How Rare are the 65 L79 Beaumonts

canadian l79 · Addicted!

How Rare are the 65 L79 Beaumonts

65 SD L79 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Joe, how is the red one coming along? Any more pictures?

canadian l79 · Addicted!

Hopefully should be finished sometime in July. Will post pictures then.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Let's talk rare.

Joe sent me some photocopies of an article on the Beaumont Cheetah. Very good reading that appeared in the December newletter of the Canadian Classic Chevelles and Beaumonts Club newsletter.

There is a copy of an original Conroy Pontiac Buick newspaper advertisement. I tried scanning it but it is a copy of a copy of a copy so it's not very good. I will try at my office tomorrow again. The ad has photo of a GTO and under it is says:

                                       CHEETAH - GTO - JUDGE
                                  Visit our High Performance Centre
        With a complete stock of GM High Performance Parts & Accessories
COMING SOON: 3 ONLY CAN-AM 302 FIREBIRDS (3 WEEK DELIVERY)

Now I suspect those 302 powered Firebirds are pretty darn rare. The point of this is it proves small block Firebirds existed, just like George Z sort of told us a while back.

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:49:28 PM

swamper · Addicted!

Beaumont Cheetah interesting never heard of this...

I sold my dad's 1968 Firbird Comanche about 10 years ago to a guy who's plans were to do a full restore back to original. I did some reseach on the car before selling it.
It turned out there was only 10 Comanche firebird's in 1968.

Of the 10 made I could only find 2 left one being my dads (rag) the other being in nova scotia (hard top)

Pretty neat reseaching his car and realizing how rare it really was... To bad he didn't keep it I would imagine it would have went to one of his sons. ;)

These cars came with a 400 sb, console, special features where gold leather interior, and these strange rubber boots that sat inside the trunk. The theory behind these boots was to keep it straight when you hammered it out of the hole shot. They looked like big air ride shocks best way I can describe them.

rabbit64cs · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

""These cars came with a 400 sb, console, special features where gold leather interior, and these strange rubber boots that sat inside the trunk. The theory behind these boots was to keep it straight when you hammered it out of the hole shot. They looked like big air ride shocks best way I can describe them.""

or 400 American Pontiac??

rubber boots were Hydraulic filled snubbers to reduce the harmonic vibration in convertibles, referred to as '****tail shakers'

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Comanches were 400 American Pontiac that's for sure

Goderich Square July 18th,09 023.jpg

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:27:48 PM

swamper · Addicted!

Interesting you guys know more about it then me... From what I was told 5 dealers in Southern ONT in 1968 each took 2 units right off the factory floor.
They then customized it with there special features producing a total of 10 cars for that year. (5 rag tops and 5 hard tops)

At that point they then put emblems on ram air scoops saying Comanche. That's all I really know, at the time I sold it for my dad, the guy that purchased it did the research as well and pretty much confirmed what I had found out.

Rabbit your right I could not remember exactly what they did but now you mention it that sorta makes me recall that it was a harmonic thing....

-- Edited by swamper on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:21:06 PM

-- Edited by swamper on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:24:38 PM

swamper · Addicted!

I do recall that the speedo show 160 mph or or 170 mph... I believe my dad had it up to 145 mph back in the 70's with the rag down of course lol....
I'm sure I was in the back in car seat that could be why i like speed... jj

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

The car I posted pictures of was spotted in Goderich ON. Swamper did you sell the car in Manitoba?

PS: Speedo went to 160 MPH

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:28:24 PM

swamper · Addicted!

Yes I did and it went to Alberta from there the restore was taking place in BC but I lost the new owner's email address so I have not got any updates in a while... To bad hopefully he shows up at my dads some day. I know my dad would appreciate seeing it one more time.

-- Edited by swamper on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:27:21 PM

swamper · Addicted!

Talk to you tomorrow I have to call it a night. That being said I will take some pictures of my 67 beaumont... Still restoring but hopefully someday she will be showroom again. ;)

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I'm just thinking how many can exist today. The photo car is totally restored. Do you think your dad's car could have ended up in Ontario. A lot of western cars end up here because Ontario cars rust away.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

73SC wrote:

Let's talk rare.

Joe sent me some photocopies of an article on the Beaumont Cheetah. Very good reading that appeared in the December newletter of the Canadian Classic Chevelles and Beaumonts Club newsletter.

There is a copy of an original Conroy Pontiac Buick newspaper advertisement. I tried scanning it but it is a copy of a copy of a copy so it's not very good. I will try at my office tomorrow again. The ad has photo of a GTO and under it is says:

CHEETAH - GTO - JUDGE
Visit our High Performance Centre
With a complete stock of GM High Performance Parts & Accessories
COMING SOON: 3 ONLY CAN-AM 302 FIREBIRDS (3 WEEK DELIVERY)

Now I suspect those 302 powered Firebirds are pretty darn rare. The point of this is it proves small block Firebirds existed, just like George Z sort of told us a while back.

