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Red 1971 LeMans Sport convertible owned by Roger Patterson from Vancouver, Washington. Roger added, "I bought the car in April of '03. The body was very straight but the paint was Porsche red, kind of orange. I did a complete new paint job. The doors, fenders, hood and deck lid came off and were painted individually. Along with the side mirrors and valance. The new color is Revlon Lipstick Red. Now it's RED!" CLICK->
Red 1971 LeMans Sport convertible, from another angle. CLICK->
Red 1971 LeMans Sport convertible, right rear view. That's one sweet 71. CLICK->
Roger's Red 1971 LeMans Sport convertible at a car show. CLICK->
Here Roger is painting his Red 1971 LeMans Sport convertible. CLICK->
Aztec Gold 1971 GTO hardtop with a gold interior and a white vinyl top. This picture was sent in by a site visitor who noticed that our 1971 Color Option List did not have an example of an Aztec Gold GTO. Do you have a GTO painted any of the other colors that we are missing? CLICK->
Aztec Gold 1971 GTO hardtop, front end view. It's now owned by Mark Carrao from Staten Island, New York. Mark describes the car further, "It is a 1971 'True 242' GTO survivor! I bought it with 39,600 original miles on it. (It now has 40,046) It is an original Aztec Gold painted exterior (Z59) and has a Sandalwood cordova top. The interior is Sandalwood. The vinyl 'comfort-weave' bucket seats are in perfect condition. It has a 400ci engine with dealer installed Ram Air. It has an M22 4-speed transmission and a 3:90 posi-rear. It was loaded with options, hood tach, dual color match outside mirrors, power trunk release, AM/FM radio(still works!) Rally clock(don't). I have all the paper work for the car.(original bill of sale, delivery sheet, and build sheet). It has all been verified through PHS documentation." CLICK->
Aztec Gold 1971 GTO hardtop, front end view. This car has the hood tach and Honeycomb wheels. CLICK->
Don Opland's been restoring this 1971 GTO hardtop. Don tells this story, "I had just sold my high school silver '71 Goat in 1980 to purchase a new Jeep CJ7. (I thought I had got the car stuff out of my system) As luck would have it, on my way to my job in 1981 I kept seeing this car behind a garage off the freeway. One day I stopped and asked if it was for sale. The man there said a friend was storing it there. I asked if he would mind that I looked at the car. It was sitting on blocks with no tires on it. The hood had the famous 'Kink' from stiff hinges and someone not knowing how to shut a hood. And a fine looking 455 HO. It was an all original looking car. Only 53k on the clock. It had an AM-FM Stereo, 8 track on the console, manual steering, power brakes, 4-speed, and a 12-bolt. This car was bought with one intention - To Rock-n-Roll and Go Fast! I gave him my number but didn't hear from the guy. I finally got to talk to him and we ended up becoming a good friends. He really didn't want to sell the car but over a 1 year period he went from not selling it, to trading it for a 'VW'! (I looked high and low to find one he would like with no luck) Then he called me and said he would sell me the car for what he owed on it. 300.00! I went with him to the bank (my smile barely fit through the door) I painted the car and performed a general engine overhaul - rings, bearings, gaskets, original pistons and bore, cam, springs etc. The motor, trans, and everything else seemed in excellent shape. The car has moved through 4 garages, 2 marriages, 3 kids, and some of the best Detroit Telegraph Rd. Drag racen' and cruisn' there was! I have made time to give it a well deserved general reconditioning of the body." CLICK->
Right front view of the work that Don has done to restore his 1970 GTO. The 455HO engine and engine compartment look great. CLICK->
1971 restoration project, right rear view. It doesn't look like there is a lot of filler in this car. Looks like Don's got a pretty nice place to work. See the in-floor hydraulic jack up front. CLICK->
View up the other side of Don's 1971 GTO restoration project. Looks like an entire rear fender replacement - right up to the factory seam at the roof! My garage is kind of set up this way - except I don't have the in-floor jack, the good lighting, all that room, and a microwave. I do have a 1970's stereo! CLICK->
Okay, how does Don get the paint off? Here is a "Before" picture of the passenger door and front fender with the old blue paint on it. CLICK->
Don uses chemical paint remover to dissolve the paint. Take a look at this. The paint runs right off the body panels onto the floor. CLICK->
Don's got the paint off the right side and has removed the front clip. Don comments, "Who ever said less wasn't more? The less parts on the car, the more work is left to be done!" PICTURE SET CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ...
Here's a comment from a recent visitor...
Says Greg Polisuk (gregp.@futuretechnologies.com) - "Excellent... Been looking for a Corvette, but this site may have changed my mind."
