MY FIRST G-BODY

[Lovingood99]

So, about 2 months ago I bought a 1980 Pontiac LeMans Coupe. I love it. though I dont know much about it. The first thing I want to know is, whats up with all the emmisions crap? Can I take it all off? Will the car run good without t? or does it run better with it on there? Also, My entire roof is rusting apart. I can see the sky. Is there anything I can do about that? I was thinking I can fix it with fiberglass gel. (Its a vinyl roof) Im missing a few things but the pieces I'm missing are minor.

As you can see, My father has one too..the Safari. Im missing my back right extension piece and my mirrors.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Just like many other..I started off just "getting it running" but now im getting a little in over m head. Im only 22. So im new to these older cars but Ive always been a gearhead and ive ALWAYS found these G-body cars to be pretty rad.

 

[timo22]

Welcome to the site and you came to the right place. Personally not sure about your roof but I'm sure someone with knowledge will give you some good advice. If you cannot find the mirrors , I have several sets of sport mirrors that will bolt right in. I believe Malibu and lemans rear quarter ext. are the same. If that's the case, I probably have one of those also. Pm if interested and good luck,timo22

 

[307 Regal]

As far as the roof is concerned, if you can see the sky then you might want to remove the entire vinyl top and see what the damage is underneath.

 

[MrSony]

Don't patch over rust with fiberglass. The emissions crap, if it's working right, won't affect anything. Removing it won't somehow unleash 50 horsepower. People have this notion that 70s/80s emissions systems ruined the performance of the engines, that's not it. The engines were stuffed with low compression pistons/heads, crappy camshafts, and cheap parts. Also, give us some deets man! Engine, transmission, interior, etc. Rip that vinyl top off before it gets any worse. Don't drive in the rain, or grab a $120 harbor freight 110 welder and figure out how to weld.

 

[Lovingood99]

Thanks everyone! I'll probably leave the emissions stuff just because its not a concern. The car has a 229 V6. A hydra metric automatic trans. I took it out last night and it had trouble shifting into gear. I replaced the starter on it last night as well and it starts up alot better than before. The interior was damaged from the sun and from the leaking roof. the carpet was moldy and the headliner was tore up. The front seat has one rip in it and the back seats are fine. The dash is cracked up. Still trying to figure out what I can do about the roof. There are holes all over it under the vinyl. Why cant I fix the roof with fiber glass?

 

[TURNA]

 

[307 Regal]

Wow. That's a lot of rust! When you mentioned fixing "the holes" I assumed you were talking about making the repair directly to the vinyl top. That may be what MrSony was thinking as well. Regardless, it's good that you ripped that old water trap of a top off and found the real damage. (I always distrust vinyl tops.) A lot of guys have had to fix vinyl top rot on here. If they don't chime in, you can probably find some good threads about it. AFAIK, most guys patch the roof with sheetmetal, which is probably far better than fiberglass for structural integrity. I've never done it or even researched it, so I can't weigh-in.

Also, welcome to the sight! I'm only 5 years older than you and joined when I was 3 years younger than you, so I can relate!

 

[565bbchevy]

The rust on your car is pretty extensive, the best way to fix the roof would be getting a donor roof from another car and cutting your roof and welding the new one on but realistically I am expecting that your are going to find rust throughout your car and we haven't seen the floorboards yet and it is pointless fixing one area properly without paying the same attention to the rest of the car.
Personally I would look for a different clean car to start with and you will be ahead with money and time in the long run.IMO

 

[bob64]

Fiberglass to patch a roof panel is a waste of time, with body roll, twist and wind it will break free at some point.

You will have to replace with metal as it's passed the point of spot welding. If it was pin holes you could drill the hole out, place a piece of brass on the backside and then fill hole in. Not the case here in what l see.

Your engine is designed for emissions and runs the best with it in working order. If you change internals of the engine then you maybe able to get rid of it, but in most places government says no no!

Before you start welding anything check for other rust, floors and so on.

If you got skills you could always cut roof off and make it a convertible! Joke well anything is possible.

 

[Opie Knievel]

Welcome to the forum. It's good to see a younger guy getting into G Bodies. Looks like you've got a lot of rust on that LeMans. It's gonna take a lot of work to fix it right. It's a big job but it can be done at home. Check out this thread: https://gbodyforum.com/threads/project-olds-cool-updated-10-28-17-more-progress.62181/

Donovan, the owner of the car in the thread I linked, covers a lot of metal work in that thread. There are several guys on here who've done repairs similar to what your car needs. I'm sure you can find some guidance and help on here.

What are your plans for the car?