BF Auction: 1968 Pontiac LeMans
- Seller: John M
- Location: Lebanon, Connecticut
- Mileage: 62,900 Shown
- Chassis #: 237378
- Title Status: Clean
There is sometimes debate about whether a particular classic qualifies as a genuine barn find, but this 1968 Pontiac LeMans leaves no doubt. The photos in the gallery below show it emerging after years of hibernation, with the current owner releasing the shackles and returning this gem to its rightful place on our roads. It is a solid survivor with a known ownership history and an odometer reading 62,900 miles. Its next adventure will be at the hands of a fresh enthusiast, with the owner listing this Pontiac with us at Barn Finds Auctions.
Pontiac released its Third Generation LeMans in 1968, with the new model featuring more curvaceous styling than its predecessor. Our feature car is from the first production year and will head to a new home with a known history dating back to 1970. The previous owner purchased this classic in South Carolina in 1970 at the grand old age of sixteen. It was his pride and joy, but after moving to Connecticut it eventually found its way into a barn. It spent many years squirreled away before being discovered by the current owner, who saw the potential in returning this survivor to active service. The term “survivor” is fitting because the car retains its original Alpine Blue paint and White vinyl top. Rinsing away the dust confirmed the vehicle hadn’t suffered unduly through years of storage. The paint doesn’t hold a mirror shine, but its consistency across the entire vehicle makes preservation an option many would consider the most appropriate. The vinyl hasn’t cracked or deteriorated, but this classic’s solid status is the best news for potential buyers. The exterior lower extremities are clean, and the underside shots in the gallery reveal minimal rust issues. The seller even removed the driveshaft to take photos of the tunnel so that you can see how solid the car is. The chrome and trim are easily acceptable for a driver or survivor-grade car, and there are no visible glass issues. The LeMans rolls on its original Rally II wheels with the correct PMD center caps.
There is little to criticize about this Pontiac’s interior beyond the slightly dirty carpet. It might respond to concerted cleaning or a dye job. However, the lack of appreciable wear means spending $225 on a new carpet set would be unnecessary for those wishing to preserve its survivor status. The wheel has cracked, which is typical. Restoration kits are available to address the problem for under $50, although applying a wrap as an affordable alternative would prevent further deterioration. The dash houses a radio/cassette player, which is the only visible modification. The installer didn’t cut the dash during fitment, meaning reversing the change would be straightforward. Otherwise, there is plenty of positive news for those seeking a driver-grade classic. The Bright Blue vinyl upholstered surfaces show no wear or damage, while the dash and pad are impressively clean. The faux woodgrain has avoided the typical fading and lifting issues, and there is no crumbling plastic. Manufacturers during this period wanted every journey to feel like a special occasion, and this car’s air conditioning, bucket seats, and console should achieve that goal.
Buyers could order their 1968 LeMans with the 250ci OHC six under the hood that delivered a respectable performance for those on a budget. This car’s original owner stepped up to the plate with the 350ci V8, with their choice of a two-speed Powerglide transmission and power assistance for the steering and brakes suggesting they had their eyes set on effortless motoring. The V8 produces 265hp and 355 ft/lbs of torque, and although it isn’t a muscle car, its performance in heavy traffic and ability to cruise effortlessly all day at 70mph will win it plenty of friends. It is unclear how long this classic hibernated, but the current owner has returned it to a roadworthy state. It sports a shiny new dual exhaust, but the rest of this Pontiac’s mechanical components are original from the factory. The car has 62,900 miles on the clock, which is believed to be accurate and is a turnkey proposition for the winning bidder.
There is a fear among some enthusiasts that the supply of legitimate barn finds will eventually dry up, but I believe that is unlikely to happen. However, the law of diminishing returns means that classics from the glory days of the 1950s and 1960s will become more scarce. In reality, cars from the 1970s and 1980s are set to take their place, a prospect that some may find unbearable. Therefore, grabbing a car like this 1968 Pontiac LeMans in its current state may prove irresistible for someone seeking a genuine discovery that can be preserved as a survivor. Who knows when, or if, another one like it will ever surface again. Why take that risk?
Bid On This Auction
Randolph bid $15,200.00 2024-01-13 10:07:18
psirotary bid $15,100.00 2024-01-13 10:04:02- Randolph bid $15,000.00 2024-01-13 10:03:00
- psirotary bid $14,800.00 2024-01-13 10:01:55
- Randolph bid $14,700.00 2024-01-13 10:01:07
- psirotary bid $14,600.00 2024-01-13 09:59:20
- Randolph bid $14,500.00 2024-01-13 09:58:08
- psirotary bid $14,300.00 2024-01-13 09:56:18
Kevin bid $14,200.00 2024-01-08 10:28:36
Hotgrandude bid $14,000.00 2024-01-08 09:54:30- Kevin bid $13,500.00 2024-01-08 01:19:09
- Hotgrandude bid $13,000.00 2024-01-07 16:49:42
- Kevin bid $12,000.00 2024-01-07 06:51:45
- Hotgrandude bid $7,000.00 2024-01-07 00:22:19
Tom Sapolis bid $6,500.00 2024-01-06 18:46:09
Dano bid $6,000.00 2024-01-06 16:45:00- psirotary bid $5,500.00 2024-01-06 14:19:02
- Hotgrandude bid $5,000.00 2024-01-06 13:56:16
Timothy CIESIELSKI bid $4,500.00 2024-01-06 13:47:06- Dano bid $3,700.00 2024-01-06 11:33:02
- Hotgrandude bid $3,200.00 2024-01-05 22:08:09
Troy bid $2,600.00 2024-01-05 21:17:06
David bid $2,000.00 2024-01-05 13:20:30- Hotgrandude bid $1,000.00 2024-01-05 12:51:10
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Comments
Nice!!! I hope it finds a good home. Fix whatever it needs, preserve, and enjoy!
