As a mechanic who runs his own business, Barry Giannoni has long believed in the importance of keeping a car well maintained. He knows that doing regular maintenance on a car, including oil change, lube and radiator flush, will extend the life of a car. But Barry now has proof positive in the form of a ‘71 Pontiac LeMans Sport. Back in October of 2009 he went with a neighbor to look at the car with a neighbor who wanted to have his advise on the condition of the car. The original owner had it for sale and the car had 180,000 miles on it. Although that is low for a car that old, cars of that era are not known for such a long mileage-life expectancy. The engine, trans and rear end were all original, never even having a rebuild. Barry was amazed. The car was sound and the smooth-running engine didn’t even burn oil, as evidenced by the lack of blue smoke in the exhaust. Plus the owner had all the service records since the car was new and had been regularly serviced during all that time, both rarities. The neighbor negotiated a good price and a deal was made. Then the neighbor backed out of the deal and the owner offered it to Barry for the same price. Barry gladly took it. It has a 350 CID engine with a Turbo 350 auto trans, power steering and brakes and factory air. The paint and interior are all original. The only thingsBarry has done since buying it are to change the tires and wheels and to replace the vinyl roof, which had begun to shred from age. Although Barry was not on a hunt for this particular car, he is very pleased with it. As is wife Sabrina, who has owned Pontiacs before. She had a ‘79 Pontiac Formula Firebird that they sold for a down payment on their first house and a ‘68 Pontiac Firebird that Barry had fixed up, but they sold to finance a move. Barry has a fondness for Ponchos (Pontiacs) too and is currently working on a ‘30 Pontiac roadster street rod. And Barry plans to keep this Pontiac Lemans as well maintained as the previous owner. In this case, “high maintenance” equals low repairs.

This LeMans Sport has the same Endura nose and wire-mesh grill that were used on the GTO as well as the GTO dual air-scoop hood. This body design was used from 1970 until 1972. Starting in 1973 the heavy, protruding energy-absorbing bumpers were used.

The Sport was the top of the LeMans line for 1971, which meant thing like an imitation wood-grain dash.

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©2010 Ron Cherry