'80 Lemans Tear Down

[G-Body_Vet]

I like the '80 front end on the Lemans, but I think the '78 had the best tails and would go better with your car because they share the horizontal lines with the grille. As for the landau...again, the reason I shy away from ripping those off is because of a '79 Malibu I had. I took the top off and the rear corners of the roof were unfinished....like grinding marks unfinished!

 

[tdvick]

I took the top off and the rear corners of the roof were unfinished....like grinding marks unfinished!

I know what you're saying about unfinished! I didn't know what to expect when I started digging in. It's pretty rough, and the whole window opening is going to need a lot of attention. I was just happy to see a full size window was hiding under there.

 

[tdvick]

If you want to swap to an '81 nose, you can always swap headlight wiring harness's along with it...
That way you won't have to mess around trying to get it to work, it'll just plug right in.

Blake,

I was wondering about that. FLAP has an '81 4 door with the front bumper still on it. I think the wiring was still there too. I just wasn't sure if all of the connections in the fuse block were the same to where it would be a direct plug in. I'll have to think about it some more. I don't mind the '80 front end, I just like the '81 a bit better. I think I have some time before that decision needs to be made...

 

[deanlemans81]

Hey tdvick, if you do decide to go with a 81 nose and Flap doesn`t have the wiring harness, The local yard here has a couple of 81 still in it. The noses are shot but the harnesses should still be there. If you can`t find one let me know.

I think the '78 had the best tails and would go better with your car because they share the horizontal lines with the grille. .

I agree with G-body_vet. I Put some chrome 78 grandam taillamps on mine and it looks great.
dean

 

[Don57]

Hey, your project is starting to look awful familiar! Did much the same thing, but my garage was a "single" unit, so I went vertical with some 4 x 4 posts and used large bolts to raise the horizontal posts high enough so I could roll the chassis in and out. I'll try to post a picture. One little bit of advise on the nose swap........grab the complete 81 front end as well as the the chassis "5mph shock" units. They may be different from the 80 and 81. I had a 81 Lemans two-door and I came across a scrapped 78 Grand LeMans wagon. I liked the 78 front better. But, in the middle of my swap, I had to go back to the 78 and grab those bumper shocks as they were different lenghts.

 

[tdvick]

Thanks for the input on the bumper swap guys. I didn't even consider that the bumper shocks would be different. I'll have to think about that swap some more. Now I'm trying to gather all the parts to finish off the quarter windows after peeling off the Landau. Still have to finish disassembling the suspension so I can get the frame blasted and painted. I need to get the modifications done on the 12 bolt housing too. I should have some time next week to get some more work done.

 

[grandamman]

Check out a Malibu conversion from Landau to non Landau. It's a bigger can o worms than you're cooking up.
I actually prefer the Landau...good luck with the project..

http://maliburacing.com/forum/viewtopic ... au#p764913

 

[adam6640]

How about the 81 nose with a single composite headlight like from a chevy celebrity or there are after market ones too that are the same size as the double lights,check out the Yearone Bandit trans am & my 81 Le mans daily driver/project & my 80 Grand am which is for sale

 

[maliburacinfreak]

i actually prefer the dual headlight noses over the quads. just my preference though. i cant believe how clean that roof still is under that landua top!

 

[tdvick]

Yeah, I'm amazed myself every time I look at the car and see how little rust is on the whole thing. I have no idea where the car spent it's life before coming to Minnesota. Where ever it was, it was sure kind to it.

I don't know what I'm going to do for the front bumper. I like them both. Right now I think I will probably keep the '80 front end.

I picked up a '78 Lemans hardtop parts car a couple weeks ago. I should have most of the parts that I need for modifying the roof. I'm still going to need the hardtop interior panels. The ones in the parts car were shot. They were crumbling. I'll also need to get new lower weatherstrip/wiper molding.

Just gotta keep tinkering...