I purchased in '06 a 1968 Pontiac LeMans , for $2500 . Solar Red w Pearl White interior, factory dual exhaust , 350-4bl w TH350 .Drove it for 6 yrs, set it up . Working on getting it back on the road Fall of this year or by Spring of '23. My father 72 and I at 51 , looking to put it in Parades , Car Shows and Cruise -Ins , while I still have him around.
Just as future reference after 65 the GTO became its own model, so starting in 66 the Vin on GTOs start with 242. Still a nice car. I would badge it back as a Lemans and drive the hell out of it.
Obviously. Nobody would buy a 50+ year old classic without being curious enough to look up a vin decoder, the codes on the cowl tag, the pad stamp numbers, etc. Nice car and a nice find for the money, but the clickbait shit and acting detracts from his video.
@@blaster-zy7xx Right , how could you not know it was fake ! 1-VIN TAG , 2- Front bumper , 3- 350 engine, Only being 19K should of clued you in..........................
That looks like a nice well loved Lemans. Put all the Lemans emblems back on it. It's way better than the junk boxes I've seen at the TV auctions I've been to. You did good I think, for the money.
Agreed, now a nice condition Le-Mans is getting difficult to find. I really despised the GTO "Clone" era when it began in the 90s...bunch of wanna - be - posers in my opinion. Had a neighbor that was into that, buying up 1965 - 1967 Tempests and Lemans and cough cough..."converting" them. Now he has been doing the same with 1971 LeMans, making them into GT-37 Clones...I hate it. He yanked out the original 350 from a REAL GT-37, dumped in a crappy 455 and unloaded it on some poor sucker, would be worth 2 X that if he left the original motor in - he "disposed" of the original motor...what a fool. His last one he said he was putting in a BUICK 455, I just turned around and shook my head....idiot.
I’m pretty sure that all GTO cars had twin hood scoops from the factory although not all of them were functional, you need the Ram Air option for them to be functional
The problem with being old is this is my era of car. When you said LeMans, yes it looks to be a LeMans. Had you said G.T.O. you would have been told, no it's not. Common thing to do was go to the Pontiac dealer and buy the badge package and re-badge the car when they were new. I think you got a fair deal for the money. I'd pull the G.T.O. badges off it and enjoy the car as you repair it.
I owned an original Dark Green 1964 Lemans GTO Convertible, came w Dual Hood Scoop Vents (not ram induction), Chrome Air Filter cover, Chrome Valve Covers, Chrome Oil Filler Cap & Bumpers too ( I will look for some pictures to see if I can post) Sold it in 1973 to buy A New Monte Carlo.
That's what I'm thinking. This stinks of manufactured internet "drama". If the previous owner openly told Randy it had a 350ci, that's obviously a major indicator it's not a GTO, since the '68 GTO was never equipped with a 350ci. Also the chrome bumper is a dead giveaway. A simple look at the tag on the firewall would also show whether it's a GTO or LeMans. That's classic car buying 101, and I have a hard time that Randy, who is someone who routinely buys cars, would not have done that very basic task before buying. It would also say what is is on the vehicle registration. $20k is an appropriate value for a restored LeMans, but nowhere near the value of a restored GTO. I'm positive Randy knew this and was just playing it up for the audience.
@@ZeGermanHam a "6.5 liter" tag (which means it would be a 389) .. and the guy tells him it's a 350, which GTOs didn't run with in '68... the guy obviously doesn't know goats very well
@@rarelibra I wouldn't be so quick to throw stones with regard to knowing GTOs, as it would appear you are not fully informed either. 6.5L badges were used on GTOs equipped with the 389ci and 400ci engines. The 455ci equipped GTOs that came later in the run used 455 numbers rather than denoting engine size in liters as was done previously. And for the record, 455ci is around 7.5L, not 6.5L. But regardless, it was pretty obvious that this car was not a real GTO. Someone with even a basic knowledge of classic muscle cars or quick access to the internet would have known that, which is why I don't appreciate the manufactured drama (i.e., lying) in this video.
The 68 Goat did have a polyurethane plastic front bumper.. making it unique to the breed. Evidently, somewhere in time, it got into a front-ender, and found then to be, most economical to recycle a Lemans clip in repairing it.. Check the VIN info provided earlier and it should start with 242. Today, this may have been declared "salvage title" lol.
