Too bad about the vinyl roof damage, which looks almost fatal. https://palmsprings.craigslist.org/cto/d/cathedral-city-1974-pontiac-lemans-2/6787192742.html
Its probably not bad enough to be fatal if it were a Grand Am, of Lemans GT, but you are probably correct seeing it is a Luxury Lemans (not much od a following with Pontiac Collectors) and the drivers seat damage. To bad as it could be a very nice driver, unusual to see a Gauge package in this model. I always Liked the triple gauge, but it looks even better with the Tick Tock Tack in place of the large clock in the left pod.
I absolutely hated that body style up to a few years ago but looking at them now they're pretty attractive. Funny how your thinking changes about a lot of things. I used to be a hardcore Mopar guy, wouldn't drive anything else, now I don't have one on the place. Still like the old Mopars though.
It's only because the newer the car the uglier. This only makes older ugly cars more attractive. I guess, if you want to get hooked up at a nightclub, it would be best to attend one where all the other guys are geekier and fatter than you are, to cite an example
These have grown on me, too. I think that nice, custom bumpers (MUCH smaller and tight to the body) and the obvious quarter panel and interior repairs would make this into a cool, mild custom. But it's probably never going to be worth what it would cost to make the repairs....
Hey! Give me that thing and I'll run it 'til the wheels fall off. At least it would take a while to rot through down here in ABQ. What I am curious about is how the heck did it collect so much moisture/rust that close to the Mojave? If you were a body man, you could probably get this thing cheeeep and make something nice out of it. It looks like a decent car.
With the rust, I have a hard time believing it was always a Cali car, unless it spent too much time near the ocean.
You know Poison, it’s like that old country western song “ Went Home at 2 with a 10, woke up at 10 with a 2”
It’s a blue plate special so it probably has been in CA all it’s life. I think between maybe some years by the salt air and a bum vinyl repair it’s had a bad break.
Before getting into Mopars,I was a Pontiac man and had 2 Luxury Le Mans and a Grand Am all '73's The GM "Collonade" styling was not popular when it first came out but I always liked it. They were great handling cars,not a lot of power but plenty of torque to get motivated. Up here in the Canuckian rust belts that 74 is a cream puff and easy fix. Ahh the memories..
That blue plate number is actually original to 1974 era cars, so if it hasn't spent its entire life in California it was definitely registered there in 1974-1975. As Jeff points out, the California cars near the ocean (really, not the desert) rot in that exact same location. The factory prep on the vinyl top cars was awful and if the car sat under a cover or outside not being driven, water will absorb into that top and not go away. It's not fatal but... finding a body man with the skill to repair it right is going to be a challenge. You can always slap some fiberglass all over it and make it presentable from 20 feet to keep the water out...