Nice original survivor !! These cars were stylish and performed well on the open highway . The General Motors products , were usually well made especially from this time period . They were popular back then and are still in high demand even today . One word of caution : Keep it original !! Happy Motoring .
Nice Le Mans! From the looks of it, seems like a very solid car. This is the kind of condition that many of us hope to find these cars in. I’d spend a weekend attempting to rejuvenate the paint and vinyl top as much as possible. May consider using some SEM vinyl spray to redo the top if I was not successful removing much of the grime. The Le Mans is so clean my goal would be to preserve its condition. From there, once I am confident that all the mechanics are sorted out, I’d simply drive and enjoy it as a true survivor. Best of luck with the auction. Hopefully this Pontiac finds a loving home.
Why was it pulledout eith a tractor ig it’sa turn-key prospect?? Roll those windows up to kerp the pigeons out of it and, FOR GOD’S , GET IT OFF THE GRASS!!!!!!!!!!
What?
Nice and solid – with History you do not see often.
Like this one a great deal.
In ’85 I bought a gold version of this one for my girlfriend as her 1st car. To this day her favorite. 350/2 v with duals.
Really like this one – floor shift and AC no less – and hope this girl goes to great caretaker that drives and makes her proud with TLC.
Very Nice.
Beautiful Survivor, I’d turn that into a daily driver, perfect car to cruise in, nice buff job on the paint Lamans looks great 😃
An important question you should ask about every car that’s been park for so long.
What does it smell like?
Hopefully not “squirreled away” !
I bet it smells like an old car. Just a guess.
I recently sold the virtual twin to this car, the only real difference being mine had a Cameo White painted hardtop in place of this car’s vinyl top. A few corrections to the otherwise great write-up: the body color appears to be Aleutian Blue, not Alpine Blue and the interior appears to be teal, not bright blue. The Pontiac version of a 2 speed automatic transmission is not a Powerglide but a ST (Super Turbine) 300. They are similar but the two are not interchangeable. I hope this car finds the right buyer who does the right thing and keeps it a LeMans and not turn it into another GTO clone.
When I lived in south Florida over a couple of decades ago I would go to car shows (actually cruise ins more than shows) on a regular basis. There were more than a dozen tempests and lemans hardtops and convertibles. Gradually these cars became GTOs. Same owner and car but with cosmetic upgrades (mostly the cars, sometimes the owner or his girl). So gradually most became GTOs. And then some became Judges. I remember a cloned Judge owner vehemently denying it was a clone.
The only question I have is what’s going on with pic #86? Just surface rust or something more? This is a whole lot better than that hugger orange Camaro I saw in an earlier post. Nice option of a/c; I didn’t notice if it worked, probably not. Decent car, although my favorite of this generation is the Luxury Lemans coupe with fender skirts. GLWTS!
All that “brown” metal under there is the result of parking the car on GRASS!
Remarkable for a car to be in a barn for so long and mice haven’t destroyed it. I bought a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix from an estate in California that was a garaged one owner and had sat for 10 years +-. Mice had made nest under the hood under the dash and behind the back seat. Mice droppings were covering the engine intake and the odor was indescribable. Otherwise it was a beautiful car .
My first car was a 69 Le Mans. I would love this car.
Did you ever get the stink out? I ended up parting out a car that stunk horribly even after the interior was removed
Not completely it would resurface once it would be closed with the windows up. Especially when sitting in the sun.
Yea there’s thing little predator that lives to eradicate mice, it’s called a barn cat, or cats, but any more that two they become an issue of their own. A late uncle of mine that owned the house I grew up in had a barn in the back, with a couple big cats that were friendly to me. But they kept the mice at bay so well people were in line to store their cars in his barn, or one of his garages.
I live in the country on an acreage with several outdoor cats. I also own several very nice show cars and I don’t cover them due to dust scratching the finish or allow the cats inside the buildings.
You are correct about cats being mousers and hunters but they also like to perch high on things. For that reason I don’t let them inside of my buildings but so far I haven’t had any mice in there either. For added protection a buddy of mine told me to use fabric dryer sheets and so far so good.
Interesting, we don’t want to take the wind out of someone’s gleeful sails, but a close personal inspection is needed here. A barn is only marginally better than sitting outdoors. That black tar that’s been applied in some areas is of concern, and the frame should be checked with a body hammer, especially behind the rear wheels.