My father had a 68' with a chrome bumper. If I'm not mistaken there was a rebate offered due to a shortage on the endura front ends. There was also a factory delete option. I hope this information is accurate. 👍
Here it is guyz; 1968 GTO info from Hemmings - on OPTION 674 - factory installed lemans chrome bumper More noteworthy was the Endura nosepiece bonded to a metal frame that doubled as the front bumper, complete with Pontiac's traditional split grille. Exposed horizontal quad headlamps were positioned inside the bumper, which could have been hidden behind optional doors that matched the grille pattern. Sturdy yet flexible, it was capable of withstanding minor, low-speed impacts. Alignment, poor paint adhesion and color match concerns were noted at the time, but buyers could also select option 674 to have a conventional chrome bumper installed on their GTOs, complete with Le Mans-style grilles. Concealed headlamps were not available with this option. Of the 2,108 GTOs to leave the assembly line so equipped, 16 contained a Ram Air 400.
Yup, in 68 the Goat also got new sheet metal (3rd gen) boosting sales to almost 90,000 units, of which 9,980 were convertibles.. 1/5 on option 674 - chrome bumper w/ no "hide away" headlites (2,108)
Actually Randy there was an option on the GTO’s for Endura delete, and the car would come with the chrome front end from the Lemans. She’s still a good looking car, and I think you got a great deal on it
GTO's of that year came with a 400 cubic inch engine. 4 or 5 different options of the 400 to include a 2 barrel step down option. The endura bumper was another option. Standard was the chrome plated bumper. They all came with hood scoops. The Ram Air versions are operational. Another difference are the tail lights. They are long vertical slot type. The convertible top has its own fuse. Nice looking car. Probably a LeMans or Tempest. Not a bad price at all.
Looks really nice after wash. If the vin starts with 242 there is a very good chance it’s a GTO but if it starts with 237 then it’s a lemans. Even if it’s a lemans you still got a good price for it
Classic cars are just great. Today my dad picked up a 1975 Audi 80 with less than 50k original miles in original condition. The looks and smiles the car gets from people passing by are more than something like a modern AMG or even an Porsche could ever get. People just love it and I love it too.
Vin should start with a 2 for Pontiac, the next two digits should say 42 for GTO 37 for Lemans, 35 for tempest custom, or 33 for tempest. Next two digits will say 67 for convertible next digit will say 8 for 1968, next will tell you which plant it was built at. And the next will tell engine size 1through 5
The VIN did not have the engine size until 71 or 72, depending on which car it was, e.g. A, B, or F body. The 7th digit is a letter, not a number showing the displacement. The fun ones have an X. Any Pontiac with an X in the VIN is something special.
124267 is what this should have started with. Of course you can buy fake vin plates now too. There are other ways to tell if it’s fake too. When I was prez of the OVGTO association we judged the nationals in St. Louis. Dude spent 40k restoring a goat, but it wasn’t a goat. Everything looked great on the car, but we did some deep snooping on it and it was a tempest.
Chrome front bumper was an option on the 1968 GTO along with the new Endura nose. However the hood without scoops was not, the rear tail lights and shifter also give it away that it is a Lemans not a GTO. VIN number and cowl data plate should have warned you, if all that has been changed then the frame itself its stamped with original VIN number.
No you did not get ripped off in any way shape or form. At worst call it a tribute car. At best it is a Lemans convertible for 20K. You win either way.
Technically the 389 is a 6.4L, Pontiac didn't make a real 6.5L, it was just a badge with an approximate number. Who cared about liters in the '60's? That was just to give it a Euro image.
There were exceptions in '64. Pontiac only expected to make a one time run of 5000 GTO's and be done. (They were breaking GM rules.). It was a runaway success and they ran out of correct 389's, so some late '64's came with a 326 HO. There were always exceptions.
There were always a ton of fakes, I had two 'real 67s My friends had a total of ten G, i paid 4'200.00 for one and traded a lawn tractor for the second Goats we had no 64,, 72,73, or 74, My friend John has a red and white '68 convertible
When I met my wife back in 1982, her brother had a '68 Lemans coupe with a 350 4speed. That car could really get with the program. Red body, black vinyl top and black guts.
GTO or not , you still have a beautiful ride! It's still weird that people have to be deceptive when they sell something and it's a crappy way to live but you're driveway is looking nice!
