[2 73's]

I was on the Pontiac Registry an in the photo gallery, 70's compact/Intermediate/Full size, there's a red Can Am, say's all original except for the 455.
Brian, 77 Canamman, WW3, Bill, have any of you guy's seen this?
An did they really make some red one's?
I said awhile back that I would like to see one done in red just to see what it would look like, now that I've seen one, me likey

[Chief Wanabee]

No red ones were ever made at the factory or Motortown. Or Mandarin Orange ones. Or purple, green or blue. The only way that anyone will ever prove they have a Can Am that didn't leave the production facility as Cameo White will be to show a data plate without an "11" code for paint, and matching PHS documents.

The one at Pontiac Registry has been Photoshopped from white to red, or it has been repainted.

[77 Canamman]

but I like it!

[dblsprt68]

That dosen't look too bad..... Talk about being different, from being different!

[WW3]

I was going to let this fly by as Bob summed up the reallity of it, but since I was mentioned I'll chime in.

I know that the elusive Mandarin Orange Can am legacy still lives on and that there are folks, one in particular, that claim to have been part of some exclusive Pontiac "skunk works" that produced 6 of these yeti type creatures.And maybe they are hidden at Wright -Patterson in hanger 18, but until one with the correct trim tag with Orange paint code shows up and can be documented by PHS, they don't exist, never have. Not that one won't show up, but like bigfoot, it just hyperbole till then.

There's been many a heated argument about this and when proof is requested the dialogue turns to name calling and indignation at the mere thought that someone maybe lying.Which further bolster the side that believes there are none.

But,Kudos to the RED one pictured, it's nice but to me, projects a look of the late 80's, kind of Monte Carlo SS ish.


...

[77 Canamman]

I am wondering whose car that was pictured in the 1982 HPP article "Star Crossed Can Am"?

[Brian Baker]

Those purported 6 Mandarin Orange or Carousel Red Can-Am's don't exist...and never did. I asked Jim Wangers personally about it last year at VMP and he told me this was a tall tale that grew out of what he originally envisioned the Can-Am to be (which was a '77 version of The Judge).

Every LeMans Sport Coupe sent to Motortown was white...and every Can-Am that left Motortown was white. End of story.

[billygoatii]

I agree, only white ones came from the factory. The red one in the picture looks nicely done. I have never seen or heard of it before. There is a yellow CanAm clone out there too, but it is not done as nicely as this red one. (I am still looking for a manderin orange CanAm with a blue interior )
Scott W. has a CanAm that someone painted black.

[Pontiacdaver]

Originally Posted by Brian Baker

Those purported 6 Mandarin Orange or Carousel Red Can-Am's don't exist...and never did. I asked Jim Wangers personally about it last year at VMP and he told me this was a tall tale that grew out of what he originally envisioned the Can-Am to be (which was a '77 version of The Judge).

Every LeMans Sport Coupe sent to Motortown was white...and every Can-Am that left Motortown was white. End of story.

The only Can Am I've owned, and that was about 25 years ago was .............
.......White. I do remember the 1982 article in HP Pontiac that 77 Canamman referred to showing a picture of an Orange one, I just assumed it was a pilot car, and was never released to the public. If any have shown up since, I'd say they were home-brewed. Daver

[bastard]

So I guess you could call this red one a spray Can Am

[75ga]

The red is not as flashy as the white, just doesn't stand out as much. I agree until someone can provide proof that another colour was offered it never happened.

[CanAm1977]

Did someone say ...Blue Interior

[billygoatii]

I know about that one Rick, but it doesn't have the orange exterior to go with it.

[Brian Baker]

Originally Posted by billygoatii

Scott W. has a CanAm that someone painted black.

I am very familiar with this car. It was owned by a woman (last name was either Chalker or Whitaker) that lived on the street around the block from my parents house when I was in high school. This was 1983-1985. She wasn't married but was living with some guy...I'm guessing she was ealry-mid 20's at the time. It was black then, with American Racing chrome 5-spoke rims. The decals were gone but the spoiler and shaker were still there. It sat low to the ground too. We used to call it "Darth Vader" because it had such a low, sinister look to it. One of the things I remember most about it was how she treated the car, which wasn't well. I remember standing outside waiting for the school bus on cold winter mornings and she would hop in the car to leave for work, start it up, rev it a few seconds, and take off like a bat out of hell.

This car was instrumental in why my father purchased a Can Am in 1990. I remember him asking me what that car was and me telling him I think it was a Can Am, but neither of us had ever seen a picture of one from what I recall. In 1990, my father, while out for a Sunday drive found one sitting in someone's side yard in Pasadena. We drove down together the next weekend to look at it, not knowing at the time it was for sale. 2 weeks and $1500 later, we were flat towing the car home. It hadn't run in 2 years, but ran when the owner parked it. 49,000 miles were showing on the clock, and the owner had documentation to prove it (he kept copious service records). We also gave him $750 for 2 complete sets of the stripe kit that he bought from a dealer back in 1979. Got it running, and she ran great (still does).

I was glad to see that "Darth Vader" survived, and that someone like Scott got it.

[77 Canamman]

I believe that this is the one....

[Brian Baker]

That's the one...she looked alot better than that back in 1983-84.

[billygoatii]

That is the black one I remember pics of too.

[Brian Baker]

Lisa Chalker...that was her name.