(first posted 12/19/2013) Last weekend, I winged out to Denver to spend some time with an old high school buddy. During my visit, I ran up to Fort Collins, Colorado to participate in a car club sponsored “Toys for Tots” event. One of the cars in the parking lot cried out for inclusion in Curbside Classics, but I’d forgotten my camera. Fortunately, my friend Anne Brinkman was kind enough to kelp out, so thank her for these shots.
The (GM) engine bay includes a visual clue telling us why this car is unique. The engine itself appears to be a Chevrolet small block, but it does not include a coat of Chevy orange paint. Instead, the block arrived coated in Pontiac blue.
On the fender, a call out indicates the displacement is 327 cubic inches, a popular Chevy size, but the badge itself does not look very Chevy.
Closing the hood, we see this Chevy small block and engine badge reside in and on a Full-sized Pontiac. The grille, sheet metal and wheels all seem normal, but the badge and side trim both seem a little strange.
Checking the rear nameplate, things suddenly seem a bit clearer. This Pontiac is a 1968 Parisienne, a French flavored import from Canada. Students of these cars can tell you that Canadian Pontiacs used Pontiac sheet metal, but included Chevrolet powertrains under the Poncho sheet metal
While there were a number of factors that led to this decision, here’s the condensed version- At the time these cars were built, Canadian tariffs required a high level of domestic content in their automobiles. Canadian sales volume did not justify a dedicated engine plant to build Pontiac engines. To deliver Pontiacs with locally produced (Canadian) engines, GM simply installed engines from their Chevy plant into Pontiac bodies.
Here’s a shot showing the unusual gills behind the front wheel. In addition, fans of the ’68 Pontiac will point out there’s an odd badge on the rear fender.
A close up of the badge (from the rear deck) adds more foreign flavor. Pontiac offered a US Catalina 2 + 2 in the mid-sixties, but dropped it for the ’68 model year. Evidently, the Canadian Pontiac factory had some leftover 2 + 2 badges, and they offered the Parisienne 2 + 2 for one more year.
I’m told this interior shot includes even more Chevy part numbers. In fact, the owner said the only Pontiac interior parts are the badges on the steering wheel, dash and door panel. All other parts are Chevy, installed at the factory (I know I’ve seen that shift handle in a number of Chevelles). Another example of parts-sharing designed to increase Canadian content for GM’s lower mid-priced models.
Even though I spotted this at a car event, you can see the car is a driver. The owner changed the paint color, and replaced some interior parts, but overall the car is pretty stock. I didn’t have a lot to say about this car, and did not dig too deeply into Parisienne history, but still wanted to share this unusual sighting with all our CC fans.
And that shifter was seen in a lot of Camaros, too
Also seen in ’68 Impalas, Chevrolet’s version of this car (I have one).
That 3rd pic of the front 3/4 view – my brain kept saying LeMans.
I think these cars also used shorter, perhaps Chevy based frames / wheelbases, so the proportions may be closer to the mid-size LeMans as well.
The Canadian 2+2 actually continued through 1970. The original “Astro-Flash” 327 would have been Chevy orange when installed. In Canada, Pontiac was marketed as a low-priced car with a model lineup that directly paralleled Chevy’s at essentially the same prices, and was extremely popular in the ’60s (No. 1 or 2 in sales). The cars used modified Pontiac sheetmetal to fit the shorter 119″ Chevy wheelbase.
Most of the car specific info I shared came from the owner, who was a Colorado local. Someone brought the car in the US, and he picked it up in Fort Collins.
While I was aware Canadian Pontiacs came with Chevy engines, I’m not familiar with all the details. I’ll leave that to the GM experts.
Shumack beat me to it . . . The dash, door panels and such were like U.S. Pontiacs, but the steering wheel, pedals, shifters, were Chevy based. Shumack is right that the engine blocks were the same Chevy orange as . . . . in Chevies.
My first up close with a Canadian Pontiac was on my San Rafael newspaper route. Somebody had a relative who drove all the way from Ontario was taking advantage of a mild California ’round Christmas day to wash the then-new ’73 Pontiac. Hood up, even as a 14 year old, with a Chevy Orange small block, I knew this was something different. Saw the badge on the lower fender “Laurentian” . . . . well, that was different.
Shortly after on a trip to SoCal in a gas station in Santa Barbara, I saw a four door hardtop Poncho with a Grand-Prix front end, taillights and a generic looking V-8 badge on the lower front fenders. “Grande Parisienne” . . .