G'day from OZ, this is exactly the type of car that Australians love to buy and ship over here. That car is worth every penny of its price and I think it is a great car and does not need anything except a good bath. Well done. If you knew its value here, you would be shocked.
To the best of my memory (owned two GTO's) a real 68 GTO had an Endura (rubber - not chrome) front bumper painted to match the body. Second it would come with a Turbo 400 transmission for an automatic model and include a special dual-gate shifter. Also a 400 inch engine, not a 350. This car had none of that.
Yep. Chrome bumper is possible on a 68 GTO but very rare. However all 68 GTOs are standard with a 400 in motor and either turbo 400 auto or 4 speed. Now my dads 68 GTO did have a bench seat and column shift. The dual gate shifter was an option with console and buckets.
@@whichgodofthousandsmeansno5306 The second generation GTO's had some odd options (or factory deletes). You could get a GTO with a 2 barrel, but like the column shift (bucket delete) they were fairly rare.
If you knew it was a 1968 Pontiac Lemans than no you did not get ripped off. And the GTO would come with a 400 in it But I’m sure by now you know all that. still it’s a really cool car
I just said the same thing. All '68 GTO came with the 400 blocks in them. My buddy has one. Wow look at the bumper, the quarter panel will tell you that. Also, where is the other side mirror? They came with the tear drop side mirrors.
I knew it was 68 Lemans I owned one green with white top and interior. The hood was wrong the engine was wrong and the bumper but if I remember a few of them did have chrome bumpers. Ok with that all said it’s a nice car the price wasn’t that bad.
They also had the hide away lights and will have the 'GTO' name on the grill instead of the 'PONTIAC' badge. Some lemans did come with the 400 ci, I think those were the GT37 models, other than that, they had 350 small blocks which is still a good engine. The thing about the BPO (buick, pontiac, oldsmobile) they made powerful 350 small blocks, the most powerful one being the Olds ram rod 350 that was on the cutlass S
I agree with those who are saying Randy didn’t get taken in purchasing this re-badged LeMans. He’s been in the car business too long and is too smart to think he could buy a real GTO for under $20k in fair condition. His thumbnail gives away the fact that he knew it wasn’t authentic. He also knows how to generate interest and create views and comments and has done very well with this one. Congrats Randy!
from an old "gear head" to a young "gearhead" your video brought back many great memories and i thank you for them. your car has great bones and with some love and t.h.c. you'll make memories for yourself. i had a 1961 vette that i was restoring and in the process of restoring it i had taken out the whole dash. nothing but the steering wheel. i had also just put on some hookers with side pipes and no baffles in them. this was at night and a state trooper felt it was a little too loud and pulled me over. he was surprised when he came up and looked in. with a little fast talking and his compassion, he let me go. cars gave me many great times. wish the youngsters could experience the same.
As soon as you saw the front end you should have known it wasn't a GTO. Still a nice car. The car would have come stock with 14" rims, with a 70 profile. The ralley II wheels look great on it. GTO's came with 400 ci engines or the rare 428 option. So it shouldn't be a 350. The motor's painted the correct colour so maybe it is the stock motor. If you confirm that it isn't a GTO I'd peel off the fake GTO emblems and put the stock LeMans emblems on.
The 428 was never offered in the GTO, Up until 1970 GM did not allow any engine larger than 400 cubic inch in the A body, However the 455 was offered in 70 through 1973
@@lenismcclellan3744 I owned a 4 speed 1962 Catalina coupe with a 421 in it. But the engine was not original to the car. But it sure had plenty of giddyup.
No you did not get ripped off! You got a car you can drive without any worries. And isn’t that why we drive cars that are classic convertibles? Good luck with it. Because it’s a lot better than that hellcat
Exactly Neil I have a driver quality 81 Z28 and don't have to worry if some little excited kids puts his sticky hands on it in a parking lot. Museums are great but to many of these beautiful cars get bought as a status symbol and get stuffed away into some rich guys garage never to see the sun again, or goodness help us the rain.
Went down to Palm Springs about 10 years ago to look at a 69 Yenko Chevelle. It was very well done and took me about 30 seconds to read the VIN and call the guy on his shit. We settled on 18k and It comes out of my garage on sunny days and is the envy of the neighborhood.
