A Whole Lot Of Trans Am Mixed With A Whole Lot Of Lemans Gives You An Alternative A-Body To Compliment The Trans Am Craze: The '77 Can Am By Christopher R. Phillip
Photography by Thomas A. Demauro
http://www.highperformancepontiac.com Truth be told, not everyone in the Pontiac hobby owns a Trans Am or a GTO. In fact, GTO and T/A owners would probably be in the minority if a tally was taken regarding Pontiac ownership. Regardless, we write about them often because they're legends of Pontiac performance. Just because you own a LeMans, a base Bird, a Catalina or a Can Am, however, doesn't mean your Pontiac isn't special. All Pontiacs are special-the Can Am in particular-and would place near the top of many hobbyists' must-have lists, yet its short life was not without hardships.
The proposal for this special A-body was first rejected by Pontiac when it was presented as a new Judge. After the transformation to the Can Am, Pontiac's approval, and it making a big splash upon its release, it was canceled after less than 1,500 units were built. In this article, we'll explore the trials and tribulations of the Can Am and discover what made this alternative Pontiac so special.
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The Can Am was an instant success with Pontiac dealers and its relatively low price and great muscular looks made it a quick seller. The price of the WW3 option package from Pontiac was $1,214 (later increased to $1,231) for the 400 and $1,164 (later increased to $1,181) for the California and high-altitude areas Olds 403 cars. The Can Am Appearance Package from Motortown was an additional $375.[/align]
Humble Beginnings In 1973, GM Designer Bill Mitchell and his Pontiac Studio Two design team, led by Chief Designer John Schinella, created three in-house "Formula X" concept cars ("Department X," Jan. '06): an X-body Ventura, an F-body Firebird, and an A-body LeMans, all three with a white color scheme, shaker scoop, red and blue stripes, body-colored Rally II wheels, and dual exhaust. The LeMans and the Firebird had a ducktail spoiler. According to Schinella, "the three concept cars were done as a study to promote a lower-cost performance car, and all three were shown to dealerships in Michigan to get their reactions." Ultimately, Pontiac decided not to produce the Formula X cars.
Then in 1974, Schinella's team designed and built the All American Grand Am. It was a concept show car that borrowed from the theme of the upcoming USA Bicentennial, and it received incredible reviews from the automotive press. Jim Wangers, one of the few industry insiders to see it, was Pontiac's advertising guru and he found it "pretty good looking," and an inspiration to work on a proposal to return the Judge to Pontiac's performance lineup.
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According to Verne Howard, most Can Am hobbyists know about the rear spoiler mold breakage at Motortown Corporation, but few people knew, until now, that Can Ams were made with two different types of spoilers. The fiberglass spoiler is most common, but several cars were manufactured with a rubber one. This was done to keep the Can Ams rolling out of Motortown assembly plant. The examples pictured here all appear to have the fiberglass spoiler.[/align]
As the Bicentennial approached and Wangers saw that Pontiac had no firm plans to introduce a production version of the All American Grand Am, he sourced specialty car maker Motortown Corporation, and it approached Pontiac with a proposal to rebirth the Judge. The plan was to take the Colonnade-style LeMans, which had suffered in sales during the '70s, and return it to its glory days by adorning it with the loud, splashy graphics that made the Judge an instant success in 1969.
Pontiac said no to Motortown's proposal, wanting nothing to do with reintroducing a Judge to the American public. The concept was sent back for a rework. Conspiring closely with Wangers, Motortown toned down the Carousel Red prototype Judge to a less-flamboyant white, agreed to drop the name Judge, and returned to Pontiac with one major addition to their concept car: the trademark shaker scoop from the Trans Am.
Can Am Is A "Go" This time, Wangers and Motortown had an ally, Ben Harrison, a Pontiac employee in the Marketing Group in Product Planning who took an interest in the "Judge" proposal, and gave it a new name, "Can Am." Shortly thereafter, with Harrison's strong support, Pontiac approved the Can Am for production, awarded the contract to Motortown, and a limited quantity of specially-equipped '77 Cameo White LeMans Sport Coupes were scheduled to be produced and sent to a satellite assembly plant in Troy, Michigan, for conversion. The Can Am was born.
