Danny Forde's
1973 LeMans sport coupe
Victoria, Australia
Danny Forde tells us" The story of my ownership Of my ' 73 Lemans Sport Coupe started with a friend of mine who owns a ' 89 Trans Am. Over the years he would cart me off to displays of American cars where he would show off his car along with two or three hundred other guys to raise funds for charities by charging people in to look over these cars. He was a member of the Pontiac Car Club Of Australia and all the Pontiac guys would group together as did the chevs and so on.I noticed a big leaning toward The T/As, Firebirds, Goats which did impress me but when I decided I would like a car of my own I felt that I would like to get something a little different.
My first thoughts were toward the Buick Rivieras but they commanded a fairly high price and I was hoping to get into something a little cheaper and also a Pontiac. At this point I had no idea what an A-body was and did not find out until many months after I had purchased the Lemans. One day I was browsing through a classic car ad mag and spotted the '73 Lemans. The picture intrigued me so much I had to go see it. I fell in love with the car at first sight, the price was in my range. This love affair started at about 50ft and as you guys would say it was a 20 footer when I got up close. It has rust in the roof which is fairly well hidden by a vinyl top.There has been some panel damage that has not been done well and the paint job is poor to say the least.
On the upside the motor (350 chev) and the trans (350T ) were in excellent condition and the interior was in good condition except the dash bezel had been hack a little in the LHD/RHD conversion. After the inspection I still wanted this car because it was so different and I just loved it's lines so I offered the guy a substantial amount less than he was asking for the car and he took it there and then, so I became the proud owner of a pontiac A- Body. After buying the car and owning it for quite a few months the greatest thing happened to me. I discovered THE A-BODY SITE.
Looking into the readers rides I began to drool at John Hagele's and Terry Tharps's, to name a couple, '73 coupes. I realized the potential this car has to be a great car. Unfortunately I don't have the bucks to jump in and do it all in one hit but over the years it will get there. At the moment I have cleaned it up considerably overhaul all the mechanicals and electrics and it's on the road and very driveable. It will be getting a four barrel carb in the very near future just to give it a little more go as it's a bit of a slug the way it is at the moment.
Ebay has been a great source for cosmetic parts and I was very lucky to get a lot of parts such as dash, door hinges and such from a guy who parted out a luxury Lemans in South Australia. The car was actually in readers rides at one stage. With all this I have been able to put together a great weekend cruiser and lovin' it. "
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