It's Beaumont feature time again and Bob Cooper's 67 396 Sport Deluxe is a fantastic example of good ol' Canadian Muscle. Bob is one of the lucky guys who has the same car he bought new in '67. It slipped from his fingers once. I doubt that will happen again! Here's his story:


Model 73817 Sport Deluxe Two Dr Coupe

Engine 396 CID 325 HP 4bbl Econo Jet V-8

Options    Descriptions

A01        Glass: Tinted All Windows
A51        Seat: Front Bucket
C50        Rear Window Defogger Blower Type
D55        Front Compartment Floor Console
D99        Special Two-Tone Paint, Moulding
F40        Heavy Duty Front & Rear Suspension
J50        Brakes: Vacuum Power
M40        Transmission: 3-speed Automatic (THM 400)
N40        Power Steering
PW8         Tire: F70-14 PR Red Stripe
P02        Simulated Wire Wheel Trim Cover




When you own a car as long as I have owned my Beaumont there are lots of stories to tell but I will keep it short for interest sake.  Im actually the first and fourth owner.  I bought the Beaumont new in the spring of 1967 from Stampede Pontiac Buick in Calgary.  List price was $4323 and I paid $3600.  I sold the Beaumont two years latter and the second owner only kept her for a couple of years before he traded her for a new Cutlass.  She didnt stay on the lot long however.  The second owner happened to mentioned to a friend that he had bought a new car and his friend asked what he did with the Beaumont.  When he heard what happened he immediately went to the dealer and bought it.  She stayed with the third owner until a wave of nostalgia came over me in 1975 and I decided to see if I could find a used Beaumont.  I soon found one advertised in the local paper and went to check it out.  It was a blue 1967 that the owner said was a local car.  It wasnt until I asked about her previous owners that I discovered that this was my original Beaumont that the second owner had painted blue.  Im sure I paid too much, but I had to have this car.  So now Im the first and fourth owner.




Over the years I have used her and abused her but in the spring of 2003 my best friend Greg Mooney and I dragged her out to Chris Heighton in Beisker and gave him carte blanche.  Chris is one of premier auto-restoration experts in this part of the world and he poured some of his blood and sweat onto her sheet metal.  She was torn apart and given a complete frame off restoration.



The engine and transmission were rebuilt to factory stock.  The only mechanical changes were to replace the old steering box with a new variable ratio one, replace the front end bushings with polyurethane and swap the rear end to a 3.55 posi from the stock 3.07 non-posi.  The only cosmetic changes were to add new kick panels with built in speakers and two speakers in the rear package shelf plus a stereo in the glove box.  Chris painted her the original color, Granada Gold.


Other than the aforementioned mechanicals the only thing that is different are the hub caps.  Someone stole the original hub caps before I took delivery and the dealer replaced them with ones from a Grande Parisienne.  I liked the look so I have left them that way ever since.




My wife and I enjoy taking the Beaumont out for drives and last year we went to our first car show, the one in Radium.  It was so much fun we went again this year. I have plans to swap out the TH400 for one of GMs overdrive transmissions so that I can enjoy cruising the highways.  The 3:55 rear end is little too tight for 70 MPH.  After that the only thing I want to add is a set of red line wide oval tires.