Don’t forget Strato-Chiefs with Biscayne upholstery; Laurentians with Bel-Air seats . . . Parisiennes initially with a mix of Chevy Impala seat and panel upholstery and U.S. Pontiac bits and pieces. All the Canadian Chevies used Chevrolet steering columns, Chevy steering wheels, pedals, shifters, center consoles . . . and the ’61’-64 Canadian Chevy bodies had the deep-stamped trunkwell like a Chevrolet . . . and front clips shortened for the Chevy 119″ wheelbase . . . .
Those Pontiac Rally wheels aren’t correct on this.The factory ones in Canada were not offered until ’69 and were the ubiquitous 5-slot Chevy type. This and the blue-painted engine kind of stick in my craw.
That is an odd ball, not correct combo for this ’68 Oshawa car . . .
That steering wheel looks like it is straight out of my dad’s ’68 Impala. Not my dad’s wheel – found this on e-bay….
These sit on a Chevy frame too – so no wide track Pontiac here. Often (depending on the year) the US specification Pontiac was offered at the top end of the line up.
I always wondered….what year Pontiacs actually did have a wider track than their GM-cousins?
Saw a 1964 Canadian Pontiac ad . . . they featured all the Canadian and American models . . . which before the Auto Pact, the tariffs on Catalinas, Bonnevilles and Grand Prixs certainly put them in the luxury class.
The ’59-’64 Canadian Pontiacs do look a little strange sitting on the narrower, Chevy “X” frame chassis . . . ’59 and ’60 in particular; Canadian Ponchos look like they’re sitting on roller skates. The shortened front clip to accommodate the shorter Chevy 119″ spread certainly did not help either . . .
The only years that Pontiac had a significant difference in track width were ’59-’60. By ’61, the difference was much less, and by ’65 all the B-bodies were within fractions of each other, so the term “Wide-Track” had degenerated into a meaningless slogan.
Agreed somewhat, Roger. The U.S. Catalina/Ventura rode a 119″ wheelbase as did all the Canadian Pontiacs. The smaller A bodies did make the Canadian Pontiacs look not-so-roller-skatish, but the Chevy “X” frame did have some ‘tuck under” noticeable more in the real wheel wells when compared for a full-perimeter frame on the American Pontiacs. The shorter front clip for ’62-’64 is also apparent (for Canada).
The Canadian Pontiac proportions and details always look a bit off to Americans, shorter front clips, where the wheels fall in the wheelhouse. This ’64 Laurentian profile view illustrates that very well.
On family trips to the Canadian National Exhibition in 1962 and 1963, I was fascinated to see all the Canada-specific makes and models. The middle ’50’s Canadian Pontiacs with their short front clips were quite jarring. And those cars that looked like Fords which were Meteors, Mercurys named Monarchs, Plymouths with Dodge frontal styling, like an alternative universe just ninety miles from home!
What an interesting car. The breather is a later Pontiac unit…. The instrument panel is definitely Pontiac although the A/C control looks like it came out of a ’66 Oldsmobile. The domestic Pontiacs had that cool HVAC control that looked like the radio (two outboard knobs and the color-changing bar in the center).
There is my favorite automatic shifter of them all too: wow.
That resale red does not look good to me on this car though — hopefully it wasn’t sprayed over Verdoro Green: that would be a shame.
Junqueboi-
The owner said the car had been green, but was emphatic the current shade would remain after restoration.
I’m not sure the shade was Verdoro Green, but I’m also not a fan of the current color choice- It’s a little too exuberant for a full size car.
A few things about GM of Canada cars and colours built from 1946 through 1966 –
1. the colours in Canada were different from those in the U.S., and unique to GM of Canada, although many used U.S. colour names
2. all makes built by GM of Canada used the same colours. Thus an Olds 88 could be had in the same colours as the Chevrolet.
3. the Canadian market cars were painted in enamel, not lacquer, from 1946 to 1966.
4. in 1966 GM of Canada used lacquer on cars built for the U.S. The paint codes on enamel jobs used letters while the lacquer jobs had a “3” before the letter.
5. Chrysler Canada also used unique colours on its cars before the 1960’s and even used U.S. GM colours before WW II.
I agree, I’m usually a big fan of red but that shade just doesn’t look right on that car. It’s not just the size either, it’s the style. It doesn’t fit.
The rear overhang seems shorter than what I remember on a ’68 Cat. Even though the Parisienne used Pontiac sheet metal were the external dimensions the same as United States Catalina? I’m not sure about the 1968 model year Pontiacs but in previous years the Bonneville had a longer wheelbase and more rear overhang than the Catalina for example.