The Can Am was ordered by marking the WW3 option in Reserve Box No. 4 on the back side of the LeMans Vehicle Order. It included the 200-horse T/A 6.6 400-cid four-barrel Pontiac V-8 (or the Olds 403 with the Turbo 350 automatic transmission, if sold in California or high-altitude areas), a Turbo 400 heavy-duty automatic transmission, Rally RTS handling package with front and rear stabilizer bars, body-color Rally II wheels, Grand Prix instrument panel with Rally gauge cluster and in-dash clock, power front disc brakes, power variable-ratio steering, GR70x15 radial tires (with space saver spare), protective rubber bumper strips, front and rear body color twin sport mirrors (LH remote), and a blacked-out grille assembly. Out back, the T/A 6.6-equipped Can Ams with A/C came with 3.08 gears and those without A/C were fitted with 3.23s. The 403 Can Ams received 2.41 gears.
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Even though Can Ams are generally heavy, they can still make for a quick race car. This example, owned by Paul and Dale Freese, weighs 4,349 pounds with driver (4,032 pounds without), features a 455/469 combo with Edelbrock 72cc heads, Turbo 400 and a Ford 9-inch with 4.10 gears. It runs 11.62 in the quarter-mile with 1.70 60-ft time and a trap speed of 124.32 mph with full exhaust and MT/ET Street tires.[/align]
According to Wangers, who features the Can Am in his new book, Pontiac Pizazz, and Can Am Registry founder Verne Howard (also the President of POCI), the LeMans Sport Coupes were shipped to Motortown and converted with tri-tone colored accent tape stripes on the hood, front fenders, doors and sport mirrors; black lower body sides with accent stripes; full-width rear deck spoiler with tri-tone colored accent stripe; tri-tone Can Am identification on the front end, rear deck and front fenders; blacked-out windshield, backlight, door window and belt moldings; unique Can Am interior I.D.; and Trans Am-type shaker hoodscoop with tri-tone "T/A 6.6" or "6.6 Litre" identification and accent stripes.
The newly-born Can Ams were shipped back to Pontiac for transport to dealers in all 50 states. According to Howard, "The conversion took approximately three days to complete and was called the 'Can Am Appearance Package.' A smaller window sticker, telling about the appearance package, was placed next to the factory window sticker."
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Pontiac's 200-horse W72 T/A 400 engine in the Can Am featured the same specs as the Trans Am: Q-jet carb, No. 6X heads with 2.11/1.66-inch valves, a 274/298-degrees duration cam with 0.364/0.364-inch lift., 1.5-stamped steel rockers, and an 8:1 compression ratio.[/align]
Pontiac advertised the Can Am as "A Super New Limited Edition LeMans." Ad copy proudly rallied the musclecar-buying public with the battle slogan, "Remember the Goat!" The first Can Am candidates rolled off the Pontiac assembly line in late 1976. The response was overwhelming. "Pontiac ordered only 2,500 of the Can Ams to start," Wangers recalls. "But when the dealers saw the cars, they started ordering more, some even three or four more at a time, and Pontiac upped the limited edition run from 2,500 to 5,000."
According to body tags documented by Howard in the Can Am registry, production continued into August 1977, at which time Pontiac pulled the plug on what was a beautiful limited edition to its lineup. An often-reported news item that Pontiac cancelled the program due solely to a spoiler tooling break was debunked by Wangers in an exclusive interview with HPP, following this story.
Production totals aren't available from Motortown, so hobbyists rely upon Pontiac's tally of the Can Am WW3 option, which is 1,377 units. A second report from Pontiac lists 1,335 W72-optioned Can Ams in 1977. From these two numbers, hobbyists estimate that 1,335 Pontiac W72 400- and 42 L80 Olds 403-equipped Can Ams were produced.
But these numbers are estimates only and Howard cautions Can Am collectors from accepting them as absolute truth. "After 30 years, I have not seen anything that says different about the number of W72 T/A 400- and Olds 403-powered cars. The mystery of how many Can Ams were 400-cid powered and how many were 403-cid powered may never be resolved." Wangers is more confident in his number. "There were 1,133 Can Ams produced at Motortown before Pontiac cancelled the program," he says.
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Can Ams and their owners travelled across the United States to the Ames Performance Tri-Power Pontiac Nationals in 2007 to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the limited edition Pontiac. According to the Cam Am Registry, this reunion was the largest gathering of Can Ams since the vehicles left Pontiac, Michigan, in 1977.
This Olds 403-equipped 185hp Can Am (code L80), owned by Darl McGillem, is one of an estimated 42 Can Ams sold in California and high-altitude areas. It's easily recognizable by its oil filler tube at the very front of the block, Oldsmobile valve covers, and by the "6.6 Litre" decals on the shaker. According to Verne Howard, the block is stamped with code 4A or 4B.
