Hi folks,

Glad to have found this site!

I have always liked the look of the Lemans and just picked one up a couple of weeks back.

She is from what I can tell as "base model" as it gets, but has no rust, no bodywork anywhere...the mechanic who did the certification said it was the cleanest best shape old car he had ever seen.

It needed a muffler clamp and tail light to certify!

The kids call her the Green Monster, even the interior is green (bench seat) AM radio.... she may not be beautiful but she has a lot of personality.I look forward to talking to and learning lots from you old pro's on here...maybe making some mods to her down the road although the idea of it being all original is kinda cool.

All except for that stupid fake shaker hood someone bolted on...gonna have to do something about that.

Welcome Rob & The Green Monster from PEI!

Welcome on board. Pretty nice car. If you need to know anything just ask me. I can get my hands on a proper hood if you need one.

Is your car an Oshawa built car? Check the VIN and let us know. I assume it is a 350 V8.  

Check out your car's cousin from Ontario.....

Welcome and Congratulation ! Nice car ! By the way somebody already claimed the green monster, he has a 70 Pontiac 2+2 454 car...lol.

Welcome from NS!

Other than the colour, your car appears to be almost identical to the '73 I had back in my high school days.  It had 27000-ish miles on it (very low for a 10-year old car) and looked great with its original paint on it.  It was just starting to get a little rusty though.

I really liked that car and will admit to shedding a tear the day I sold it to pay for my university tuition.

Here's what it looked like back in the summer of '83 (same pic as my avatar):

It's on my list of cars that I would like to have again someday if I could find a nice, original example out there... some day.....

Tengard137 wrote:

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Pontiacanada and 73SC...thanks for the welcome.

73SC that is one beautiful car you have there. I am also in Ontario...Lindsay.
I am not sure where my car was built, or how to check the VIN ? I tried it at another site but it wouldn't recognize the number.... (2D37H31500802) can you tell from looking? and yes it is a V8 350 car....maybe one day she'll look like her cousin.

I would definitely be interested in some information on a replacement hood for it though!

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Well sir you have an Oshawa car with a Chevoilet 350 2bbl engine, very early build date on that car.

2 = Pontiac

D37 = LeMans 2dr. Colonade hardtop

H = L30 - Chevrolet 350 2bbl, 145 net HP

3 = 1973

1 = Oshawa assembly plant

500802 = production sequence , looks like 802nd  car built so a 1972 build car.

I have a hood hanging on the garage wall. You might be better off removing that scoop as long as the hood has not been cut, and repairing any screw holes etc... I am in Toronto, Toronto proper, not Scarborough or Willowdale, or Etoboicoke, basically downtown.

Welcome    glad you found us   

Ever see the 454 Lemans GT in Toronto? 

Guy street races it every night   never lost a race 

Welcome Tengard! Years ago a neighbor that lived 3 doors up from me traded in her 1965 Buick Skylark 4-door for a new 1973 Lemans coupe similar to yours with the large rear quarter window. Hers was light green with a dark green vinyl roof, plus dog dish Rally Moon hubcaps with the little arrowheads on them. The dealer must have loved them because they also bought a new 1973 Buick Centurion 455.

Just wanted to say thanks to everybody for the warm welcome.

There are some really nice cars/owners on this site and I am looking forward to hanging out, learning a lot and making some new friends.

Pontorquer I am not sure my kids are going to give up on calling her "The Green Monster" the other guy may have to deal with my son and daughter (he is 10...she's 12 but big for her age) lol. Although a 1970 454 car is a bit more of a monster than mine.

73SC...thanks for the information on the VIN, and I think I will try and have the hood repaired as the hood scoop is bolted on and non-functional. There is a reputable body shop just up the street from me.

I am kind of torn about changing anything on her as she is stock now with no modifications, but I was hoping for a bit more of a musclecar. Maybe a light green paintjob and some engine modifications down the road. 145hp is not the muscle I was hoping for. Thoughts tips and suggestions are greatly appreciated as I am not all that mechanically inclined....I am however car crazy.

It has so much character now I am a little bit unsure of changing anything because she seems so rare, and you dont see many stock ones around anymore. The first owner was in Quebec and had her from 1973 until 2004 and must have spoiled her.

68SD I will add the car to the Lemans list when I get a chance.

Oh, yeah...I paid $3700 fully certified for it with 51000 miles...it had over 12000 views on KIJIJI!!! The appraiser said that would be about average. I figure she is worth more than that to me because nobody else in my neighbourhood has one

Thanks again to all for the big hello.

Rob

-- Edited by Tengard137 on Saturday 3rd of December 2011 09:56:43 AM

The nice thing about these cars, 73-77 GM A bodies, is that you can purchases them for reasonable sums of money. I'd say judging by the photos that you paid a fair price for the car, not a bargain but not over priced. 

The reason for this is because people in the car hobby do not view these as especially desireable cars because the colonade styling was and continues to be controversial. GTO's of this vintage rarely crack $10,000 but since this is the lowest production years for a GTO you can't find any either.  Body style is one year only on a '73 due to a UAW strike GM carried over the '72 Lemans. This '73 body was intended to be '72/73 but did not happen. 

In 1972 GM changed the way they measured HP by changing the SAE factor, 60 degrees vs. 85 degrees thereby reducing published HP figures GROSS vs NET. The identical engine rated at gross HP is about 210 gross HP. It is the standard Chevrolet small block and can be modified easily and heavily from the vast array of parts avaiable. 

A L48  350 was optional and had a 4bbl and dual exhausts which produced  175 HP or about 250 gross HP. These two modifications would be easy and cost effective and would not alter the originality of the car to the naked eye. You might also want to upgrade to a factory Rally II wheel or Honeycomb wheel, either would be a nice addition. Be careful not to spend too much on the car as the value just isn't in it at this time. Don't get me wrong, I've had 3 so I am a believer.

73SC

I agree, this is more of a "drive it when its nice out car" for me...not a showcar.

I won't be sinking too much money into it. Down the road maybe a couple of modifications to the motor and a paintjob with some nice rims.

Thanks again for the tips. I imagine i will be messaging you a lot for info.

Rob

Too bad you're so far away as I got a hood for your car and misc. parts ... 15 X 7s Honeycomb wheels would look good on your Lemans too ...

Welcome!! From Kingston,Ontario.
I had owned three 73's.
One of my favourite years of Lemans and Grand Am's.

For some reason,the 73's are not as common nowadays as other year models despite a pile of them were built.

Lots of great info and good people here to help out.

-- Edited by La_Wrench_n on Wednesday 7th of December 2011 12:05:43 AM

dualquadpete wrote:

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Welcome from Blackstock Ont. just south w of you. Ya gotta change those rims or "dump" the wire w/discs other than that NICE CAR!!! If you need advice or help your at the right spot Pete

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 Yes I agree there will be some new wheels in the Green Monsters future. Who knows maybe even a paint job!

Rob

pontorquer wrote:

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Too bad you're so far away as I got a hood for your car and misc. parts ... 15 X 7s Honeycomb wheels would look good on your Lemans too ...

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 Pontorquer...I googled 15x7 Honeycomb rims...looks like ones in good shape are about as rare as my car ! Could be a possibility if I stumble across a nice set. Look like the old Trans-am rims.