# Not Another Newb!!! (with a '67 LeMans)



## 5hundo (Sep 10, 2007)

Hey fellas!!! (and ladies?)

So, I just picked up a 67 LeMans with a newly balanced and blue-printed 455 motor and I wanted to show it to y'all while I was saying hello. After a semi-successful engine installation, the previous owner sort-of lost interest and threw it into a real estate deal I just took advantage of. After about a day of wrenching, I had it running (but not well). 

It overheats pretty bad and I shut it down after the temp hit 230. The previous owner warned me that it might do that. The engine ran strong while it was running though. He also said there was a tranny leak that will need to be fixed. I never drove it, I just let it run for a while (too paranoid about the tranny leak  ).

I think I'm going to just put in a bigger radiator and redo the whole cooling system. I'll put a 160 deg thermo in it and maybe even a new water pump. I've also noticed that the neck of the thermo housing leaks (because it's on of those POS aftermarket chrome ones). After that, it should be fine, mechanically...

What I'd like to do is discuss options, if that's okay. I could just leave it a LeMans but I hate the way the back end looks. I'd rather have the GTO style tail lights with the back-ups on the bumper. That, to me, looks the best. So, I'm leaning towards converting it to a GTO. I'm open to all opinions and viewpoints, so please throw some suggestions my way. My mind is by no means made up.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics!!!























































...and here are some of the engine:


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

Hello and welcome to GTOforum, a fan shroud may help with your cooling problems, a 160 degree t-stat may open too soon and may not allow the radiator to disipate the heat. 

I would suggest a 180-190 if it were my car. I just had my 66 radiator "rotted out" by a local radiator shop for a fraction of the price of a new radiator. I noticed the engine is from an Oldsmobile, post the numbers located next to the oil fill tube and I will help you identify the year of the engine. As far as cloning do what ever makes you happy, that car will make a nice resto mod and will turn heads at any car show.

Good luck and check out my projects by clicking the My gallery link under my Avatar.


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## 5hundo (Sep 10, 2007)

05GTO said:


> Hello and welcome to GTOforum, a fan shroud may help with your cooling problems, a 160 degree t-stat may open too soon and may not allow the radiator to disipate the heat.
> 
> I would suggest a 180-190 if it were my car. I just had my 66 radiator "rotted out" by a local radiator shop for a fraction of the price of a new radiator. I noticed the engine is from an Oldsmobile, post the numbers located next to the oil fill tube and I will help you identify the year of the engine. As far as cloning do what ever makes you happy, that car will make a nice resto mod and will turn heads at any car show.
> 
> Good luck and check out my projects by clicking the My gallery link under my Avatar.


Is the "elephant trunk" off the thermostat housing that obvious?  

LOL

Yeah, not my decision but it's a brand new motor so I'll deal with it for a while. Maybe a 455 Pontiac will cross my path and I can build that up. In the meantime, it'll do...

The shroud thing has been suggested before and there is what appears to be the upper half of a shroud in the front seat picutre that I posted. This weekend, I went to a car show in Long Beach and a guy had a Chevelle with just that top half on. Is that enough or is there a bottom half that goes with that gaudy chrome thing?  

The radiator was re-conditioned about two years ago, so it should be fine for the application it was meant for (which was certainly not a 455 olds). 

I'll get you those numbers as soon as I can. I had to leave the car at the place because it's still not road worthy...


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## bigcountry (Mar 28, 2007)

that car just needs a little TLC, it has a lot of potential and already has alot of motor, i love the 455, it is bad about overheating though :cheers


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## macgto7004 (Jul 22, 2007)

Looks like a great project car you have there with lots of potential.
I'm sure with time you will get your overheating problem figured out and have an awesome strong motor in that thing.
As far as making it into a GTO clone, you could do it, but for me, i would just leave it as a LeMans. I like the sleeper aspect of it. 

Good Luck with it. I bet it will be sweet when it's all done.

Russ


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## Hammer (Aug 12, 2007)

*brings back some memories!*

i had a `clone',bought a parts car someone had welded the GTO tail panel in,eventually i ended up painting a Harley for a guy for a 455 pontiac in a GPrix,well long story short i ended up with a lowly 301,,ya know what?,that car was fun to drive!,i had fun in it and everybody thought it was my GTO i'd put in primer of course i put a hood and wheels on it,guy made an offer and i let it go,i never lied to anybody about it being a LeMans and if they wined i pointed out=nobody builds a STOCK camaro or el camino OR chevelle they're all SS's now!,that usually shut's them up:lol: so go on with it!,a decent sound body with a fresh motor,that's a gift!!!,couple items on cooling that i do know=the molded hoses pass more water than rippled hoses,i'd buy a thermostat for a `67 442,in fact,i'd look at `67 442's to reference anything,radiators for instance,yours appears to be `the big one',i believe they used a tall deck 400(like the 455 has) in `67 and hey!,those 455 olds had some chieatttt,i had a whale delta 88 granny car `76 i was going to put the motor in a suburban but drove it for a year instead,,big motor=big road trip,they run!,have fun!


