My father had always liked cars, but was never a car nut like me. His appreciation for good automotive styling I think was usually clear in the kinds of cars that he owned. Quality cars were also important to him, but like most car owners a few bad apples did come and go. His ' 69 Fiat Spyder was one of those poorly made cars, as was the '82 Volkswagen Rabbit he and my mom briefly owned. Of course in those days, you were likely better off with a big American car for reliability, than one of those tempting, and economical little foreign jobs. It's too bad that I was too young to remember this '63 Pontiac Parisienne, as the photo showing my one year old brother means that this picture was taken around 1976.
I guess this (just an old car) was in pretty good condition for a 13 year old. Though the paint was faded and rust started showing on the bottom of its doors, the Canadian Pontiac was still straight, and still had an air of elegance in her. Never mind that my father put his old '66 Mustang hubcaps on it, the Parisienne appeared very durable. Dad said it was a good car, especially with that Chevy 283 cui. V8. Notice how its a little strange that the doors are a darker shade of this pink fuchsia colour than other body panels. Another observation looking at this vintage photo I made, is that the Poncho has a cover on the front seat (typical of those days). I imagine that was probably done by my mother's uncle “Lucien”, the original owner.
My father (Jimmy to his friends and family) looooved a bargain, and when he saw that this relative's Parisienne was for sale, how could he pass it up for only $200? Apparently mom thinks that car also didn't have too many miles on it.
As with it's American counterpart, 1963 Pontiacs were totally redone inside and out. All those groovy straight lines of the '61 and '62 Pontiacs were now a simple and smooth body, compared say with a Chevrolet of the same year. It's a bit different in styling that only the Parisienne (and Bonneville equivalent) featured a thick bodyside chrome trim that ended at mid section of the body. It's much easier to differentiate the costly Parisienne from the cheaper Laurentian, and Strato-Chief models. These two models looked much more alike in appearance than the Parisienne. I would even dare say that 1963 Parisiennes were easily distinguishable from the other full-size Ponchos, compared to most other years they were produced.
Although the 230 cube straight-six cylinder, and the 283 cui. V8 motors were Canadian favorites, even more powerful V8s were available for all full-size '63 models. Unlike an American Bonneville, Catalina, or say Star Chief, our beloved Canadian Ponchos were also sold (in limited numbers at extra cost) with a 327 cui. V8, and a big 409 of at least 400 thundering horses! If any of you readers out there have any Canadian Pontiac thats original with that engine, send a picture here to old autos. I don't have a doubt that it would spike the interest of many like moi.
I find it interesting to note that when it comes to '63 Parisiennes, even though GM sold tons of them, there seems to be a heck of a lot more two and four-door hardtops, and convertibles around, then four-door sedans like my dad's here. I only found one example on line, while the rest were as I just mentioned above. Although I find the '64 full-size models to be equally beautiful, I still prefer the '63's styling. I'm attracted to the styling at the rear, especially the taillights flush with the rear bumper. Of course my dad having owned one of these also confirms my interest in '63 Pontiacs even more, especially our Canadian models.
As you may or may not know, I was lucky enough to Venture to southern California in August 2006. I had the up-most pleasure in seeing many old cars, but quite a few old trucks as well. In my one week stay in lovely San Francisco, this '72 Ford was obviously still hard at work, and man did it ever show! Where I'm from here in Montreal, you would probably never see such a vehicle still in use. Not just because rust eats away at our vehicles, but because Montreal is a very hip city, (and probably too hip at times) and this old truck would be just too ugly to see for most folks. I was glad to have captured this Ford on film, as it looked like an ancient relic rolling past the more modern, but still old Mazda R-X7.
My father had always liked cars, but was never a car nut like me. His appreciation for good automotive styling I think was usually clear in the kinds of cars that he owned. Quality cars were also important to him, but like most car owners a few bad apples did come and go. His ' 69 Fiat Spyder was one of those poorly made cars, as was the '82 Volkswagen Rabbit he and my mom briefly owned. Of course in those days, you were likely better off with a big American car for reliability, than one of those tempting, and economical little foreign jobs. It's too bad that I was too young to remember this '63 Pontiac Parisienne, as the photo showing my one year old brother means that this picture was taken around 1976.
I was lucky to get a contract last fall to paint a mural for a car collector in Laval.
