I felt it was time to profile an early Canadian Poncho and feel Al Taylor's '55 Laurentian is the epitome of what those of you who were lucky enough to be alive in the 50's would have seen in many Canadian driveways. Not only is Al's Laurentian beautiful to look at, it has the reliability to go the distance. I'll let Al tell the rest of the story:
"This car was on ebay in Feb 2005. I emailed the vendor for some more detailed pictures of the car but none were sent. I then emailed again and asked for his phone number but by the time I got his number the auction was over and fortunately nobody bid on the car. I phoned him and he had to get his son to email me pictures while we talked for a 1/2 hour about the car. He guaranteed it was an original paint cat except for the white two tone which was added by Dickson's Motors in Winnipeg in 1955. After getting the numbers from the data plate and checking them we made a deal.
It was after midnight and I went upstairs and asked my wife if she would like to go to Newfoundland because I had bought the 55. She agreed so we flew from Timmins to St.Johns the Sat. before Fathers Day. On Fathers Day the owner picked us up at our hotel and brought us to Paradise to get the 55. I had made arrangement to use a friends the Bartlett family's garage in Marysvale to check the car out so after filling the 55 we drove about 45 minutes to get there. The car ran great and everything functioned properly.
The Bartlett family were the greatest hosts and extended their hospitality to us as though we were part of their family. I spent two days in the garage checking brakes, wheel cylinders, front wheel bearings etc getting the car ready to tour Nfld and for the 2000 mile ride home. The car came with a new carpet set so I removed the seats and installed the new carpets. The seat bolts after a couple of turns with a wrench removed with my fingers. After the seats were out and the old carpet removed the floor was perfect not a spot of rust. I was so happy.
We than toured Nfld. took the ferry from Argentia to North Sydney toured PEI, Cape Breton ,Cabot Trail, and many other places on the way home. Everywhere we went people stopped asked about the car and a lot of people took pictures of it.
My future plans for the car are to keep it as original as possible, and only repair it as necessary. I plan on installing the correct back up lights and paint dividers and a few minnor items. The paint does have a few chips and scratches but it only proves it is an original car.
Thank you for using my 55 as the feature car as I was very excited when you asked and I hope people enjoy looking at a true survivor 1955 Pontiac Laurentian.
Thanks for the positive comments. Todd ,I have had emails from Newfoundland to British Columbia and as far as South Africia ! Your Canadian Poncho website is being used all over Canada . I hope the membership continually grows at a rapid pace. Thanks again Al
My wife Barbara. is from New Brunswick, so this is the "atta boy' from there! The more I see that car, the more I love it and a post car too.. wow..
How about from PEI ... you have a fantastic car Al. A beautiful original ... just the way I like them!
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Again, beautiful car, love the colors, might have picked them for mine but tried to stay true to original color. Beautiful scenery to set the car off as well.