Jump to content
Forums Gone... but not forgotten!
Pontiac of the Month

FBIRD69's 1969 Firebird

2024 March
of the Month

  • Rev up your passion for Pontiacs and join our vibrant community of enthusiasts!

    Whether you're a die-hard fan of classic muscle cars or you've got a soft spot for sleek modern models, you've found your home here at Forever Pontiac. Our community is dedicated to celebrating everything Pontiac, from the iconic GTO to the legendary Firebird and everything in between.

    Unlock access to expert advice, stunning photo galleries, engaging discussions, exclusive events, and more!

    Start your Pontiac journey with us today!

    Sign up now! 🏁

72 Lemans Carpet Replacement


Recommended Posts

LoL it's a Lemans not a Goat. :)

Im splitting hairs but im not wrong acording to his title and history. :angry:

If a Lemans has a GTO package its not a Lemans anymore its a GTO. The only year that a Lemans is still a Lemans with the GTO pk is the first year for the Lemans GTO. ;) After the first year if a Lemans has the GTO pk its no longer a Lemans its a GTO. Chevy has the same crazyness for a while with the 66 thru something Chevelle and the Malibu. The Malibu is a Malibu unLess it has the Chevelle package and now its not a Malibu anymore its now a Chevelle. or a Chevelle/Malibu.

lol that was harder to explain than I thought it would be.

Actually, from a VIN code perspective, the GTO stopped being it's own unique model starting in '72. So technically speaking, the GTO was back to being an option off the Lemans/T-37 platform in '72. That was true again in '73 with the new Colonade body style and with the '74 Ventura platform. That said, my car is a true Lemans, not a GTO. It has the Endura package and sport suspension that was standard on all '72 GTOs. The appearance package could be ordered without making it a GTO, which is why a lot of people think it is a GTO.

Pro - the floor rust repair was done quite sometime ago. I posted it in another forum a long time ago in cyperspace far far away. I am sure you know the one I am talking about. I repaired the floor when I tore the interior apart, replaced the original insulation, and put down Dynamat. There was minimal rust. It was just surface rust. It was sanded, Naval Jellied, self-etched primered, and Dupli-color body painted before both sets up insulation were laid down & installed. At the time, I thought the original carpet was okay after I steam cleaned it. I finally decided to replace it last year. I finally got around to actually replacing it this summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tired of these Ads? Register Today!

  • Replies 48
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Your right but the essence of what I was trying to say is right also. lol

also correct me is im wrong NO GTO was its own platform it was allways based off another car. Even the last gen was based off the Auzzi car and not its own platform or car. Atleast the Chevelles were there own car at one point even if they were a pk off the boo's at one point/beginings.

You know what I mean. :angry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Founders

Technically the last GTO was an Aussie car brought over here, like the G8 so I count it had it's own car BUT only in America.

It wasn't like the LeMans GTO's where it was a trim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I count that as not being its own car IMO like the rest of the years/gens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Founders

I count that as not being its own car IMO like the rest of the years/gens.

Yeah you're right in that but My point is it is more a rebadge like a G6 is a Malibu kind of thing rather than a LeMans has a trim called GTO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your right but the essence of what I was trying to say is right also. lol

also correct me is im wrong NO GTO was its own platform it was allways based off another car. Even the last gen was based off the Auzzi car and not its own platform or car. Atleast the Chevelles were there own car at one point even if they were a pk off the boo's at one point/beginings.

You know what I mean. :P

You are correct that the GTO was always based on another car or what manufacturers call platforms. The Pontiac A-body platform included the GTO/Tempest/Lemans/T-37/GT-37/Custom S models over the years. It was called the A-Body from 64 to 73. In 74, the GTO moved to the the Nova/Ventura X-body platform. The 04-06 GTOs were based on the Holden Monaro. GM made the GTO it's own model # from 65 to 71. So my Lemans is a 2D67. 2=Pontiac Motor Division, D=Lemans, 67-2-door convertible.

