[JonW]

I just made arrangements to buy this 1975 LeMans Sport Coupe. It's got 34,000 actual miles, never had paintwork, been kept up very well inside and out. It still has the original hoses and belts and possibly tires.

I have a few minor mods in mind, such as fuel injection and exhaust. Anyone know of a good suspension upgrade? I'm not even sure at this point what it has.

[thebuick]

nice looking car LUCKY YOU, I wouldn't change a thing

[shaker455]

Time capsule!

[cdrookie]

Nice looking car JonW. I wouldn't consider fuel injection a minor mod though, and are you looking for headers, manifolds, or just dual pipes? What type of suspension upgrades are you looking to do? What are your overall plans for the car? http://users.boardnation.com/~abodysite/index.php <-----There's not much action going on there these days but there is a lot of nice cars and tons of info.

[Torquewar]

Nice buy, those cars have a certain style ,like it and congrats.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by JonW

I have a few minor mods in mind, such as fuel injection and exhaust. Anyone know of a good suspension upgrade? I'm not even sure at this point what it has.

Nice car and the right color.

Personally, I wouldn't touch it. But injection and a 4L80 or 700R4/4L60 overdrive would make it a nice gas sipping driver. As far as the suspension goes, a set of Bilstein shocks on all 4 corners will allow it to handle well without compromising ride quality or alignment specs.

[LATECH]

Suspension....new gas charged shocks and a GOOD set of new tires.

Service the brakes. A simple 2.5 inch mandrel bent dual exhaust with a crossover of any type would be sweet for sound

Those cars had a good radial tuned suspension.Probably has the monogram on the dash that says so.

Nice car. Leave it alone.It is a class act just the way she is.

[66sprint6]

Amazing car. Is this chassis that much different than a '72? I've not seen a lot of ads for performance parts, for this platform.

[camerjeff]

2nd gen front sway bars fit then well, I have a 1 1/4" front bar from a 79 T/A on my 73, also the Chassis was used (slightly modified) for the 77-90 Big B-body cars, so many of the suspension parts built for them will also fit.

Nice car by the way, before getting to radical with the suspension I would change out the rear gear for something a bit more performance minded, by 75 most cars had around a 2.73 rear gear at best, many had 2.55's, and add a quick ratio steering box, some new radial tires, and better shocks.

The 73-77 cars actually handle better than the 64-72 A-bodies in stock form.

Great looking car BTW, Congrat's

[gtokid1968]

Drive it!!
Like has been said sway bar, new shocks, look the brakes over real good and flush all the fluids!!!!
Replace all belts and hoses BUT keep the original stuff!
I hope to be getting a 76 my self! However the car I am getting is a basket case.

[1965gp]

Very nice car, hard to find them in this condition

[JonW]

Thanks for all the input, guys.

The fuel injection will depend on how well it performs. I have two mechanically identical '79 Mark V Lincolns with the same mileage. One had carb and fuel issues to no end, so much so that I hated driving the car. I swapped to a FiTech fuel injection unit and now it's a pleasure to drive. The other Lincoln still has a carb and performs perfectly. We'll see how the LeMans does.

I thought that was an RTS emblem. If that's the case, it should have sway bars, correct? If so, I'll leave it alone and update the shocks. I'm not looking to get crazy with it by any means, just want it to handle well (says the guy with the Lincolns).

I would like to dual exhaust, will have to see how it's set up underneath. Dual exhaust was available in '74, so I wonder if they kept the same transmission crossmember for '75. If not, a '74 should swap in easily. Then it depends on the manifolds. Once again, I'll know once I see it.

Good idea on the quick ratio steering box. I've done that before and there's a local guy that does that.

Definitely on the new tires and fluid change. I always change all the fluids when I get a new car. Ditto for the belts and hoses on this one. I'm not looking to make any other mods. It will be fine the way it is.

[jerry455]

The 1LE / B Body brake swap on the front works great. Monte SS steering gear and bigger sway bars will do wonders for the driving abilities. Find a 1973 or 1974 transmission crossmember from an A body or G body, as they have the dual humps to allow a pipe to go down the driver side of the car. The 1975 only has 1 hump where the catalytic converter goes.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by JonW

I just made arrangements to buy this 1975 LeMans Sport Coupe. It's got 34,000 actual miles, never had paintwork, been kept up very well inside and out. It still has the original hoses and belts and possibly tires.

I have a few minor mods in mind, such as fuel injection and exhaust. Anyone know of a good suspension upgrade? I'm not even sure at this point what it has.

The 73 GTO is regarded as the best handling of all the previous GTO's so updating your car with the GTO sway bars, etc should work for you.

I notice the HO style exhaust manifolds seem to fit your car according to pictures in this HIGH PERFORMANCE CARS April-1973 article

Why did I keep this magazine 45 years??

[73LeMans]

Great car. Good find. Congratulations!

[73LeMans]

Originally Posted by 66sprint6

Amazing car. Is this chassis that much different than a '72? I've not seen a lot of ads for performance parts, for this platform.

The mandatory 5mph bumpers required the front frame section of the 73s to be pretty beefy. It some spots, its almost twice as wide as the earlier frames.

There are performance parts to be had if desired. Upper and lower front tubular control arms are out there. You can also get adjustable upper rear arms and boxed lowers if youre so inclined. You're right that they are seldom advertised, but they are out there.

[Lightfoot]

Beautiful car.
To confirm whether the tires are original, look for the 'TPC' radial logo on the side wall. That was the universal new car tire built by Uniroyal, Firestone, et al.
The DOT numbers should end with a 4 or 5.

If you post a picture of the tread pattern, I can tell if it's 1970s vintage.

[camerjeff]

Originally Posted by JonW

I thought that was an RTS emblem. If that's the case, it should have sway bars, correct? If so, I'll leave it alone and update the shocks. I'm not looking to get crazy with it by any means, just want it to handle well (says the guy with the Lincolns).

I would like to dual exhaust, will have to see how it's set up underneath. Dual exhaust was available in '74, so I wonder if they kept the same transmission crossmember for '75. If not, a '74 should swap in easily. Then it depends on the manifolds. Once again, I'll know once I see it.

It will have a smallish front sway bar, around 7/8", RTS really meant different spring rates & shocks than a non RTS equipped car. It could have a rear bar but I doubt it.

If a 71-74 B-body crossmember will work I have an extra 71. it has the duel humps. Yours will not have duel humps if it is original.
I know the 73-74 A or G Body crossmembers will bolt in and have the duel exhaust humps. In my area the G bodies seem a lot more common, don't forget to look under any 73-77 you come across as you never know what a previous owner installed.

[Stuart]

And don't forget the suspension components interchange with other GM A body cars, chances are that it will be easier to find replacement parts listed for a Chevelle.

[goatless]

My two cents...
I had a low mileage '73 Grand Am. It was a very nice car to drive. With yours being even lower mileage, I wouldn't mess around with too much. New tires and shocks (and going through the brakes) and that's about it. Being so low mileage it will still be nice and tight, like a new car. Start taking it apart to make "upgrades" and it will lose that original tightness.