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## 5hundo (Sep 10, 2007)

Hammer said:


> i had a `clone',bought a parts car someone had welded the GTO tail panel in,


Yeah, I'm going to order that from Ames and do that too. Was that pretty complicated or did it require a lot of effort? (ie, should I have it done by a professional)



Hammer said:


> i never lied to anybody about it being a LeMans and if they wined i pointed out=nobody builds a STOCK camaro or el camino OR chevelle they're all SS's now!,that usually shut's them up:lol:


I never looked at it that way. You're 100% correct though. I'm going to steal that comeback from you, if that's okay...




Hammer said:


> couple items on cooling that i do know=the molded hoses pass more water than rippled hoses,i'd buy a thermostat for a `67 442,in fact,i'd look at `67 442's to reference anything,radiators for instance,yours appears to be `the big one',


This is going to prove difficult but I'm getting a lot of good advice. I was thinking about getting either a Be Cool or a Rodney Red radiator but if I can avoid that, it would be nice. I got a little sticker shock over those things...


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

Welcome to the forums!
...on the overheating issue, looks like it has an underdrive pulley kit. That may be a contributing factor?


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

*Hey 5hundo Welcome to the herd. I'd love to see pics of that when you are finished with it.

While showing my 05 QSM I occasionally get remarks from old timer GTO owners saying...Hell it don't look like a GTO it looks like one of those Monaros. I tell them this....

This GTO looks as much like a Monaro as yours looked like a Lemans, or Tempest. Then, silence.*


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## 5hundo (Sep 10, 2007)

Rukee said:


> ...on the overheating issue, looks like it has an underdrive pulley kit. That may be a contributing factor?


Really?

That sucks... I like that pulley kit!


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## Hammer (Aug 12, 2007)

*underdrive kit*

that was my thought there,,my `theory' on non-rippled hose was based on `flow testing' stock car radiators in the 80's:willy: ,no thermostat used just a set of Mr Gasket washers specifically for `restrictors' instead of thermostats,bigger hole more flow etc. it's not about XXXflow or you wouldn't need a thermostat,you need to keep the coolant out of the motor to cool it,but if you're runing lap after lap on a track it's all about ambient outside temp and keeping the car consistent,you have airflow you just manage it,,,,,,,yeah right!,sounds like i'm talking diagnostics on a late model,,,,sigh!,gee,can't i just have a car to get in fire up and drive the sum___of it's parts:lol: me and stock cars are a long way out from now so i shouldn't make comments on it,,,,,,,,,,,,,anyway as to welding in the tail panel,mine was a hack job when i got the car,not even a decent slasher bondo jobhahaha,more like it was tacked with an arc welder so esentially `i built it' but it's one of those jobs i made happen and made a car out of it,i could look in a flat rate manual and see how many hours `it paid' back in the day,then add R-I or R-R on the bumper, lights remove interior for for welding for instance etc. couple days labor should get it done,funny thing with me about your ride is,DANG! mine had the same blue interior but with buckets,good sound body ready for some fun(once i finished the tail of course),scary! you're going to have fun i'm sure just get some air moving over it,soapy water,,,drive it like a stolen GTO!arty:


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## 5hundo (Sep 10, 2007)

GTO JUDGE said:


> *
> 
> This GTO looks as much like a Monaro as yours looked like a Lemans, or Tempest. Then, silence.*


That kills me... :lol: 

Reminds me of the time I was driving on PCH in Santa Monica and I saw a guy in a Porsche Boxster. I was driving my E36 M3 and while we were stopped at a light, I was looking over the guy's car. At the time, the Boxster had only been out a few years, so it was a pretty nice car (for being Porshe's cheapest model). The guy looked over and saw me checking out his car, so I gave him a nod of the head, as if to say "Nice ride". I figured a couple of guys driving two good examples of German engineering would appreciate each other's cars...

...I figured wrong!  

This jerk rolled his eyes and shook his head at me!!! So after a few seconds of stewing about that, I rolled down my window and bellowed "Hey!" He rolls down his window and with a smug little grin on his face says, "Yeah?"

"Nice Miata." I said...

I can't write what he said next on here. I'd hate to get kicked off of the forum this early in my restoration efforts.

...then I smoked his little 4-banger to the next light. :cool 

Some peoples' kids, I tell ya...


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