If you want to compare various VIN code breakdowns, I would recommend visiting the Ultimate GTO website. THey have a great comparision of VIN codes between the various years, including the 04-60 Goats.

http://ultimategto.com/cgi-bin/statsexplor...mp;f1=vinmatrix

The Chevelle/Malibu was also the A-body platform - just the Chevy version, and a lot of parts interchange between the Chevelle, GTO, 442, and Skylark/GS (by design). The frames are nearly interchangeable, so is most of the suspension. A lot (but not all) interior trim, locks, steering columns,glass, radios, carbs, etc. are interchangable between these cars.

Building a single car off its own unique platform is not particularly cost effective. It is always better to parts share (as much as possible) across multiple car lines. Sharing drivetrains, suspension, chassis, instrumentation, etc, helps drive down costs. So the Y-body platform (i.el. Corvette) is always going to be more expensive since it is GM's halo car plus it has no stable mates (the Cadillac XLR is gone). The Zeta platform Camaro is another (however I have heard that GM has plans for more Zeta platform-based cars in the future).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree on the platform sharing but at one point 90s & 00s to a certan extent it was hurting GM. Why I say this is that the cars were too closely related and hurting each others sales. The cars even started looking the same and people that dident know about cars could tell not just us gear heads. They were just compeating against themselfs instead of going after honda, toy, ford ect full blast. The early day of platform sharing was great but at the end it saw so bad for GM. IMO thats what killed olds, saturn and our beloved Pontiacs. I know people hate it when I say this but closing Pontiac, saturn and olds was the right thing to do. I hate it but I do understaind it. dont forget it did put me out of a job! (my best job ever too) When I was selling the Aura I would ask what else there looking at and 90% of the time it was the Boo and the G6.

sorry for the spelling im to tired to spell check lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would take it step further. The idea of platform sharing is fine to a point. It is to the extent it was taken. In the 90s and early 00s (pre-Bob Lutz), much of the styling input was driven by Ron Zarrella and his marketing/customer focus group teams, who came from Proctor and Gamble. Ron brought P&G style marketing into GM, where it didn't belong. This drove the same basic set of requirements to GM Design & styling, subsequently it resulted in similar styling between cars on the same platform. Further the automotive press complained that GM cars (in the 80s) looked different and then later complained they looked the same. Well make up your minds!!!!

I find it interesting that JD Powers ranked different cars built on the same platform and assembly line had different quality. I can remember the Buick LeSabre having the best GM initial quality at one point and the Pontiac Bonneville (which was also built on the same line as the LeSabre at Buick City) had a lower quality ranking. WTF?

Bob Lutz came in and shook up the design community in GM and tossed out the focus groups. He took a direct role in the design process and he made many of the decisions in styling. Bob is a car guy and has an idea what the consumer wants, Ron know how to sell soap and deordant, not cars. So that hurt GM. I can only hope that Ed Wellburn has an eye on what sells.

That said, all car manufacturers will share parts across cars in a platform and across platforms to the extent possible. This is just good business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find it interesting that JD Powers ranked different cars built on the same platform and assembly line had different quality. I can remember the Buick LeSabre having the best GM initial quality at one point and the Pontiac Bonneville (which was also built on the same line as the LeSabre at Buick City) had a lower quality ranking. WTF?

lol so true about Consumer reports too lol. When I sold the Saturns they rated the G6 crap the Aura ok and the Boo the best thing since sliced bread. I was always like WTF there all the same thing you tards! Im not a beliver in Consumer reports they hate American cars and are gay for toyota and honda. What do you expect from a magazine that was started by a bunch of x toyota employees. Did you know that the US goverment sued them twice because they were falsifying reports on testing cars. They found that in there car comparison tests that toyota was deemed the winner without even showing up to the tests. Consumer reports unoffical rule (wink wink) was toyota is the winner in testing unless proved otherwise. even when there not there, not invited or deemed not necessary for them to show up.

