So we are well on our way with the restoration of our 64 Parisienne Safari and have found a few things while looking through photos of other cars that we cant answer.
1. Found the build sheet ... does not say anything about an option specific to the stainless ribs on the floor. Were they standard? I see photos of some without
2. All Canadian Pontiacs I have seen do not have wood grain on the dash. Ours had die cut vinyl wood inlay and not painted underneath and not an American dash as its different around the column.
3. All our pillar trim is chrome not interior trim colour. The car looked like an unmolested original interior and the chrome weathering was typical with the rest of the interior. Again I am not seeing others with chrome?
Anyone with thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated mainly for curiosity reasons. Why or how come we are noticing this? Built June of 64. (one fellow we spoke to said GM expieremented with it was at time? Is this the reason?)Thanks
I've been looking at 64 Parisiennes...and other Canadian Pontiacs since Dec 1963.....and never seen any with wood grain dash trim...nor have I seen bright inner window trim on a sedan or wagon...HT and 'vert,...yes...
I'd say somebody put the veneer on a rechromed dash insert.....Can you tell if insert has been removed...or replated?
Do you have the GM docs for the car? If so is it an early build date? Perhaps a few early cars were built this way. Or, even more interestingly perhaps it was a pilot car?
Its a late build June 64 and I figured that is someone just put mac-tac on the dash but it was dried out and cracking in places so we removed it with the thoughts that it shouldnt be there any ways but it looked die cut. If someone put it on they cut it out like a machine the corners were cut perfect and all the holes were round. Definitely not re chromed and defiantly no paint remenance behind the fake wood.
As far as the pillar trim being chromed - we began to think that someone had perhaps chromed them. But they matched the wear of the car and would have had to have been done back in the day when the car was almost new to be in the condition some of the pieces were. We had some re chromed and wanted to replace some they were so bad. Everyone we called said they have none in chrome and claim they have never seen them in chrome
now I have been told that gm had been known to try things the previous model year to see what thinks may look like for the next. Do 65 wagons have chrome pillar trim and wood on their dash? Our car was not orde by anyone it was built and shipped to a holding yard in Saskatchewan and then we loose the paper trail until 1990
-- Edited by Urban_suburban on Sunday 25th of February 2018 08:42:38 AM
And these chrome pillars would be unique to the post cars, 2 door, 4 door, and wagon, so not like they used up some parts from a convertible or 2 door Parisienne? Maybe they ran out of trim and got some from say Olds, Buick, which I'd guess were chrome, to finish out the year?
__________________
63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Interesting, I just went through a ton of Google images and Brochures from the Old Car Manual Project and can find no evidence of chrome pillar mouldings on any 63-64 Wagons.
This includes 63-64 Canadian and USA, Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac wagons, all lines. Perhaps more poking around might turn something up.
Strange that any previous owner would have cared that much to go to the trouble and expense to chrome all of that trim. But you never know. Maybe they were involved in or connected to the plating business, and did it for free and fun.
Regardless, you sure have one beaut of a wagon.
__________________
65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
I think your best hope of getting accurate answers to your questions would be the final edition of the 1964 parts catalogue (Canadian version, not a U.S. version) and also to find the dealer order guide and data book for 1964, again also Canadian and not U.S. The parts catalogue will show if there was a version of the instrument panel with a woodgrain insert, or show the part number for the insert itself, as well as whether or not there were painted or plated door trims, along with their part numbers.
In the case of the data book, it will (or should) specify if the trim strips in the back were standard or optional alone, or as part of a package. Same with the door trim.
