1970 Pontiac Lemans Update

[CruizinKev]

very nice!

[LeighP]

Yeah, those Rally IIs really work on the car!!!!

[gtalum01]

That is just a super clean ride

[sr73bu]

Those wheels are the perfect choice for that car! Looks great!

Nice to see some NJ guys on here too!

-Sean

[Nemesis RR]

Can you post a side shot. What size tire did you end up with?

[john31s]

Nemesis: Their 255/45/r17 on the front and 285/40/r17 on the back. That gives me a 25.94 inch tall tire both front and back so I'm pleased. It just needs to be lowered now.



I got the new studs and cut them down at my friend's dad's machine shop. They will be in tomorrow so I can finally start driving it again.

[Andrew McBride]

Looks awesome! Love those wheels.

[john31s]

So I finally got the car back together last night. Today I was driving around and it was going good so I decided to head down to a car show at my school. This was a mistake, because on the way down on I-280 I turned off my brain and chased down a Ferrari F430. While doing this a little red light on the dash came on, and then the radiator cap blew. I rolled off the highway, parked it for an hour until it cooled enough to fill it back up (I thought this might happen so I had two full containers of antifreeze). Drove home with my pride broken. So I ordered basically every part of the cooling system because it was all orginal so I was going to gut it eventually.

[67gtonut]

Where is NJ are you?

Rockaway here.....

[john31s]

I'm from Kinnelon.

[67gtonut]

Cool, local.....

Catch you at some local cruise nights....

[ponchopwr70]

That's a clean lemans, I really like those wheels they fit that car perfect!

[LeighP]

Research up on Pontiac water pumps - but the main story is -
1. get a quality waterpump with a CAST impellor - not a stamped steel one. I personally like flowKooler brand waterpumps.
2. Clearance the divider plate to the rear impellor face to around .020" (with gasket in place)
3. while the pump is off, check the water transfer tubes and the timing cover for corrosion/leaks - you can loose water pressure in this area internally.
4. make sure there is a spring inside the lower radiator hose....seems a lot of hoses are being sold these days without the spring...find a spring from a cheap hose and swap it into your lower hose if needed.
5. check to see if the fan thermo-clutch is working.....when the engine is hot, have the hood open when you shut down and watch the fan blades. If they stop when the engine stops, the clutch is working...if the fan continues to spin down after the engine stops (from operating temperature) then the clutch isn't driving the fan blades...replace the clutch unit.

[john31s]

Ok, so its been a while since I last posted and no much has changed. The car is now off the road all together for the time being because I took the radiator, water pump and timing chain off. I had all the parts I thought I would need when I started but after I opened up the engine I realized that the bolts which hold the timing chain were coroded beyond use as was the divider plate. The water pump had been changed at some point in the cars history and when the replace the water pump they saw the divider plate was rusted though and they used RTV gasket fill the rust holes. So I got new bolts and a new divider plate snd now I'm fabbing up some radator mounts. I have made the lower mounts and I'm waiting to see where the radiator sits on them before I make the top ones. Once I get the radiator mounted, and the trans cooler lines plumed I can put the rest of the stuff back on the engine after work some night. I'll post some pics when I get it all buttoned up adn back on the road.

[LeighP]

Good luck...don't you love how people just don't want to do the job properly....they have to stick it together with some RTV and good wishes....lol.

[68firebird]

love the 17 inch rallye 2's. where did you order them from? good luck with your coolant issues too, what the heck were you thinking chasing down a ferrari F430, LOL. thats some balls.

[acegto]

Car sits really well as it is. Sorry to hear about the RTV hack job. Put it back the right way so you don't have to worry about it. Looking forward to seeing all the upgrades you do and the difference it makes in the car. P.S. Keep that vinyl top. Car looks sweet with it.

[john31s]

love the 17 inch rallye 2's. where did you order them from? good luck with your coolant issues too, what the heck were you thinking chasing down a ferrari F430, LOL. thats some balls.

I got the 17" rally II's from Year One but I think PY or Ames carries them now as well. When I saw the Ferrari all I was thinking was why the hell not, he couldn't have gotten away if he wanted to because of traffic. I would have had him if my car kept its coolant.

Good luck...don't you love how people just don't want to do the job properly....they have to stick it together with some RTV and good wishes....lol.

Car sits really well as it is. Sorry to hear about the RTV hack job. Put it back the right way so you don't have to worry about it. Looking forward to seeing all the upgrades you do and the difference it makes in the car. P.S. Keep that vinyl top. Car looks sweet with it.

Thanks, and I now hate RTV. As for the vinyl top, it was originally going to go but its starting to grow on me.




Just a shot of how the car sat today, it took me hours but I have finally made all the mounting brackets for the radiator. All I need to do now is plumb trans cooler which will be a royal pain, wire the electric fans and then put all the accessories back on. Shouldn't be much longer until I can drive it again.

[LeighP]

Glad that cordova top is growing on you....I've come to like them.
I have a friend with a 74 Super Duty...factory cordova top....cool and different.

[inactivist]

@John31s: What width front/rear wheels? I see they're 17 inch, but I was wondering about the wheel widths.

EDIT: I see that the Year One Rally II wheels are listed as 17x9" -- is that correct?

Nice choice, BTW, I agree with others, those wheels look great.