Love this… My first car was a 68 LeMans with a 350 engine and a factory Hurst 3 speed on the floor. Dark green, bucket seats…$400.00 in 1978 with 68,000 miles. It even had the correct wheels, PMD center caps, and raised white letter tires…Thank you Dad ..I had a cool “first car” thanks to you…
Nice car. GLWS.
I have always thought the Tempest/LeMans/GTO was the best looking of the A-body cars of this era, and the ’68s are especially handsome IMHO. My only pet peeve is folks adding those engine call-out stickers to the air cleaner lids. The only cars Pontiac ever did that to was the 1971-’72 455 HO cars.
BTW not a big deal but the car would have come stock with a single driver’s side chrome rear view mirror. A matching unit for the passenger side was a dealer-installed option. The painted sport mirrors didn’t become available until 1970, and that’s not what are on this car anyway. These more squared off units would appear to be from a later car, though I have no idea what make or model.
I think you’re right Glen. Now that I look a little closer, these mirrors do look out of place. Wonder if they dropped into the stud holes or maybe they had to modify somewhat.
Good catch!
The reserve is off!
Very nice 1968 LeMans with the price increasing daily. This makes me happy that I own a 1978 Pontiac Grand Prix LJ survivor since it’s value continues to increase yearly.
Very nice, wish I had the cash now as I owned a brown one just like it except for mine had the 400/400 motor and transmission. Sure wish I had kept it
Back in 74, while stationed at Fort Carson, CO, I bought a sweat 69 LeMans Coupe, that had pilar posts, off the original owner who was a Sargent in my Unit, who came down with Orders to go to Germany and he was thrilled,The Army would have shipped his car over, but he planned on selling his car to me, then take German Delivery on a New Mercedes,not sold in America he could bring home later. All while taking a two week vacation driving around in his new car! So I got a great deal at the last minute. Especially since the LeMans was quite special that he ordered. See he wanted a GTO, but with his record insurance would be too high, so he ordered the reg two dr. sedan as they are called, but was able to order it with a 400/4 brl, 4 speed Muncie, with a decent 3:23 posi rear, mostly because of the snow. With every other option he could, included front disk brakes with a HD service package. That I’ll tell you was one very nice car, with the only go away was the 400 scrip at the lower rear of the front fenders. More than once I had the speedometer passed 120! But if driven easy got 14 city 20 hyw. That was very important during the OPEC years. When over the course of 18 mo. Gas went from $.35, to $.50 to $.70!
Not to burst your bubble, but there is no chance a 400 was installed at the factory in a ’68 LeMans. Either the 400 was installed post-factory or it was a factory 350 4-barrel with 400 call-outs on the rocker panels. Most likely the latter as that 350 was already a strong motor, and the 400 wouldn’t have provided enough of an advantage to make the swap worthwhile anyway.
You may be correct but my wife is from Pontiac and has repeated several stories of people she knew special ordering all kinds of things. She babysat for a guy who worked on this line for Pontiac and promised the son if he got all A’s he could get a GTO. The kid came through on his end and was rewarded with a GTO with an automatic and a lesser engine (she thinks six cylinder but I imagine it was probably a 2 barrel V8). She doesn’t remember what engine but remembers the kids name. I won’t repeat that here but there just may be an oddly optioned 67 GTO out there somewhere
There is a lot more rust and rot hiding in this Le mans ‘
I have restored a few 68 and 69 GTOs , you will be surprised once you start taking things apart and digging around .Be Carefull
You are dead right with the rust issue, at first I thought lift the body and detail the chassis again and then looked closer and yes there are some rust issues, but it would still be a great and mostly easy restoration. Just freshen the engine and a 4 barrel cam and manifold etc and you would have many years of very happy motoring.
So is this a no-go at 15K? Am I crazy even to be asking that Q as someone from California?
And that picture with the seat it looks like the headliners missing also in the trunk it looks like a quarter panels might have been patched seems like there might be Mig tack marks on both sides
In the rust belt. (in my case the Chicago area) The rear exhaust hanger and the tail pipe would rust away causing the tail pipe to actually raise up instead of drop down. This would cause the exhaust to blow directly on the back of the tail lamp assembly, effectively melting the lamp(s) So finding original lamps sometimes very difficult.
I think the house behind it needs a frame off restoration! lol
JB 68 Cougar 390, what appears as mig weld marks are actually where the emblems go. Why so many marks I don’t know but my uncles 69 GTO looked just like that on his quarters. I had two of these. One 1970 and one 1971. The 70 was a LeMans Sport and the 71 was a LeMans Grant sport. The 70 had a 400 with a 400 automatic. Keystone Raiders all the way around 50s and 60s. Really love that car miss it more than almost anything I’ve owned. But then when I owned it I was young and stupid and didn’t know what I had as I’m sure we’ve all had at least one of those. Hope this one goes to the right owner. Yes it looks like there’s some Rust underneath but nothing the right person couldn’t take care of. Good luck with the sale.
We all been there and did that. And it doesn’t get any better with age once you got the bug.