By: Patrick Smith
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| You can see the body is more or less complete but in need of repairs. The driver side fender has been punched and the quarter panel has rust and damage. Vinyl top looks decent. It appears to have either a Dixco or 1967 Pontiac hood tach installed. Pontiac ceased factory hood tach installs in 1972. |
We have another new entry to the Y Code Registry on record. This is our first car finished in Revere Silver metallic, which is a nice color. From the state of Illinois, this Pontiac plant assembled hardtop came through with some nice options. I understand it is now in Horace, North Dakota and for sale.The first of course, is the L75 455 four barrel d port engine with mandatory TH400 automatic transmission. The 12 bolt rear end completes the drive line package out back.
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| It certainly appears that someone is getting this car mobile again. A lot of extra wiring and a junction block is on the firewall. I notice more stuff in the trunk area. Perhaps a car alarm system? |
For options it has variable ratio power steering, power disc brakes, console, black expanded Morrokide vinyl custom bucket seat interior which also gave you the deluxe door panels with pull straps and carpet runners. The car also has the GTO option, air conditioning, vinyl roof , tinted glass windshield, electric clock, power windows, AM FM stereo radio, rear speaker, honey comb wheels, heavy duty battery and front floor mats. It is actually a later build car according to the VIN number but it has the second lowest VIN number in our database.
The car was sold new out of Cunningham Pontiac on Jamaica Ave. in Richmond, Hill, NY. The invoice was a stunning $4018.24 before sales tax and MSRP! A strange thing about the invoice billing is the it was given a Date of Note in June 23rd, 1972, which is when the dealer starts paying GM for the car. It was shipped on June 15-72 from the Pontiac plant. This time period is right around when the last batch of GTOs were being assembled, yet the VIN is quite a bit lower than mine which suggests a lot of LeMans cars were made in between. Even stranger, the VIN is lower than my car but was shipped out later. What this suggests is the span between GTO builds and regular LeMans builds was growing over time, necessitating a switch towards batch building as demand for GTOs fell.
The current condition of this GTO is clearly a restorable candidate. Not only is the drive line intact, the engine is claimed to be numbers matching.The body isn't rust free, but then again it isn't poor either. The trunk has seen better days, replacement is going to involve the whole trunk floor pan to do it right. You can see the black Cordova vinyl roof still and the body paint is still accurate although I suspect it is a later re spray. The honeycombs are long gone however. That electrical wire you see hugging the driver side wheel house arch was used for powering the rear defroster fan motor or the rear speaker. My car had both options and two connectors which goes into the main wire loom on the floor pan. This one has one connector. The two connector wire will be orange and purple.
Another interesting detail shown in this rear seat view is the use of custom seat belts. In 1972, the custom seat belt option switched style from brushed stainless steel cases to black molded plastic cases, often called "exploding buckle" due to the heavy spring loaded behind the button release, flexing and cracking the case. A second version of the custom seat belt option used actual black painted steel cases which were tougher and more likely to survive usage. This car has the steel custom seat belt version. Also notice the lower arm rest panel appears to be padded with black vinyl. This is not factory. They were molded black textured plastic similar to the front door arm rest bases. Someone has done some upholstery work here.
We hope this car has been restored or at least saved from further damage. Revere Silver with black is a nice combination. The car is quite savable from what the pictures show. That might even be original paint although metallic silver is known for fading fast and re sprays were common.There are no interior pics so we don't know the condition of the upholstery and dash. Hopefully it wasn't butchered or baked to a crisp. They can be redone with new pieces but it won't be cheap!
* Article (c) 2017 by PHS Collector Cars 1972 LeMans/GTO Y Code Registry
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| The engine is said to be numbers matching and intact. Some attempt at repairs has been done. Note the newer power brake booster, blue anodized alternator and valve covers. Just so you know, Pontiac never used those horrible Buick inspired air cleaner decals. The D port 455 came with black air cleaner lids and no decals except for the air cleaner filter replacement decal. |
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| The trunk floor |
The current condition of this GTO is clearly a restorable candidate. Not only is the drive line intact, the engine is claimed to be numbers matching.The body isn't rust free, but then again it isn't poor either. The trunk has seen better days, replacement is going to involve the whole trunk floor pan to do it right. You can see the black Cordova vinyl roof still and the body paint is still accurate although I suspect it is a later re spray. The honeycombs are long gone however. That electrical wire you see hugging the driver side wheel house arch was used for powering the rear defroster fan motor or the rear speaker. My car had both options and two connectors which goes into the main wire loom on the floor pan. This one has one connector. The two connector wire will be orange and purple.
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| The interior of this car shows some electrical handiwork and a more or less stock appearance. Note the 120 mph speedo used on cars assembled from January onwards. |
Another interesting detail shown in this rear seat view is the use of custom seat belts. In 1972, the custom seat belt option switched style from brushed stainless steel cases to black molded plastic cases, often called "exploding buckle" due to the heavy spring loaded behind the button release, flexing and cracking the case. A second version of the custom seat belt option used actual black painted steel cases which were tougher and more likely to survive usage. This car has the steel custom seat belt version. Also notice the lower arm rest panel appears to be padded with black vinyl. This is not factory. They were molded black textured plastic similar to the front door arm rest bases. Someone has done some upholstery work here.
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| Rear seat photo shows steel case version of custom seat belt option. Lower arm rest panel has been customized with black vinyl wrap. Original appearance was molded and textured plastic like the front door arm rest base. |
* Article (c) 2017 by PHS Collector Cars 1972 LeMans/GTO Y Code Registry
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