drums on the rear. I also added a new parking brake setup that is electronically activated. The system is from EStopp and I really liked how it works. Essentially it’s a push button setup that replaces the floor mounted parking brake.

I removed the engine to replace the rear main seal. This was my first time doing that on a Pontiac engine. It turned out reall good, hopefully no leaks with the new Viton seal. I cleaned the motor and repainted it. I put a set of RA exhaust manifolds and a new dual exhaust system. I used the exhaust from Waldron exhaust and used the 2.25” GTO style exhaust system. The car originally was a single exhaust . I also used a Sniper EFI in place of the QJ.

I replaced the radiator with a new one from Cold Case . I used one with electric fans and the install was very easy. The radiator mounted with no issues and works quite well.

It had a 200R4 transmission and that had some minor issues. Mainly with the TV cable and how it was installed. I addressed that issue and added a lock up torque converter. I switched the rear axle gears to a 3.73 posi unit. I went with a set of 17” Rally rims in place of the 15” rims.

I changed the heater core and was very happy I did. The old was was a hair breath away from failure.

Right now the car is almost ready for driving, and I still have a few more things to do in the meantime.
Jim

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[roadking77]

Beautiful car Jim, Sounds like some nice upgrades as well.

[scarebird]

Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?

Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge!  I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.

[76455sd]

Great car.  You have a knack for picking my favorite Pontiacs.

[737driver]

Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?

Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge!  I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.

I’ll get some pics of it and post them up. I tested the EStopp yesterday and it works really well. I used a set of universal 110” brake cables in place of the stock parking brake cables. Overall it’s a pretty decent setup.
Jim

[rkellerjr]

That is a good looking car!

[5th T/A]

That is a good looking car!

Why I like this car;
1) it's a convertible.
2) Very original looking, my mom had a hardtop same year and a girlfriend did too. So there is the nostalgic aspect, these were great cars.
3) Don't get mad at me, but there are a lot of GTO's and TA's out there and not a lot of Formula's or Lemans. It's nice to see something just a little different.
4) Jim's workmanship speaks for itself!

[737driver]

Thanks for the compliments! For all the reasons stated above I really like the Lemans. I do love the  GTO and especially the TransAm but I also love the different Pontiac A and F bodies.
Jim

[FormTA]

Just to make it easier to see this awesome car. Here you go.

[TATurbo]

Man, that is sweet!  I love it!
All I wanted to accomplish on my car this winter was to install a set of coil-overs on the front end.  That hasn't happened yet.  Meanwhile, you're completely done going through this thing...And it's still a little too chilly to drive with the top down in the evening!

Congrats on the new ride...I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it this season.
In high school I had a buddy who had a '72 Convertible Lemans.  Jim's was red, but seeing yours still brought a smile to my face.
Enjoy.

[737driver]

Jim, can we see more pix and notes concerning your EStopp installation?

Not really seeing much on their website and that box looks huge!  I was mulling something like this with our stuff since my wife's Mazda 3 has an electric parking brake.

Here are some pics of the EStopp.

[737driver]

More pics of ESTOPP

[scarebird]

Interesting setup.

[737driver]

To be honest I really like this setup, mainly because it allows me to to have the kick panel speakers. It does work as advertised and I like it. I made my own mounting support for the bracket to mount it to the frame which may have been overkill but it works very good.
Jim

[stros]

To be honest I really like this setup, mainly because it allows me to to have the kick panel speakers. It does work as advertised and I like it. I made my own mounting support for the bracket to mount it to the frame which may have been overkill but it works very good.
Jim

Very cool - my parking brake is a bit of a pain to clear my kick panel speakers in my T/A too.