Owner Larry Vicari opted for custom work inside of the cockpit, including an engine turned appliqu la the Trans Am and aftermarket floor mats. This Can Am has the Rally gauges with optional tachometer (code WW8).
Saddle interior (code 64R1) is rare in a Can Am. Notice the Grand Prix instrument panel, optional Custom Sport steering wheel (code N31), Turbo 400 automatic trans (code M40) and cruise control (code K30).
Placing a model designation on the glovebox is reminiscent of the '69-'71 Judge. Early production models received the decal, but it was dropped by Motortown due to adhesive problems on the rough surface of the glovebox. This example is an aftermarket reproduction.
A six-way power bucket seat (code AC3) is another rare option [/align]
Conclusion One thing is for certain, the Can Am is one of Pontiac's most recognized limited editions, and its rarity puts it on par with the combined production totals of the SD-455 Trans Ams and Formulas of '73/'74. "It was a beautiful limited-edition car," Wangers says. Howard agrees. "The Can Am today is perceived to be a truly unique piece of Pontiac history," he says. "You won't find too many other Pontiacs with as rich a heritage. The interest in the Can Am has steadily increased over the last five years and will continue to do so as more and more people look at the '73-'77 A-body cars. One of the joys of owning a Can Am is that no matter where you go, people want to stop and talk to you about it. It's amazing how many people remember the car from years ago with its limited production numbers. 'What is it?' seems to be the top question asked about the car and telling the story is just half the fun. The other half is driving it."
Happily, these Alternative Pontiacs are getting the respect and recognition they deserve.
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All Can Ams came from the factory with the automatic trans, but owner Rich Tucker decided to take its T/A heritage one step further by installing a Borg Warner Super T-10 four-speed and a Hurst shifter. The Formula wheel, though not offered on the Can Am in 1977, is another popular upgrade for Can Am owners.[/align]
Can Am Options As President of the Can Am Registry, Verne Howard has determined the most popular and the rarest options installed in the Can Am. According to him, the Can Am was available with many of the same options you could have ordered on the regular LeMans Sport Coupe.
Rare Options CA1 - Steel Sunroof, Electric
CF5 - Glass Sunroof, Electric
D24 - Litter Container
A42 - Six-Way Power Bench Seat
B48 - Luggage Compartment Trim and Spare Tire Cover
AC3 - Left Front Power Bucket Seat
YJ8 - Cast Aluminum Wheels (15x7 Snowflake)
JL1 - Pedal Trim Package
C95 - Dome Reading Lamp
G66 - Super Lift Shock AbsorbersRear Only)
A90 - Remote Control Decklid Release
D68 - Lefthand and Righthand RemoteControl Sport Mirrors
C65 - Auto Temp Control Air Conditioning
(Note: Occasionally you may see a T-top Can Am, but they were dealer-installed. T-tops weren't a factory option.)
Popular Options G80 - Safe-T-Track Differential
C60 - Custom Air Conditioning
WW8 - Tachometer
D55 - Front Seat Console
AU3 - Saf-T-Lok Power Door Locks
A31 - Power Windows
N31 - Custom Sport Steering Wheel
N33 - Tilt Steering Wheel
Y92 - Lamp Group
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A litter container (code D24) is another rare option, and was color-coded to the interior trim of the vehicle.
Seat Mix interior (code 97R1), combines white vinyl seats with Firethorn Red trim.
Most Can Ams received a Pontiac 400 (code W72) and "T/A 6.6" callouts on the shaker scoop. If it's the original Pontiac engine, it will have code "Y6" stamped on the block.
All Can Ams feature a callout decal on the front header panel. How do you tell a real Can Am? The only absolute way is with PHS documentation that lists the WW3 option code, but the VIN should give you a good estimate. All Can Am VINs start with "2F37" (LeMans Sport Coupe), followed by either a "K" (Olds 403) or a "Z" (Pontiac W72 400), "7" (1977), and then the letter "P" (all Can Ams were produced at the Pontiac plant).
Though you may have seen them before, side-splitter exhaust tips weren't offered on the Can Am. Rich Tucker, owner of this one, added them to his.
Body-colored rear louvers (code AB7) came on all Can Ams since they were part of the LeMans Sport Coupe model.
Body-colored 15x7 Rally IIs (code N67) were part of the WW3 Can Am option package.
Optional 15x7 Snowflake wheels (code YJ8) are considered rare on a Can Am. They came from the factory with GR70x15 radial tires. This photo shows aftermarket tires.
A factory-installed steel sunroof (code CA1) is a seldom-seen option on a Can Am. [/align]
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