[goatgirl70]

I'm new to this, so please be kind to me!

Hi everyone,

My name Is Jess, & this might be a longer post than I initially anticipated.

I'm a young lady located in the midwest & my father passed away about 7 years ago. My dad left behind his late wife (my mom) and myself, his one child & at that, a daughter. In the wake of all that, he left me a 1970 Lemans Sport that he pulled out of a swamp and had delivered during the blizzard of '91 (if you know, you know) & had been working on it all the way up until his death in 2018. The car is 100% fully restored, drivable, and in great shape as I'm writing this.

The car is "done" (are they ever really done?) and it runs and drives like it came off the lot yesterday. She has her dings and scratches, as do all cars let's be realistic. But she's ready to go, and go does she want to!

I'll cut to the chase - I'm here as a last resort. I want to know everything I feel like I should know about this car, and I thought what better place to ask for help than from a forum of Pontiac guys that know their **** - I'm in my late 20's now and when my dad passed on I was 19, far too young to know what questions to ask relating on how to take care of this car. When I would ask, he would always assure me that I would have someone here to help me in his absence. None of this would be further from the truth. I've learned to rely on myself, and that's what brings me here. I refuse to let this thing rot in my garage as a lawn ornament after watching my dad put the better part of 30 years into it - just to pass away prematurely. It's his legacy if you will, the last piece of him left here in this life & I hold that sacred and dear to me.

My goal is to drive this car like I stole it. I want to be confident behind the wheel, and driving it isn't the issue, as I know how to drive a stick, this one in particular. Here's what I know about it, and everything I've gathered from my mom who was with him back when the car was brought to MN from AZ, until he died in '18. Any advice or things you think I should pay attention to is what I'm looking for. As of right now, it has a leaky rear differential seal that I assume has went bad because of non use & it not being driven as much as it should be. I have had a buddy of mine replace the gasket in the past, but he used RTV silicone instead of actual gasket paper. In the coming weeks, I plan on fixing that and using actual gasket paper instead of RTV, any videos or advice/recommendations you can send me on fixing that would be greatly appreciated.

-It's a 400 big block motor board out to a 426. I know the motor is not original to the car, I believe I was told it was a motor pulled out of a GTO?? it was either the or another Lemans, I could be wrong. I am unsure if he boared it out alone or used a stroker kit, if there's a way for me to tell I'd love to know.
- 3 speed clutch on the floor, clutch is an after market build
-its a pure Lemans (no cloning done) and it's just that - we had a 68 GTO we sold after he passed so I know it wasn't built to be a GTO, it was built to be a Lemans but with more balls, to put it nicely lol

Any advice or suggestions you all have on how I should be caring for this car (oil changes, waxing, maintenance, storage procedures, literally any advice I will take it!!) I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Most of the maintenance stuff I have taught myself with the help of a trusted human guiding me (oil changes, car washes and waxes, etc) but that is mainly my mother and she only knows as much as my dad told her, which isn't a lot. Just wasn't a hobby she wanted to learn about after we inherited it, thats where I come in.

Like I said above, and I'm probably rambling at this point, but any suggestions, advice, or literary anything you can think of that I should know I appreciate! Even if I know it already, thank you all in advance

xxx - Jess

[Keith Seymore]

Welcome aboard; we'll need some photos.

I have my dad's car, too, so I perhaps know a bit how you feel.

K

[kingbuzzo]

Welcome to the forum and this is the place to be...a wealth of knowledge.

Good for you to continue the legacy of your father.

If you get the block # these guys can decode it pretty quick.

For the rear, they leak can leak if you use rsv and a good gasket. There could also be an issue with cover or the pinion seal. I replaced my pinion seal once already and it still leaks lol.

Never ends with a pontipig (leaking) lol...good luck

And you are right, when they sit the gaskets go but long cold winter whatchagonnado

[johnta1]

Welcome to the Forums, Jess!

Lots of knowledge here.

As said find the engine code and stuff on front of passenger side of engine, right below where the head sits.

Pics also as said helps a lot.

[LastoftheThinkers]

Not sure how in depth you want to go, but you can order the original specs for your car at https://www.phs-online.com/

[Held for Ransom]

Jess, let's start with what part of MN?

[7t4mula]

Welcome and so great to hear of you honoring your dad with the continued ownership and driving his Lemans!

Yes those rear differentials will leak if not sealed up properly with both gasket and sealant. Also, I’ve had issues with switching to synthetic gear oil, I’d recommend staying with a good quality conventional 80-90W fluid there.

Good luck to you in your future with this ownership!

[goatgirl70]

Hi everyone

I'm a bit late with my replies, busy planning a wedding and all that jazz

Here's some pics of the Lemans, haven't had any time recently to get in there nd get the #'s for you all

I will say, as an update to my last post, my mom told me the engine came from a friend of my dad's - a Pontiac pro my dad got tons of parts from. Apparently he built / boared the engine before my dad got the motor

Anyway enough rambling - here's "Sheila" (named by my dad)

She's a tough B**** & doesn't put up with anyone's crap - probably why he had one kid & it was a daughter (she takes after me)

thank you guys for all the love, I appreciate that & I'm happy to be apart of the family

-Jess

[goatgirl70]

P.S - I forgot to add this photo, the man that started it all. I think of him often & I hope he's proud - Pontiac was his life & its the way I feel connected to him still

Here's Jeff, AKA Jeffie, the coolest guy I ever knew.

He would eat this **** up that I'm here and building community with his car. Pic one is of him with our Lemans and GTO, I always used to joke he was more proud of his cars then me, lol!!

second pic is of the Lemans (Sheila) when she was taken out of the swamp, the O.G auto trader picture.

Thank you for welcoming me, I sit here with tears in my eyes as I'm overwhelmed with love from the support

from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

-The Schifsky's
Jeff, Tracy, & Jessie Lynn
(this is how I should be signing these messages)

[Skidmark]

Glad you have your dads car and decided to share your story here. He was one of us. I would have loved to meet him. Good luck with your wedding and all future endeavors.

[onetirefire]

The rear differential seal is a good one to take on. Go for it.
It is probably leaking because old gasket material was never scraped off. That may be the hardest part of the job. You have to get all the old stuff off, or it could leak.
Supplies:
- Gasket scraper (photo attached)
- one or two gaskets. Prices are cheap. Your differential could have been swapped at some point. Verify it is original 10 bolt cover and shape of gasket on back of "pumpkin" matches the one your getting. Easy to look at part pictures on rockauto.com ... also they have cheap prices and a selection to choose from. Or take off the cover, go down to auto parts store with an old geezer (if you can find one) in it and ask for a gasket to match.
- spread on a small amount of good sealer, like Permatex Right Stuff.
- fill with regular old gear lube. Doesn't need synthetic. If your pumpkin has a tag on it that says Limited Slip, you will need to add a small container of special fluid as well.
- they sell cheap, small hand pumps for getting the fluid back in there once you have it assembled.
- optional. Go to ebay and find a used 1970 Pontiac Service manual. All the answers are in there and surprisingly easy to follow. Back in the day a shadetree mechanic with this book and a craftsmen set of tools could handle it all.

[kingbuzzo]

really nice cars...good luck with your project

[Shiny]

Welcome!

Glad to see such a great looking LeMans and the family ties are special. Nice!

Buying a copy of the service manual is great advice.

[Held for Ransom]

My advise is to reach out to member GTO.PAUL
and attend a meeting of the LOL (Land of Lakes) GTO Club. https://lolgto.com
They meet the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM in Eden Prairie (kind of far from where you live, but doable).