sorry you thread got so off topic.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Founders

lol so true about Consumer reports too lol. When I sold the Saturns they rated the G6 crap the Aura ok and the Boo the best thing since sliced bread. I was always like WTF there all the same thing you tards! Im not a beliver in Consumer reports they hate American cars and are gay for toyota and honda. What do you expect from a magazine that was started by a bunch of x toyota employees. Did you know that the US goverment sued them twice because they were falsifying reports on testing cars. They found that in there car comparison tests that toyota was deemed the winner without even showing up to the tests. Consumer reports unoffical rule (wink wink) was toyota is the winner in testing unless proved otherwise. even when there not there, not invited or deemed not necessary for them to show up.

sorry you thread got so off topic.....

I've seen this in some many reports where it's obvious so many media outlets are just against American cars and others just because either A. They think it's the right move since the others are doing. B. They didn't do their research and just copied the others. C. It's a stereotype that American cars are bad so it must be true!

I'm so happy to see that turning around now even a couple years after American cars have gotten better.

Platform sharing is a great thing, reduces cost and overall time in the factory because you don't have to build 9 million different parts. To an extent though once you get to the same style car where nothing is different besides a badge, I'm totally against that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

OK - here it is, the end of this thread as far as I am concerned. I will start another car show thread soon. Here is my Lemans outside today, with the carpet finished and the seats are installed. It's all done.

100_1384.jpg

100_1385.jpg

Oh, and that's the trophy I won today sticking out of the back seat of the car! A sponsor's trophy for Best Convertible. It is taller than my son !!!

100_1480.jpg

Now this was interesting, here is another car at the show, a 1972 GTO. Nearly identical twin in paint and interior to mine. No GTO convertibles were built in '72 either. His interior really needs some attention though.

100_1413.jpg

100_1414.jpg

100_1415.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1st congrats on the win!!!!!

2nd the rug came out great!!!!

3rd I just love the custon blue color matched piping on the interior!!!!!! :lol: WoW!!!! Its just so clean, custom but suttle looking and nothing over the top!!! Well done!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hang in there havoc. I have owned this car for 16 years and I have ever so slowly repaired or replaced stuff as I had the time and money to do. So don't panic, it will come with time and money. Just don't be in a rush, develop a vision for the car, be patient and stick to the plan. A restoration should be viewed as a series of smaller parts replacement or restoration that culminates in a brand new car.

Trust me, my car is not done yet, not by a long shot. I still want to:

1. Replace all the hard fuel, tranny, and brake lines with stainless and perhaps re-hab/replace the gas tank

2. Install a correct convertible rear spoiler (I have the spoiler - needs body work and paint first)

3. Install a Judge front air dam (I have it, I've had no time this summer to install it)

4. Get my Cragar SS wheels from when I was a teenager stripped & re-chromed and install wider rubber

5. Consider installing functioning Ram Air (all pieces are available in the aftermarket)

6. Replace the electrical wiring and fuse block with modern fuses and wiring.

7. Get my "Jury" graphics made up and put on the car (I have a new design from a retired GM designer who

actually worked helped design portions of the 65, 66, and 67 GTO with DeLorean and company)

8. Consider installing a 200-4R OD transmission (only factory OD tranny that will directly bolt to a B-O-P engine)

9. Install my Hurst His/Her Dual Gate shifter (autographed by Linda Vaugh and Doc Watson already).

10. Build a custom console so the armest is higher and perhaps have a cup holder or two.

11. I may need to replace or repair my convertible top too. I replaced it a few years after I got the car - it might

be time to re-do it.

12. Sandbast and re-paint the stock Rally II wheels and have someone repair the stainless trim rings (remove the

horrible curb scratches in them). Perhaps see of any other stainless trim on the car needs repair for that matter

too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1st congrats on the win!!!!!

2nd the rug came out great!!!!

3rd I just love the custon blue color matched piping on the interior!!!!!! :blink: WoW!!!! Its just so clean, custom but suttle looking and nothing over the top!!! Well done!!!!