Knowing how you like to prank your friends and viewers I think you knew all along that this wasn’t a GTO. It looks like a decent enough runner that’s just in need of a little polish and refinement and a few upgrades. I might take off the GTO badging and revert it to stock, or otherwise go all-out with a proper engine and bumpers and other things to make a convincing replica/tribute; right now it reminds me of the people with ‘///M’ badges on their basic BMWs - you’re not fooling anyone but the gullible. On a related note I once had a co-worker try to sell me what he said was a BMW 535i. One look at the 14” wheels and 4,400 RPM redline told me that it was just a garden-variety 528e. When I pointed these things out, along with the wrong intake manifold (small six vs big six), the stickers on the door jamb and under the hood that confirmed that it was indeed a 528e he just kept showing me the badge on the trunk and insisting that those other items were wrong. It was an OK car, and I offered a fair price for a 528e (minus the cost for a proper trunk lid badge and timing belt service) but he kept insisting that I was wrong and wanted his full asking price. Uh, no sale - find some sucker that doesn’t know any better.
About the top. I have a 98 mustang gt convertible. Some older convertibles won’t work when the car body gets really hot, so the solution is just drive it and it cools it down, then it turns back on
'68 GTO's came with the Endura painted front bumper and small twin scoops in the hood and standard engine was a 400 cubic inch. Also in that condition a real one should have been over $30,000. The seats in it are aftermarket.
We all know Randy loves his old cars... and it being that pull me over red too... that's just over the top. My grandpa had a gasoline green colored Pontiac Lemans as well. Beautiful vehicles. Great video Randy!
That's a bad clone job. I'd take it back to all stock LeMANS. That is one nice LeMANS though. A ragtop with AC, and buckets with a console, is a winning combo!!
The chrome front bumper, the side marker lights that should have been GTO badge shaped, and the missing hood scoops say LeMans. The front bumper should be Endura and painted the body color. It should have a 400 (6.5 litre). It's a nice LeMans, but it's not a GTO, sorry. PHS (Pontiac Historic Services) is where you send the data. Good luck with it, I always loved Pontiacs!!
The 1968 has to have shoulder belts and emission crap, I think the GTO all had Ram Air. The VIN should start with 242. The tires are probably pre DOT date so do your tires and drive it that would be a lot of fun to drive her around, have a great rest of the summer driving it. They had commercials with people using a hammer on the enduro front end.
Little GTO You're really lookin' fine Three deuces and a four-speed And a three-eighty-nine Listen to her tachin' up now Listen to her whine C'mon and turn it on, wind it up, blow it out, GTO.
I had a 1969 Lemans Hardtop with the 350 powerglide. If i remember right, the chrome front end is a dead giveaway on a Lemans as the GTO's were typically paint matched. OK.. i just got to the point of the video were you explained this.. LOL Still a beautiful ride. Mine also had 350 emblems at the bottom of the doors on the rocker panels.
I just googled the bumper - there is a '68 GTO at Streetside Classics, listed as a GTO and it has a chrome front bumper. As I recall, the early production cars had chrome bumpers; the endura bumper was not ready for a month or two after production began. Also, Randy's car has Pontiac on the grille, a GTO has GTO on the grille - that was an emblem that wasn't changed.
You definitely have some people that know what they are talking about here. Your distributor appears to be clocked correctly as the vacuum diaphragm is toward the driver side of the car. If the car is not missing and performing well, who cares. It is more likely that someone installed the Accel HEI cap backwards. Again, probably doesn't matter. However, If you check the timing, you may also notice it needs to be advanced. The diaphragm that attaches to the distributor base, usually orientates more toward the number 1 cylinder. Even though its' not an authentic '68 GTO, It's probably a nice and authentic '68 Le Mans Convertible! Nothing wrong with that.
Front end inspection and brakes. Oil change, transmission flush and rad flush. Then just drive her. And fix the ground problem. It had the trunk pan replaced. Check the floor pans.
I see some rust on the fastener bolts under the dashboard near the foot pedals. While your at it, pull back the carpet & check title for 'salvage' or flood damage
Pretty sweet boulevard cruiser for sure. I can see the disappointment if you thought you were getting a GTO but you got a sweet Lemans convertible. Looks like a good deal to me.
