66-67 LeMans VS 68-70 Roadrunners

[DartFart]

I'm asking for some help on this from those of you who have worked on and driven these cars. Which of these cars would be the better buy for a daily driver....Which engine would be best suited for these cars.....I want muscle car type performance.......which of these two cars would provide the best overall ride and handeling! I know there are several questions here, but I would really apprciate some help on this! THANKS

[PeteRR]

Both can be setup to be daily drivers with a reasonable amount of performance. Both can be modified to handle. The Road Runner, because of it's torsion bar suspension, handles better stock. Unless you live in SoCal or other warm weather locales, I wouldn't try to daily drive either one. The gas mileage alone will make you crazy. Road Runners are going skyhigh, pricewise. Hopefully a Poncho owner can tell you what the Lemanses are going for.

[DartFart]

Originally Posted by DartFart

I'm asking for some help on this from those of you who have worked on and driven these cars. Which of these cars would be the better buy for a daily driver....Which engine would be best suited for these cars.....I want muscle car type performance.......which of these two cars would provide the best overall ride and handeling! I know there are several questions here, but I would really apprciate some help on this! THANKS

Thanks for the information.....I live in South/Central Texas and want something I can drive everyday......we have a warm climate down here and only get snow once every 10-20 years!

[MrPbody]

PeterRR,
I must whole-heartedly disagree with your statement about better handling. Having had and driven both types of cars, there is no comparison. A torsion bar suspension is a refugee from the '40s and '50s. Unequal-length control arms with coils are far superior. That, combined with the "4-link (ish)" coil spring rear, makes the GM A-bodies of the era the best handling of all the mucsle cars. Olds has the edge prior to '70, when the "good" stabilizers were offered on all the A-bodies, stock. But ALL the good handling parts for 442 and GTO fit ALL the other A-bodies.
My friend, John's '69 RR was never a match for my '70 GTO, unde any conditions, in any kind of race. I even got better gas mileage than he did. With me driving my car, and he, his, the margin was significant. As he was a better driver (in the twisties) than I, when he drove MY car, the gap was rediculous. 400 Pontiac, 3,700ish vs. 383 Dodge, 3,400ish... Both cars 4-speed, 3.55 gears and G70x14 tires.

[PeteRR]

The question was, which of those two era cars handles better. I have seen GM owners replacing the entire suspension system to get their cars to handle. All I did was upgrade to thicker torsion bars and add a rear swaybar and the car corners flat. I've had people follow me onto freeway entrance ramps and none can keep up. The car actually feels like it leans into curves.

[terzmo]

Mopar is My main ride but I have to agree the pontiac/olds/buick have a better/smoother ride. Depending on what type Pontiac you get...I believe the best motor, stock, in a lemans was a 350. This is a decent motor but short on performance as far as I'm concerened. A stroker chevy 350 would be a good choice and deliver good performance or if getting a barracuda....a 340 stroked to 416 also makes for alot of fun...or a 400 stroked to 451 can realy set you in the seat. Bankroll is a consideration.

[65Ponchoboy]

terzmo you dont put a chevy engine in a pontiac its not kosher, and if you were to upgrade you would go with a 400, 455, 428 or any other poncho engine. and for the 66-67 they had 2 engines for the Le Mans, the OHC 6 or the 326, 350's werent in the tempest/lemans body until 68.

[terzmo]

Hey Ponch...didn't I post the best engine a tempest had was the 350 ??/(not the only) Read and learn. I have been in the classic cars business/sales for years and trust Me, putting a chevy 350 in a lemans will NOT hurt the value but will increase the performance. What's great about a 66 or 67 lemans is they are cheap in value....high class looks...and deserve a better than stock engine for performance. look at all the hp variations in a 350 chevy vs 350 pontiac. A numbers matching lemans will not even come close to a non numbers matching gto for re-sale. So what's not kosher???

[65Ponchoboy]

ok so i mis-read that part my bad. but putting a chevy engine in a pontiac is like driving a honda...its just wrong

[terzmo]

The pontiac 350 was a dependable engine. But all the v8's they made, less than the 389...should be replaced

[65Ponchoboy]

326 wasnt a bad engine it was a good peice of machinery. Ive seen a few lemans/tempest with them and there went pretty good.

[terzmo]

I had one in my 64 lemans/4 speed car...had my ass handed to me by a ohc 6 in a 68 tempest. It was a very dependable...gutless engine.

[65Ponchoboy]

lol well its the only thing i can afford right now cause all i got is a 215 6 in my 65 temp. it might be small but its good

[terzmo]

Well, it's not a discussion of personal rides...but one thing to remember is the best thing to do is have a ride with a solid underbody. With that , the sky's the limit. If the car is rotted, then ALOT has to be done and it may not be worth it to restore. Secondly, your ride only has to please YOU...whatever anybody else thinks is not important. 65 tempests had nice lines...good luck with your restoration

[65Ponchoboy]

yeah ill need it. luckly this car has very little rust. a few spots in the rear quaterpanels, a cut peice in the front right fener and some of the floor was kinda bad. and of course under the back window. other than that, a tune up and some new brakes and the thing would go good