Some of you may have already seen photos of Norm Hallett's beautiful 1962 Acadian Beaumont station wagon on Canadian Poncho. I felt however that this car deserved to be featured. This nice weather daily driver could be one of the nicest '62 wagons in existence. Norm tells the rest of the story:
I feel very blessed to own this Acadian as this is the 2nd 62 Acadian Beaumont I have owned with an all original interior. Even the original vinyl floor mat with the carpet insert over the trans tunnel is intact. This car was definitely not stored outside and it was undercoated on the underside when new. With no body repair needed on the underside the one issue I will deal with is rebuilding the tailgate. The frame is good but there is some fab work necessary on the inside panel of the gate.
FYI, about 8 years ago Tony Sanders brought a 62 Acadian Beaumont 4 door back from a salvage yard in AZ and parked it in Flora, IL. Several years later he needed to pay some medical bills and sold me three parts cars including the 62 4 dr. This was the only original interior Acadian I had seen. It was a brown car and the interior was anything but cool in tan and brown. I sold everything I could off that 4 dr and eventually hauled the shell to the scrap yard for recycle. During the time I had that 4 dr a guy contacted me and was interested in buying some parts for a wagon he was building.
I remember the highlight of his trip to my place was finding the two fender ornaments mounted on top of the front fenders just behind the headlight bezel. He had none of those pieces and wanted to put a pair on his car. The 4 dr I had, spent most of it's life in AZ so the metal trim pieces were in beautiful shape. He really liked the rustfree doors on the car but admitted his doors were also very nice with very little repair needed. After much thought he decided to take the rust free doors with him to use or sell.
I never gave this wagon another thought. I had Bill's name in my files but never contacted him. A couple months ago this 62 Beaumont wagon shows up for sale on CP and having just owned a 63 Nova wagon last winter in Florida I knew I would really enjoy driving this car as my summer ride here in MI for the summer.
When my wife and I hooked up the trailer and headed for Bill's place, I knew we had done some parts business in the past but not connecting this wagon. While at Bill's he mentioned some of the parts had come from me and based on what he saw years ago at my place and my cars, he felt it was very appropriate that I end up with the wagon. The front fender ornaments were proudly mounted on the front fenders of the wagon and I learned the front doors from my AZ 4 dr were hung on the wagon. The fact the front doors were complete with all inside and outside hardware, glass and weather strips made them a simple bolt on at the hinge.
This car has all the originality I have always enjoyed. The upgrade to a 250 six cylinder helps to make it an acceptable daily driver. I can't see myself removing the 13" wheels but there were optional 14" wheels of which I have a set. I'm having them painted currently with the thought of putting them on occasionally with some center cap. I'm also installing a CPP mini sub kit, eliminating the torque rods, OEM lower control arms and OEM ball joints.
I will be keeping the a drum brakes and stock steering as this car has power steering and drives better than average. The car had air shocks installed years ago so I found some new ones identical to what is on the car. Additional suspension and chassis mods should make it an even better highway car. Can you say AUTO-FEST maybe.
'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.
I'm also installing a CPP mini sub kit, eliminating the torque rods, OEM lower control arms and OEM ball joints.
MINI Sub-frame Kits
#6267DTCA-K Deluxe Kit Shown
Classic Performance Products announces the introduction of its brand new 1962-67 MINI Sub-frame Kits. Eliminating the factory strut rods, adding adjustable forward control arm mounts, these kit add stability, improved steering response and over 2" of ground clearance for your early Nova. By eliminating the bind of factory strut rods you are able to maintain proper alignment with out the use of a "Lock Out Plate" and gain a free working up and down motion in the lower control arm. The results are better ride quality and positive road feedback.
CPPs kits accommodate both the factory sway bar and aftermarket 1" bars (aftermarket 1-1/8 bars will not work). The one-piece crossmember ties both frame rails together by bolting in where the factory strut rod mounts were located, providing additional strength. It also adds only 2 lbs to the car after removing the heavy factory strut rods and bulky strut rod mounts. There is no cutting or welding required. The rear of the lower control arm mounts in the factory location and the original camber adjustments are used. The front of the lower control mounts to the new crossmember and adds a forward caster adjustment to guarantee a perfect, simple and hassle-free alignment.
The standard kit (#6267TCA-K) includes 2 one-piece 1-1/4" 120 wall DOM tubular lower control arms, simple bolt-in 1/4" thick steel cross member with forward mounting, 4 alignment cam kits, grade 8 hardware, and CPP's low friction, long life bushings and CPP's new premium lower ball joints. Our deluxe kit (#6267DTCA-K) comes complete with standard kit, upper control arms, coil springs, rubber spring perches and shocks. Please specify stock height or 1 ½ drop coil springs and black or silver arms when ordering this kit. The newest kit (#6267TCA-ULK) also includes our brand new upper control arms.
-- Edited by 427carl on Sunday 2nd of March 2014 11:16:04 AM
I agree with Ray (73SC). Museum quality!
The tire chains for car shows would be perfect - but I'd add a couple of those oval-shaped frost bubbles that were popular on the prairies back in the 60's and early '70's. Who remembers those?
Nice car - great choice for car of the month (especially THIS month).
What a sweet looking 62 Acadian wagon you got there Norm. Simply a beautiful car that deserves to be preserved as it is ORIGINAL. By the way Norm, thank you for keeping that sweet car with it's factory look. You said the 250 was an upgrade, was it originally an 194 inline six? That would be a major performance up grade to go from early 194 to latter 250. Any engine shots of the 250 inliner you could share with us. Continued good luck with that beautiful 1962 Acadian station wagon. Cheers. George.
__________________
1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
-- Edited by platinuml79 on Saturday 1st of March 2014 10:30:57 AM
I have given a lot of thought to the trailer and snow machine idea but with the car having the original air cooled PG, I doubt the tranny would last under the pressure.
Never under estimate the Acadian.Thats why we still have them. Mine is still all original 194,not as clean as yours but still a Beaumont DeLuxe.You have the wagon and I have the DeLuxe,lol