Thanks. I stole the two tone piping idea from a beatifully restored '53 Buick Roadmaster convertible I saw a long time ago. I want to eventually get the door panels and rear seat panels to match it as well. I am often asked if that is how the seats came originally. Everyone seems to like how it came out.

The seats covers are stock OER reproductions from Legendary Auto Interiors (as is the carpet). They are the correct size and grain as the original '72s. I had my upholestery shops carefully take them apart and apply the blue piping. The piping was picked to closely match the color of the car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Founders

Amazing! Blue and white is probably one of my favorite color combinations out there. The LeMans looks great! Funny how you ran into that Goat, it looks amazing as well.

I know in the old GTO commercials they used a lion/tiger but is there something else I am missing because you both use them :blink: As well anything with the dice?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazing! Blue and white is probably one of my favorite color combinations out there. The LeMans looks great! Funny how you ran into that Goat, it looks amazing as well.

I know in the old GTO commercials they used a lion/tiger but is there something else I am missing because you both use them :blink: As well anything with the dice?

I have a dice theme in the car. It started with the blue/white fuzzy dice that hang from the mirror. It was close to matching the car. Then I found some blue and white dice door locks. Next I found blue & white tire valve stem covers. Finally, I found some blue and white license plate bolts that are on the rear plate. So that just sort of took off, sort of by accident. Fuzzy dice have always been associated with cool old cars since I was a kid. The rest just took on a life of it's own.

Ah....the tiger theme. OK - brief history lesson. Back in the 60s, using tigers in advertising was quite the rage in the US. Legendary Ponitac ad man Jim Wangers knew a good thing when he saw it. Pontiac used tigers in ads for both the '65 & '66 GTO commercials. Kellog's introduced Tony the Tiger for its Frosted Flakes cereal. Uniroyal introduced it's Tiger Paw tires. Finally, Esso advertised their gasoline as putting a "tiger in your tank". Both Esso and Uniroyal used animated tigers in their commercials. So Jim and GM tied the GTO to all of these products together in one way or another. So that is why you will see stuffed tigers, tiger tails on antennas or hanging out of the trunk, the orange/black GRRrrrr vanity plate, etc on GTOs and other Pontiacs....it is all a fun homage to this short period of advertising history. The tiger has become synonmous with Pontiac (as a whole and not just the GTO anymore) as a result.

In fact, GTO ads have an interesting history but that is a topic for a different thread.

GTO Ads (I know there is one more, I just can't find it on YouTube yet).

Uniroyal Ad

Esso Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dywrbNss-Y

As for the '72 GTO itself. It is 20 footer. It looks great from a distance. The interior really screams for a makeover. The console is discolored badly. The dash has some small cracks in it. The engine compartment needs to be detailed better. Still it is a Ram Air 400 car, which is cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

One thing that helped my carpet install was i heated a punch awl red hot,then from under the car pushed it through the seat belt retractor holes and receivers,(the ones over the drive shaft was a pain) towards the inside,actually i did the sill plates the same way but went from the top down.this eliminated loose carpet strands as it melts the fabric creating a round seamless ring from catching the screws and "pulling the carpet apart"as far as the seat front mounting studs i cut a very small X on the studs and pushed the carpet down. Great thread!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

The trick I was taught was to put all your bolts loosely in their proper place and then cut the "X" in the carpet. When I installed the seats, seatsbelts, the rocker covers and console. I simply removed the bolts a few at a time to install the item I was working on. I did use a heat gun to help heat the carpet (but not melt it) to better form fit the carpet to the floor plan in places like the transmission tunnel. You just have to be patient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

hmm looking awesome... I love that car... you have done great work, I guess you are pretty expert in all this work as you have done everything very nice.. I am happy to see this oldie in superb condition.. Thanks for sharing.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the compliments. You are welcome. I have had a lot of this car apart over the 18 years I've owned it. I have replaced the drive train, interior, and had to touch up the paint. There are still a lot of interior and exterior projects left to do. So I think I know my way around Pontiac A-bodies for sure.


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



Tired of these Ads? Purchase Enhanced Membership today to remove them!
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.