Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Spring Sprung

Had the car out for a few drives this past week and really need to get these leaks stopped. It was just warm enough to have the top down, but windows up; and as long as the sun was out, it was nice. Sure was nice to cruise around again. With 93 octane pushing $4/gallon its a little pricey to drive around.

The battery has needed to be charged a couple of times, and I can't figure out where the drain is.

In the past few months, I've purchased a view things from eBay, I have the 68 Fischer Body Manual, and the 68 Pontiac Service Manual; both original publications, which I purchased for about $20 each. Reprints are going for $30-40. The books are give very good detail, with reasonable assembly diagrams. I couldn't see why I would by reprints when I could get originals for less.

One of these days, I will have to try to do some forensics on the 350 motor that is in it. It is a Chevy, not a Pontiac -- which I really don't have that much of a problem with but it would be nice to know more specifics about it. It doesn't seem like a crate motor, it seems like it was taken out of one car and put into this one. I would not be surprised if this car started life as a 6 cylinder. Actually, for $50, you can get the Pontiac Historical Society to look up the original equipment and copies of the dealer order forms, factory billing history and other information about the car's original configuration, like color, options, hardtop, etc. I could see where that would be important for a correctly restored car, but this Le Mans is unlikely to ever be restored to original condition... and usually, this restoration kind is generally reserved for Le Mans' big brother the GTO.