Funny true GTO story from my youth... I was 17 in highschool and I was seeing a girl who just got her driver's license. We were supposed to go out one night and when I got there her dad said "I just bought Sherry a car,. Do me a favor and take her out on some back roads and work with her on learning to drive a manual while your out and hands me a set of poncho keys.... We walk out to the garage and here sits a cute later model GTO that was based on the Ventura (nova) body... At this point they were pretty anemic usually because of being smogged down ... So anyway ...off we went ...backed out of the garage and down the driveway...got on the road...slipped it into first and took off and slightly spun the tires taking off... Whoops ... Driving it I thought...man ...this car is pretty quick... Once on the highway I got into it a bit....That thing was really fast. Out of curiosity I pulled off in a gas station and popped the hood...someone had transplanted an earlier Ram Air IV 400.. holy crap....in a Ventura body it made it pretty formidable. So I made an excuse to take the car home and grab my Torino GT and go out ...we got back to the house I asked her to go inside and grab me something to drink and pulled her dad aside....he was not an automotive type...he just saw a cute car and bought it . I explained what he had there... I said to him...."I think this may be too much car for a novice driver" he agreed ....and I begged him not to her I said anything... Anyways ..he ended up buying her a Monte Carlo and made up a story about how something was wrong with the red GTO.... LMAO...
Randy you still got a good buy for a driver. There area lot of lemans GTO clones and they are not cheap. I don't think you will find one for less than you paid.
The 6.5 badges are for a 389 motor. The 400 is a 6.6 and came out in 67. The LeMans came with a 350 but, you could option it with a 400. Always check the VIN. If it starts with 237 it's a LeMans. If it starts with 242 it's a GTO.
Also that is not linex in the trunk GM used to coat their trunks with that spotty looking paint back in the day so Im pretty sure thats all original. My 62 corvair has the same coating in its frunk
$18,995 for a nice, solid, classic convertible ... I don't care what model it is ... YOU did GOOD. Call me if you don't want it ... I'll take it off your hands !!!
No GTO from that year had the chrome bumpers for starters, you need to research your cars before you buy them & the asking price should have been a red flag too
1968 GTO from Canada came with chrome front bumper because or the winter weather. I know because I bought one and I went through GM from USA and Canada and they told me it’s a GTO my vin proves it and GM all stated that many GTO’s from Canada csme that way. They are very rare.
Those cars came from the factory with 14" rims. Tires are really cheap, but to today's eye they look ridiculously small. I had a 1973 Chevelle with 14" tires, I upsized them to ... 15". That was back in 1986, I used bigger rims and lower profile tires to keep the same diameter so the speedometer still read right.
Randy, still a descent buy for a convertible Le-Mans. The carb should be a GM Delco Quadrajet not a Holley. It seems to run and drive ok. I agree with you, needs a sport sounding exhaust. Duel Glass packs is what a 68 car had back then - Cherry Bombs. Looks Good, a little TLC and getting things working again is on your menu! Hope you can find some 15 inch OEM GTO Wheels.
$20K for a Lemans drop top that runs and drives isn't too bad and the price will most likely increase in value if you keep it a long time. And, it's already painted resell retail red! I used to know a truck dealer who painted every single truck he rebuilt bright red because he knew it would sell for the most money and easily.
The car was a good deal .... However you should pull the seller up on advertising it as a GTO , and for that you can sue him ..... See if he's willing to refund a couple of grand .
I bought a 68 Pontiac convertible in 1971 when I got home from the Army I paid 800 right out of a lady’s front yard it had a 400 big block in it now this car was so fast back then no one could keep up with it
What you have is a handcrafted clone and built 68 Pontiac Lemans or GTO convertible of which is far cheaper than the Authentic one. This will still run well, look good for many years to come. The price you paid was possibly for parts and labor to build this clone. I would sell it to a Car Rental company like Enterprise Car Rental. Just be up-front that it is a handcrafted from frame to showroom floor clone Pontiac. 🤔🙂👍
Clones are still worth a lot of money. It is still a great car even though it not a real GTO its a clone its fine just dont lie like the guy did who sold it to you when you sell it. I bet you can get your money back Its still very cool. Its in great condition. Its actually bad ass. Oil the hood hinges and the latch.
Car looks gorgeous Randy can't wait for a few more videos and if you do the roof id maybe go with a cream white just to make it a lil different and hide the dust better then bright white but I love the car good luck with it
The chrome bumper was A option on the 68 GTO only no 69 and up was available but this car is not A GTO. The few 68s that came with chrome bumpers are very sought after because they are so rare. And always decode the numbers before buying
