Another Y Code LeMans Sport Convertible Found

                                                                          By: Patrick Smith
           

As you can see, a GTO grill badge was added by owner. An understandable sentiment since it is as
as you could get that year. Car is still in original owner's possession and in good shape!

    We recently rediscovered another Y Code convertible to add to the registry. I knew about this car 8 years ago when I'd bought mine and was doing research on the drive train and D98 stripe option which my documents stated it came with new but had nothing when I purchased it. I was considering ordering a set from Phoenix Graphix but wanted to know what the originals were like so I could compare them and see if they were close enough. Well, on a website that specializes in GTOs owned by , there was an Aztec Gold 1972 convertible with white lazer stripes, exactly what my Cardinal Red car would have. I emailed the owner and talked to him about the stripes. Turned out they were factory original. He was able to answer my question about whether the decals were sealed on top between each lazer cut out, preventing wax and moisture from getting in there and causing tears. GM did indeed do a laminate layer on top the lazer stripes. My question, answered, I thanked him and went on.
 

Another dusk view of the Aztec Gold Y Code convertible.

   I started the registry in the summer of 2015 and entered the ones I knew about off hand. Alas, I cannot find the Starlight Black hardtop that was in Peachland, BC. It had a later VIN than mine and may very well be the last 1972 455 GTO made.Maybe one day...I was on the web last week when I saw this car appear in one of many community pages dedicated to GTOs. It seemed familiar. I looked at the plates. Yes, this was the car I saw many years ago. I contacted the owner and learned that when I first made contact, the car was in his son's possession. The original owner is the father and he has the car back in his garage. It's always been and still is in good hands. In fact, the engine was rebuilt in 1995 and runs like a top. Speaking of tops, the car sports a white one from the factory. We should go over the list of goodies because this one's a real beaut!

The owner's car with his son's German Shepherd in the front. 

   Starting off with a November 18th 1971 build date at the Pontiac plant in Michigan, this convertible received Aztec Gold metallic paint, 272 White interior and code A White convertible top. It came through with the L75 250 horsepower 455 4 barrel V8 and TH400 transmission. The GM Canada documents show just 6 of the 307 convertible LeMans Sports sent to Canada had L75 engines. This is one of them. For options, the car received power windows, bucket seats, chrome front door edge moldings, wheel well moldings, heater and defroster,  sport mirrors, front console, white lazer stripes,standard rear axle ratio of 3.31, Safe T Track limited slip differential, custom pedal dress up, manual drum brakes, dual exhaust, power steering, rally II wheels, trim rings, G70x 14 white letter tires, Endura Styling option, AM push button radio, rear speaker, additional fuel for delivery and the mandatory Canadian Equipment option since it was sold new in Manitoba.
 

Notice in this pic you can see the location of the die cast 455 fender emblems as used on
LeMans Sport cars. This emblem was used for both 455 motors round port and D port but only only LeMans Sport
cars, not GTOs. For more info check out our 455 Die Cast emblem article on this site.

    The car is in good shape and still in the hands of the original owner. How about that for cool history?An early production car, it sports the 140 mph speedometer yet has the Federal mandated safety style rear view mirror finished in black pebble instead of bright metal as found last in 1971 GM cars.I've seen some 1972 cars with the older style mirror in place, but not many. In one GM promotional photo there is a Cardinal Red hardtop with the bright rear view mirror installed. Such deviations are known to exist as they are using pre production cars. Another example is the Aztec Gold 1972 GTO 455 hardtop used in promotional photos by GM. It would appear the Federal mandated mirror assembly was available early in production but perhaps not in sufficient quantity for every car to get one.
 *Article (c)2017 by PHS Y Code Registry.