My father had a 1964 Catalina with the Ventura trim option. It was obvious there was more sheet metal behind the rear wheel than on a comparable Impala and the same year Bonneville had even more than the Catalina.
IIRC “Plodges” from the ’50s had the same dimensions as U. S. Plymouths even though they sported Dodge “faces.”
The front clip is the same as the US car. The wheelbase is 119″, same as a Chevy, so the difference is in the rear quarters.
Our growing family used to vacation in the Laurentians each summer, until the economy soured in the 2000’s and our family-oriented resort couldn’t get enough Americans to come North and spend dollars. The resort was ultimately torn down after a 100-year or so history of providing Quebec-style vacations to travelers from both sides of the border.
I recall seeing my first Chevriac on a side street – a beautiful green ’68 or so Chevelle with a (then-weird looking) Pontiac nose. Virtually identical outside otherwise, with different badges of course.
You’re thinking about a Beaumont. Think Chevelle with a Tempest/LeMans/GTO (US) dashboard, seat pleats like a U.S. mid size “A” Pontiac . . . and of course, Canadian Chevy chassis/powertrain. Oddly, after the auto-pact was signed, Beaumonts were assembled in Michigan and then exported to Canada. I believe 1971 model year was when the “A”: body shell game ceased to be, although “B” body cars continued well into the 1980s (when the U.S. got the Parisienne for MY 1983 and an ’81 Pontiac sheetmetal quarter panel revival for the ’85 on up Parisiennes. . . . )
That’s it! I thought it was odd, because IIRC wasn’t Beaumont a name used on Chevy vans?
That was Beauville
1969 was the last year for the Beaumont. Although the Laurentian and Parisienne names continued for 1971 and beyond, 1970 was the last year that the Canadian Pontiacs were on the Chevy chassis and had any meaningful differences from the US models. From 1971 on, they were on the longer US wheelbase, and used a mix of Chevy and Pontiac engines. Parts catalogs would differentiate them as 350 (Orange block) and 350 (Blue block) for example.
There were still some notable differences after 1970; I recall seeing 1975-76 Parisienne four door post sedans, whereas the comparable Bonneville and Grand Ville/Bonneville Broughams were only sold as hardtops with the opera windows in the US.
1969 was the final Beaumont.
Whenever we saw one my freind used to say:
Look at that Bow-tiful Boo-mont.
We had a 1969 Beaumont Custom–it was the last year. We also had a 68 Mercury M100, also the last year.
All A body Beaumonts were built in Oshawa from 1964 to 1969. For 1970 the LeMans (built in Canada) replaced the Beaumont in Canadian Pontiac-Buick showrooms.
The Acadian (based on the Chevy II / Nova) was built in Oshawa for model years 1962 to 1967, and then in Michigan from 1968 to mid-1971. The Acadian was replaced by the Pontiac Ventura II.
The third Canadian Pontiac, the Vega-based Pontiac Astre, was introduced for 1973. The Astre was introduced to the U.S. market in 1975.
For 1976 the Pontiac Acadian was introduced, this time based on the Chevette. The Acadian 1+1 was the Pontiac version of the Chevette Scooter.
1981 was the last true U.S. B body Pontiac. For 1982 the Canadian Pontiac reverted to being a Chevrolet with a Pontiac grille and taillights. May, 1983 saw the Parisienne being sold in US Pontiac showrooms and 1984 Parisiennes being built at Fairfax, Kansas. The last Parisienne built in Canada was a 1984 model. 1988 Parisiennes were built at Lakewood, Georgia, with the last Parisienne sedan built in December, 1988 and the last Safai wagon in June, 1989.
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that was Grey Rock ?
It definitely did not help that, after 9/11, we U.S.ians suddenly needed passports to visit Canada…
Pontiac Parisiennes were sold in the UK at Lendrums the London GM dealer in the 60s.As a kid no trip to London went without a visit to Lendrums.Just to confuse you even more there was also the Acadian another Cheviac from Canada.I remember many new RHD examples,not sure if they were factory or aftermarket jobs.I like this car a lot
Oshawa, Ontario did assemble RHD models for direct export to the UK; other RHD’s were complete or partial knock-down kits exported for local assembly to Australia (by Holden’s), New Zealand, South Africa (when S.A. was still part of the Commonwealth). . . . .