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:49:28 PM

Is the idea with the 302 cars that GM installed the engines or Conroy did it?

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

rabbit64cs wrote:

rubber boots were Hydraulic filled snubbers to reduce the harmonic vibration in convertibles, referred to as '****tail shakers'

Yep, oil-filled c.ocktail shakers.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Carl Stevenson wrote:

73SC wrote:

Let's talk rare.

Joe sent me some photocopies of an article on the Beaumont Cheetah. Very good reading that appeared in the December newletter of the Canadian Classic Chevelles and Beaumonts Club newsletter.

There is a copy of an original Conroy Pontiac Buick newspaper advertisement. I tried scanning it but it is a copy of a copy of a copy so it's not very good. I will try at my office tomorrow again. The ad has photo of a GTO and under it is says:

CHEETAH - GTO - JUDGE
Visit our High Performance Centre
With a complete stock of GM High Performance Parts & Accessories
COMING SOON: 3 ONLY CAN-AM 302 FIREBIRDS (3 WEEK DELIVERY)

Now I suspect those 302 powered Firebirds are pretty darn rare. The point of this is it proves small block Firebirds existed, just like George Z sort of told us a while back.

-- Edited by 73SC on Monday 14th of June 2010 11:49:28 PM

Is the idea with the 302 cars that GM installed the engines or Conroy did it?

Carl it says Coming Soon - 3 week delivery. would seem to me they were being delivered that way, therefore GM Canada was doing it.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Ah, ok. I took that to mean time to do conversions.

Interesting...

swamper · Addicted!

73SC wrote:

I'm just thinking how many can exist today. The photo car is totally restored. Do you think your dad's car could have ended up in Ontario. A lot of western cars end up here because Ontario cars rust away.

I believe my dad picked the car up in 1970 or 1971, if I remember right now it was a used dealer ship in Thunder Bay that was selling it. My dad garaged and held on to it up until late 90's early 2000's. THe guy who purchased it was from Alberta so the car went that direction. I know he was going all original so the car was a rag top with a very dark forest green paint job with a light tan/green rag top. I was told there was one other hardtop left Red in color and somewhere in nova scotia but I couldn't confirm it a 100%. The one in the picture has the same markings it had comanche on the hood and on the back end.

68sd · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Grant Hamilton Motors -Montreal
City Pontiac Buick -Toronto
Surgenor Motors -Ottawa

Grant Hamilton Commanche
http://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/forum.spark?aBID=118110&p=3&topicID=33033386

http://www.firebirdgallery.com/1st%20Gen%20Images/69fb41.2.jpg

http://www.firebirdgallery.com/1st%20Gen%20Images/69fb41.3.jpg

http://www.firebirdgallery.com/1st%20Gen%20Images/69fb41.1.jpg

http://www.firebirdgallery.com/1st%20Gen%20Images/69fb41.4.jpg

-- Edited by 68sd on Tuesday 15th of June 2010 09:21:55 AM

-- Edited by 68sd on Tuesday 15th of June 2010 09:29:33 AM

swamper · Addicted!

Very cool the 69 was much like the 68 except no side vents on the front fenders. 68 didn't have that or the one my dad had didn't have it...

swamper · Addicted!

I have some old pictures of that car somewhere now man if I find em I'll scan them up...!

eeluddy · Uber Guru

The Comanche from Seaforth was originally from Montreal. The 302 Firebirds have been talked about for many years. They were supposed to be used for TransAm racing. As everyone knows the 301.7 Chev (Z-28) engine was a stronger runner than the 301 Pontiac engine in competition.
The Chev engine was a 283 utilizing a 327 crankshaft with lots of factory hot rod parts and the 301 was destroked Pontiac 350.

Beaumont4008 · Uber Guru

eeluddy wrote:

The Comanche from Seaforth was originally from Montreal. The 302 Firebirds have been talked about for many years. They were supposed to be used for TransAm racing. As everyone knows the 301.7 Chev (Z-28) engine was a stronger runner than the 301 Pontiac engine in competition.
The Chev engine was a 283 utilizing a 327 crankshaft with lots of factory hot rod parts and the 301 was destroked Pontiac 350.

The 302 was the otherway around, a 327 with a 283 crank. The drag racers bored out a 283 to 4 in for the 301.

swamper · Addicted!

I have a question I have a 67Beaumont and I took the motor in to get professionally rebuilt. They told me they had to bore my 283 40 over as there were worn pretty good..

What size would that make my 283 like a 292 or something?

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

swamper wrote:

I have a question I have a 67Beaumont and I took the motor in to get professionally rebuilt. They told me they had to bore my 283 40 over as there were worn pretty good..

What size would that make my 283 like a 292 or something?

It comes out to 288.91 CID. Standard practice in a rebuild, 20 & 30 over are more common, 40 is used on badly won engines as you say. Your new bore is 3.915 ". 302 and 350 engines are 4". You could have gone to 4" and had a 302!