1967 Pontiac LeMans Hits SEMA Fresh off a Painstaking Restoration
Some masterful bodywork totally transformed this 1967 Pontiac LeMans, which is now just a two-owner car.
While SEMA may not be filling the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center as it normally does, we’re still being treated to a slew of incredible vehicles and new parts via the virtual SEMA360 this week. That includes this amazing 1967 Pontiac LeMans owned by Eli DeWitt, which is fresh off a frame-off, rotisserie restoration that took a full 1,000 hours to complete.
What makes this car particularly interesting, however, is how DeWitt discovered it. “This car came into my life because my sister’s cat went missing one day,” he said. “Our neighbor that we’d lived next to for 10 years had it sitting in his garage buried in computers. He was the original owner. He bought it in 1967 out of Arlington, Virginia.”
The 1967 Pontiac LeMans was surprisingly in pretty solid condition, aside from some rust, even after sitting in storage for a very long time. DeWitt performed the necessary repairs and more, as the classic muscle car now has perfect panel gaps, pristine Axalta Mosaic Victory Red paint, and matching trim. The stunning machine rolls on a set of U.S. Mag Rambler wheels wrapped in Nitto NT555 tires for the perfect new/old look.
Under the hood, DeWitt’s LeMans is packing a 400 cubic-inch Pontiac V8 that’s been bored out to 408 cubic-inches and fitted with a big cam, a Frostbite radiator, and a Quick Fuel Technology 650 cfm Black Diamond carb, which breathes through a custom exhaust with Quick Time Performance electric exhaust cutouts.
The interior is surprisingly all original, however, save for the carpet and headliner, which were replaced because mice had chewed them up.
Amazingly enough, DeWitt also says that this gorgeous ride isn’t quite finished. He plans on converting the rear drum brakes to discs in the near future, and he wants to do some more detailing and paintwork, including respraying the gas tank. But as it sits, this 1967 Pontiac LeMans looks pretty much perfect to us. Plus, we think the fact that DeWitt can tell folks that he’s just the second owner of this 50-plus year-old machine is pretty darn cool, too.
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