Thanks Billy
I saw a 62 Impala wagon with a Pontiac RHD instrument panel. The car was almost new at the time and was driven by a military officer. I assumed he had bought it for export to the UK or other RHD country.
And, in ’65 thru ’68, they used a mirrored ’65 Chevy instrument panel for RHD Chevies AND Pontiacs . .
Indeed, RHD Canadian-built Pontiacs were sold here from about 1959 to maybe 1970ish. Maybe earlier, not later AFAIK. As Billy points out, they all used the ’65 Chev instrument panel from ’65-68. So I guess that means that as well as Plodges, New Zealand got Pontolets! EDIT: I just spotted Bryce’s Cheviac comment below, another good name for ’em!
Its a Cheviac nothin unusual there we have many of them from Canada and OZ and local assembly
Love it. In the ’60s Pontiac sometimes sold better than Chevrolet here in the Great White North. “Cheviacs”, Beaumonts and Acadians were probably the most common vehicles on the road here then. There were some interesting combinations too, given that almost all of Chevrolet’s high performance engines were available in our Pontiacs.
Not many were built that way, most had 6 cylinders or 283s with Powerglide, but examples exist with 348 tri powers, dual quad 409s and 396/427/454 factory installs.
By the late ’60s you were far more likely to find a 327 or 350 in a Pontiac than in the equivalent Chevrolet, as the Pontiac carried a little more prestige for not much extra money. Convertibles were rare as hen’s teeth even then though. Great find!
I’d bet that the 348s/409s/396s/427s (the former two) were rare because of:
1) cost
2) they came from Tonawanda, New York
3) had to pay the tariff (pre-auto-pact)
4) cost.
They were all pretty rare, we’re a frugal bunch. I did run across the odd 396 in my junkyard scrounging days and I knew of a factory 1970 454 convertible in my hometown back when. 348s and 409s I’ve only ever seen at shows, I’d imagine the 409 production was maybe a few dozen a year.
I’m sure they weren’t cheap!
Very, very few big blocks ever made it to Canada pre-Auto-Pact. After 1967 they were more available, but like tiredoldmechanic said, we were a frugal bunch in those days, so few were around, but not these days, as we are now some of the most indebted people in the world.
Here’s where the bulk of what few 454s were sold ended up. This is a typical rural Saskatchewan setup, one black & white, one unmarked,and one modest brick structure that doubled as their living quarters.
Close-up.
I don’t think too many folks were going to outrun these 454 Strato-Chiefs . . . .
Wow, I don’t think I ever saw a marked Pontiac RCMP car in Alberta back in the day. Chevrolet Biscaynes were certainly in great abundance with highway patrol cars using the big blocks. Municipal marked cars used smaller V8 engines.
I’ve seen a couple of 427 2+2’s (’67s and ’68s), but the rarest was likely a 454 1970 Laurentian two-door hardtop – I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of one.
Alright Dave, so I flaked on you at the LA Auto Show – then you come up to my ‘hood and repay the favor not three weeks later! Nice car, I’ll have to keep my eyes open for that one…
Sorry-
I discovered I could fly out for $198 (round trip), so I bought tickets a week prior to the trip.That didn’t leave a lot of time for planning.
I’ll be in Steamboat this June, but I’m not planning on making the trip over to the Front Range. However, you could come up for the show (the Rocky Mountain Mustang Roundup, with 500 + Mustangs and Fords). D/S
No worries, just joking. Really, 500 Mustangs/Fords in Steamboat? That could be a fun day trip out there, I will mark it down and see what else I have at that time. Thanks!
If anyone cares to compare this car with the U.S. 68 Pontiac convertible, I found one a couple of years ago, even in a matching red convertible with the top down.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/uncategorized/curbside-classic-1968-pontiac-catalina-lets-go-wide-tracking/
Great to see one of these here in CC. I lived in Niagara Falls, Ontario during my junior high years 1968-70 so I saw many Canadian Pontiacs firsthand.
IIRC, someone across the street from the junior high…actually “senior elementary” school I attended, had athen-brand-new ’69 Grand Prix, the same car sold in the States. In Canada, this would’ve been the first Grand Prix, as previous years when the line was based on the full-size body, were called Grande Parisiennes.
The actual trim levels in the Great White North were a little deceiving. The top-of-line Parisienne, most years, would be a mix of Bonneville and Catalina cues. The mid-line Laurentian would then fall below a Catalina and the Strato-Chief was the Chevy Biscayne of Canadian Pontiacs.
Did it have a 428 in it? If it did, I’ll bet he got into a lot of arguments with hosers who swore that only Ford made a 428.
