Frosty

It begs the question.....why'd SHE settle for you then?

Okay so the bottom end is fairly fresh then. I assumed it wasn't, my bad, sorry about that. You might find yourself a true straight edge and check the heads and block deck to insure they are flat and true. $6k is about what I had into my 455/462 too. So I feel your pain. That also doesn't count the time I removed it to replace the leaking rear and front main seals either, 7 years later.

Yeah, you are essentially buying a VIN at this point. Assuming the cowl was in decent shape, that would be all that you would have left of the original car. So much of the rest of the car would have to be replaced. It's would almost becomes a proverbal or automotive equivalent of a Ship of Theseus.

I think this is the rustiest GTO I've ever seen for sale. This one was found on eBay. Poor '68 GTO. I wonder if it can be saved and if it's worth saving. As of this writing, the bid was at $5,000.00. https://pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/RockerArms.html "Complete and all original numbers matching 1968 Pontiac GTO HO 400 4 spd. convertible project car with clean PA title. Purchased this GTO from the original owner in 2014 and it's been sitting in my garage ever since. Last time it was on the road was the mid 70's and only has 68,258 miles on it but the owner left it sit outside in the weather for 20 years and is very rusty - the floors, trunk pan, hood, quarter panes etc. need full replacement/restoration. Engine turns over freely but have not attempted to start it. Trans and rear are original and appear to be in working order. Frame is rusty and may be salvagable and I have an extra convertable doner frame included with this sale. Also Included is a new Endura front bumper, 5 pontiac rally rims and all the chrome which came with the car from the factory. I also have the maintenance paperwork and books that the owner gave me. Only parts I found missing are the key's, right side door mirror and trunk lock. Car is listed for sale locally so this eBay auction may be canceled at any time. Feel free to ask questions."

Well I think there are at least three of us that can't wait for that to happen. You, the missus, and the rest of us!

Wrongway, while I am not one to waste a lot of other people's money, kiwi has a good point. You are already this far into disassembly, it might be worth while to have the motor pulled and sent to a reputable engine builder to be completely disassmebled, cleaned, inspected, ported and re-built from the ground up. I suspect there could be one or two more gremlins waiting for you as you get further into the motor. I won't lie, it will not be cheap. It probably won't be quick either but you will have a much more reliable motor when your're done, with a few more ponies than what you started with too. If your engine builder is any good, he may even have his own engine dyno to break it in, test, and tune it for you.

Here are a couple of articles on this very subject. Rocky Rotella and Jin Hand are established Pontiac enthusiasts and writers. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-1110-high-ratio-rocker-arms-install/ https://pontiacstreetperformance.com/psp/RockerArms.html

You are getting ever so much closer casper.

I ordered a new radio from Retro Manufacturing for Lucy on the 4th of July. It's the Daytona Motor 2, it will fit the stock dash without cutting but I can play my tunes from my iPhone and it has bluetooth connections for hands free calls. It will be interesting to see how well the bluetooth works in a noisy convertible. The radio is suppose to be here between the 14th and 17th. I received the new tach and glovebox I ordered. It was way too hot this past weekend to do any work on Lucy with heat indexs over 100 (plus it was the holiday), I'm hoping for cooler weather this weekend.

Okay I'm jealous. I don't get to see blown tri-five Pontiacs around here even. Man enjoy the view!

So now you can see that back in 1995, when I purchased Lucy, you can now understand why I was a sucker for a blue exterior and a white interior convertible Lemans. It was meant to be. It was karma.

That’s cool. ACDelcos should do the trick. They will work as well as my old Gabriel Airjackers back in the late 70s. The only thing is pay attention to the rubber boots, depending on conditions, they can dry rot faster than you think (3-4 years). No sweat, I’ve spent a lot of time and money on,parts that don’t fit, don’t work, or I don’t like. You need to be happy with your purchases.

What sort of ride are you looking for Havoc? Personally, I'm looking for a nice comfortable ride. I did not have very good luck with adjustable QA1 shocks with Lucy. I have no idea why it turned out so poorly but I hated the ride. I've ended up with a comfortable gas shock from ACDelco in front, and load master coil over gas shock in back. The reason for the coil over gas shocks is when I either do parade duty with the family or load up the car to go to a car show, the coil overs handle to extra load of tent, tools, people in the back seat, etc. For you, you might want to go with some nice gas shocks from KYB, Monroe, ACDelco, or Gabriel. Just my two cents anyway.

Well guys, I never thought I'd ever see this car again. Here is a photo of my very first Pontiac, originally a Regatta Blue 1973 Pontiac Lemans Sport Coupe. It had a 350 v8, 2-bbl, AC, and a 375 TH transmission, and a white vinyl interior. I purchased this car shortly after I graduated from high school. I graduated in 1978. I drove the car for about a year and then the rust started coming thru the rear quarter panels. So the following summer, in 1979, I started sanding and bondoing the car. I eventually primered, block sanded and then applied six coats of Martinique Blue Poly (a 1978 Trans Am color) lacquer (yes - lacquer) and 8 coats of lacquer clear. I painted the car in the family garage while my parents were on vacation in Scotland. They were pissed that I got paint on the garage floor but my dad was happy to see the car all one color and not "Bondo" colored. I used my grandfathers tiny air gun and compressor to do it too. It was at least 50 years old then! The thing that upset me most was that two weeks after I completed the paint job, I parked the car in the student parking ramp at my local community college that I was attending. Some "mofo" keyed the car - up one side and down the next! I had spent the entire summer working on this car and some jealous SOB destroys it in seconds! Campus security could do nothing since there are no security cameras in the student parking ramp, only in the facility ramp. Huh. imagine that. Students pay the bills but we can't afford cameras to protect their vehicles. Grrrr.. So I touched up the paint as best I could temporarily. My parents were upset as well since they knew how hard I had worked on the car. I spent the next summer re-doing the paint job but my heart has not quite in it at that point. I drove the car two more years and then sold it for a brown '80 Buick Regal with a 231 V6. While I had the Lemans, I purchased a "Trans Am" Formula steering wheel. I added a set of Cragar wheels and Goodyear and BF Goodrich tires to it. A set of Gabriel Airjacker air shocks raised the back end to allow for the L60-15 tires in the back to keep from rubbing on the fenders. I added a B&M shift kit. This is when I learned I had a 375TH transmission. At that time, I had never heard of a 375, just the 350TH and 400TH. I bought a 350TH shift kit but the new oil pan gasket was all wrong. I went back to the speed shop 4 times to get the right gasket. Finally the guy had me bring the pan in, that's when he knew I had a 375TH. I still have the Formula steering wheel, it's on Lucy today. When my dad passed away in 2018, while cleaning out his garage, I found my old Cragars. They are somewhat rusted and pitted, but I have them, lug nuts and all. I think I will have them re-chromed someday and use them on something. I'm not sure what. The backspacing was all wrong back in the day and they are all wrong now, but I'm sure I'll find a use for them. The photo you are looking at is when the Lemans was still in primer. You can see the Cragar's on it too. I never knew my dad took this photograph. This is a 35mm slide photo that I recent found and converted to digital. So the photo quality isn't the greatest. Man I hope I find more photos like this.

FIrst time I've seen your goat all the way around. Looks great, thanks for sharing the video. This was MGM Service on Cesar Chavez in Pontiac that did your rebuild? $4,600 is a really good price. I spent over $6k with D&S Engines in Clawson back in 2004. While most of the build has stood the test of time, i was not happy with the front and rear main seals. I had to replace them about 7 years ago and they left out the distributor gasket. Meaning I had oil leaks. So if I ever need to do this again, I want to know who to go to in SE Michigan.