Hemmings Classic Car – October 2019

Sentimental

Suncatcher—Part II

A one-family 1968 Pontiac Le Mans convertible

emerges in better-than-new condition

BY MATTHEW LITWIN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF KOCH

RESTORATION PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MATT GOOD AND WARD GAPPA

T

he restoration of this Pontiac should

not have happened. The Le Mans

convertible, though completely

original, was visually tired by 2012.

Purchased new in 1968, it had been driven

daily through Pennsylvania’s sun, rain, and

snow, where any citizen of the Keystone

state can tell you salt is also a winter reality.

Not only was the A-body weather-worn, it

had been saturated with corrosion. Coupled

with the fact that it contained a straight-six

engine and an automatic transmission, it’s

reasonable to assume that some within the

collector-car community would view the

pedestrian Pontiac as a potential parts car

for the restoration of, say, a GTO.

restorationprofile

Conversely, this Le Mans—effectively

a well-appointed, upscale Tempest—was

far from the utilitarian commuter some

would suggest it to be. The Pontiac may

not have had a high-output engine and

a four-speed gearbox in base form, but it

did share much of the GTO’s new styling

84 HEMMINGS CLASSIC CAR OCTOBER 2019 I Hemmings.com