FWIW US models were offered in Canada most years, it’s just that the take rate was very low. Here’s an ad for a ’62 that mentions both varieties.
A ’63.
The owner of the local service station had a 1970 Catalina 2 door hardtop he bought new. I didn’t think much of it at the time as a 10 year old, but looking back, it was somewhat unusual.
First time I was aware of Cheviacs was in Navy Submarine School. A classmate was a Canadian Forces Petty Officer from Niagara Falls, Ontario who was driving a pontiac with a chev six. It think it was old enough that it was a 235. Beaumonts seemed to keep popping up after that till I left New England in about 70.
Remember the Trans-Am racing series from the late 1970s, featuring the then-new ponycars? The Chevrolet Camaro Z28 was the GM setup, but Pontiac wanted in on the action, too. So they raced a Firebird, and sneaked it past the sanctioning board as being derived from a production car by saying it was based on a CANADIAN Firebird, thus using the Chevrolet engine, transmission and brakes, essentially a Camaro Z28 with Pontiac front bumper, hood and taillights. The team owner was a Canadian, Terry Godsall. Jerry Titus came over from the Shelby Mustang team to drive it.
Pontiac had pulled a fast one. Firebirds sold in Canada were not “Cheviacs” but were real Pontiacs, imported from the USA and had the Pontiac engine. But the Firebird team got away with the ruse for one year while they developed the Pontiac mechanicals for the next year. Unfortunately Titus crashed at Road America in 1970 and was killed; and that was the end of that.
I believe that Trans-Am had an American Pontiac engine in it, but destroked to 303 cubes (to get it in under the 305 less rule). . . . . I’m sure they did say it WAS ‘Canadian’ . . . if they’d looked under the hood, the heads would’ve given it away it was an American Pontiac engine . . .
hmm… same car I wonder? http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/barn-find-canadian-muscle-a-1968-pontiac-parisienne-convertible/
No-
The current owner indicated our car had been sitting at a house in Fort Collins, Colorado for about ten years, and this car is a small block, not a big block.
I own this car…., its ALL chevy cept for dash and body!!!!!!!!
RHD Oshawa plant 1 built export Pontiac, Dash (B70) 1965 rhd Impala.
Built from Canadian CKD in South Africa
1968 RHD “Grande Parisienne 4 door saloon,Dash (B70) rhd Impala.
1964 Oshawa plant 1 built export RHD Pontiac Parisienne convertible dash rhd 1961 Pontiac.Car sold new in UK.
Pontiac Beaumont GTA sport coupe built in Chile from Canadian CKD kit.
1968 RHD Pontiac Beaumont 4 door hard top, built in South Africa from Canadian CKD Kit.
Hi i’m looking for parts for my 1968 pontiac parisienne 2+2 i need
1) ignition switch 10 prong
2)front spoiler i think its called ( place where front signal lights and licence
plates goes)
3) door window rubber striping
If you can help me find some or all parts please contact me by e-mail.Thanks
woody_sk2000@yahoo.ca
That rear license plate frame is completely wrong for that car (the word ‘Official’ is at the top of the frame not shown in the picture, for those who may have never seen it before)!
Now if it was a black Fleetwood Series 75 OTOH . . .
Our family had a 73 Laurentien, by that time they were exactly like US cars–it even had a 350 Pontiac engine.
This sort of car was already on borrowed time when it was built; the Auto Pact was signed in January 1965 and went into effect in time for the ’66 model year. Of course, you can’t turn around a manufacturing system overnight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_Automotive_Products_Agreement
> The grille, sheet metal and wheels all seem normal,
From what I understand, the sheet metal looks the same as that used in American Pontiacs, but actually was slightly different and not interchangeable to fit the Chevy frames and body understructure, which often had a wheelbase a few inches shorter than the corresponding US Pontiacs. GM went to shared frames on their B and C body big cars starting in 1965 so not sure whether they still needed specific Canadian Pontiac fenders from then on; I’m fairly certain that by the downsized ’77s the Parisienne and Bonneville shared all sheetmetal. Inside, that’s clearly the same basic dash as American Ponchos used, but not sure about the rest of the interior trim.
The taillights on these always caught my eye.
It seemed that the straight line with the downslope on each end was meant to evoke a bird flapping its wings in flight.
If you ever follow a late model Audi SUV nowadays, particularly at night, you are likely to get that same impression. Whether it was meant to leave that same impression is unknown to me, but I can’t help seeing that downslope on these today.