I ran into a 4-dr hardtop Lemans with a 455HO engine in it about 1983 or 1984. I was out driving in my 1970 Trans Am 4-spd at the time. It was pretty heavily modified, I was running a 455 block with 428 crank and Ram IV top end, and the car sounded wicked. The guy approached me in a parking lot and we got talking about cars. His was an automatic 4-dr Lemans with lots of options. Anyway, it definitely had the aluminum intake and round port heads. I wish I had checked the engine codes, but I didn't. He told me he needed a family car and something capable of towing his boat, so he ordered the 4-dr with the HO engine. I've been told by several people Pontiac never built a 455HO 4-dr car. I have no way of knowing if he swapped the top end onto a D-port block, or maybe he bought an entire engine somewhere, but it definitely had a round port top end.
There were a lot of hot cars in that area. Within a 20 mile radius, I knew of a 70 Ram IV Judge, a 70 Ram IV GTO, two 74 SD455 cars, a 71 Judge, my 69 Firebird with a 69 Ram IV Judge engine, a 69 Trans Am Ram IV, and several D-port Judges. That didn't count my 71 & 72 T/As I had picked up and the 70 T/A that somehow acquired a Ram IV with a SR block.. This was not a large city, it was a small town out in the country.
I have no idea whatever happened to the car. Since we met in a Lowes Home Improvement parking lot, I have no idea where he lived.
Mike
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