Mods
Pontiac 350 + TH350, Summit full length headers, Edelbrock AVS2 series 650 cfm carb, PerTronix Flame-Thrower HEI distributer, BM shift kit, TMI kolene steels and perfomance clutche disks, BMR front 1” drop springs, Hotchkis rear 1” drop springs, BMR boxed rear trailing arms, Summit Racing 3 row radiator, Auburn Gear limited slip carrier, Yukon Gear 3.36:1 ring and pinion, and a set of 17x8 U.S. Wheel Daytona 84 Series wheels wrapped with 255/45zr17 Nitto NT555 G2 tires.
Build story
My name is Cody, i’m 20, and I bought this 71 Lemans in 2018 for $950 as a complete car. It’s the first car I bought, and it has taught me a lot about revivals. When I got it, it didn’t run, and had no small amount of rust. It also had no functioning latches, as they were rusted inoperable. ThIs made it very hard to get in or out of to begin the revival. In lieu of that, i named the car “the lock ness monster”, or Nessie to keep it simple. The fact it’s green also helped that name stick for me. The engine was locked up, and the TH350 had park, and 5 forward gears, which was odd as it was a 3 speed. I bought a sandblaster after disassembling it, and began to clean the underside and interior. After new patch panels and a coat of undercoat, I found a Pontiac 350 short block for $125. The guy was super nice, and threw in a 1976 4 barrel intake, stock distributor, valve covers, and fan for free. I had the heads from the original engine rebuilt at a local shop, bought a pair of Mickey Thompson valve covers at a swap meet, and then assembled the engine with the AVS2 650 cfm carb. I then rebuilt the transmission, and found that the low/reverse and forward clutch packs were completely welded together. After replacing them with new steels and clutch discs, I installed a BM shift kit to finish off the trans. In the factory 8.2 BOP diff, I installed new bearings as well as a Auburn Gear limited slip carrier with Yukon Gear 3.36:1 gears, to pep it up but keep it bearable on the highway. After the Summit headers were installed, the drivetrain was stabbed in, and I reassembled the front clip on the car. After shedding the factory wiring harness and doing only a slightly better job of routing it, I started it for the first time. A year after getting the car. A month later I got it ready to drive, and drove around the yard. After some more tuning and new parts, i got it ready to drive on the road, and got it registered and insured. 19 years after it was last legal to drive in 1997, it’s back on the road again. I’ve since added a few suspension parts, gauges, and some wheels and tires. I still need to repair the rear seat divider panel/package tray panel and install the rear window, as well as much more. With the exception of the cylinder head work, all work done to the car was performed by me, which i’m very proud of. Hopefully I can find the time to start a series on YouTube of it. For now, it runs like a champ and awaits its first autocross event.