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Post Info TOPIC: 1969 Pontiac 2+2 427/390 Convertible Barn find - But this one a 4-speed


Poncho Master!

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1969 Pontiac 2+2 427/390 Convertible Barn find - But this one a 4-speed


Latest news: there's no title or registration, the car's been off the road forever. But the guy that took it on trade did up a bill of sale on the dealership sales invoice so it looks a lot more "official". Hopefully, that'll suffice at the border for proof of ownership.

Speaking of the border, if you've been following my blog at all ( 1969pontiac.blogspot.com ) then you know the VIN and cowl tags were removed when the body was acid-dipped, so they're loose. I don't think that's a good idea to cross the border that way, so my buddy up there will pop-rivet them on. When I get the car I'll redo them with proper rosette rivets (assuming that's what should be used).


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Addicted!

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Cool blog. Im hooked. When can we expect the next chapter?

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A Poncho Legend!

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I brought 3 old cars across border into Canada .   I went in and paid tax . 

NO ONE looked at the cars or truck and trailer pulling them .  All they wanted was the tax 

 

good luck .  



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We don't have titles here in Alberta, and the Gov't of Alberta has a standard Bill of Sale available on the Service Alberta website. It's what I used when I bought the 454 Laurentian from Hillar's estate, and the green/gold 70 2+2 from Nanaimo. I should have a soft copy blank if you need one.

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70 2+2 convertible
70 2+2 hardtop
70 Parisienne hardtop

 

 



A Poncho Legend!

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seventy2plus2 wrote:

We don't have titles here in Alberta, and the Gov't of Alberta has a standard Bill of Sale available on the Service Alberta website. It's what I used when I bought the 454 Laurentian from Hillar's estate, and the green/gold 70 2+2 from Nanaimo. I should have a soft copy blank if you need one.





As long as his Customs Officer is aware of the fact that Alberta is different than the rest of the provinces.

Dave, do you have a backup plan to store the car somewhere in case they are not satisfied with the papers?

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)



Poncho Master!

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Well, I finally got ahold of the original owner!

Fortunately, he had uncommon last name, which made it a bit easier, as did the fact he's still alive! Working backwards from the protecto plate, I found him listed in the pamphlet for the Edmonton Elks club of all things.

I talked to him for quite a while today, nice fellow. To summarize, he was 25 years old in 1969 and wanted a Corvette or a convertible of some kind. He wandered into Northgate Pontiac in Edmonton, and there it was on the floor (ie: he did not spec and order the car, the dealership did). The car had been built in April and this was the height of summer.

It was three days before my first birthday!

To his recollection, there were not a bunch of miles on the car, so it doesn't appear the dealer was using it as I had initially guessed. He knows of no other four speed convertible big block cars, but heard at one point there might be "four or five". Given only 11 coupes, that's not likely... as discussed, the car is one of 1 or 2 so far as the records show.

He kept the car 4-5 years, eventually selling it to a friend that has since passed away. I know the name of what I think is the third owner as well, but haven't located him.

He said he loved the car but had some trouble with the original paint fading on him, and that otherwise, it was a great car. Most of what he was able to tell me about the car (how it was equipped and so on) I already knew from the documentation, but it was interesting to hear him tell it nonetheless!



-- Edited by davepl on Saturday 16th of December 2017 03:05:34 PM

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A Poncho Legend!

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How cool is that!

Second story I've heard like that this week. I talked to someone who has owned a 1967 project car for many years and found the original owner just recently! Also a 427 car but not a Pontiac.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)

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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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Very cool. Does he have any old photo's? I bought my 2+2 hardtop from the original owner, and I know he gave me 2 or 3 old photo's, but I must have misplaced them.

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70 2+2 convertible
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70 Parisienne hardtop

 

 



Poncho Master!

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I didn't ask about photos because I didn't have any good solutions for how to get a copy. I may email him and ask, even an iPhone photo of a an old photo would be better than nothing! I have original owner photos of my truck too.

I put the full story of trying to track him down here:

1969pontiac.blogspot.com/2017/12/one-interesting-feature-of-holy-grail.html




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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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What a neat chapter to your story. Good on you for your gentle persistence.

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Jerel


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jmont64 wrote:

What a neat chapter to your story. Good on you for your gentle persistence.


       x2 .    most car guys are not patient 



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A Poncho Legend!

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And as well as patience and persistence, you get an A+ for sleuthing. Not everyone would have been that creative.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)

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Poncho Master!

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As far as I know, "Today is the Day" for pickup in Edmonton. I wasn't impressed, actually: the Customs brokerage sent the required customs info on the 23rd and he (the shipper) emails me on Boxing Day to say he's picking up the car in 28/29 and will be here 2-3 days after that - great, and I'd appreciate it if I was in a hurry but I'm not in Edmonton and need to get someone to meet you - and it's Christmas and my friends are out of town!

In other words, I hate the "Wait months, then tomorrow or nothing" scenario. But if all goes well, it should be on it's way. Here's crossing my fingers!



-- Edited by davepl on Saturday 30th of December 2017 01:04:07 PM

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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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I am a little apprehensive about the fact that the V.I.N. tag is loose. The trim tag not so much. Hopefully they don't impound the car for months at the border until they are satisfied that all is sound. BTW hollow rivets for the trim tag with a messy glob of dum-dum is what they used, while the V.I.N. tag uses rosette rivets. It used to be a crime to even posses those rosette rivets. The law may have changed recently in the U.S. to enable shops to properly repair cowl areas.



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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.

In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...

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I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton



Poncho Master!

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The VIN is riveted on, but with normal rivets for now. I'll grab the rosettes and the big cowl tag rivets off eBay, they're plentiful. In some eastern states it's illegal to change/alter the cowl tag, but not here (I'm using the originals anyway, of course).


2+24speed.JPG

2+24speeda.JPG

 



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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wow thats a delivery for sure

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http://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t51640378/timbuks-first-invader/ http://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t63146560/timbuks-second-invader/  vancouver island



Poncho Master!

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It's easy to sound brave on the Internet, but I'm a little intimidated and not sure where to start when it gets here!

I was thinking:
- Make room for a pile of stuff next to it
- Unload it and inventory it
- Remove engine, take to dyno shop for evaluation
- Lift body off frame to decide if I have to re-restore the chassis
- Take a bunch of photos of rust damage to get some quotes


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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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I can see what you mean with it being overwhelming at first sight. I guess much of it depends on what you will be tackling yourself and what you will be farming out.

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Jerel


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davepl wrote:

It's easy to sound brave on the Internet, but I'm a little intimidated and not sure where to start when it gets here!

I was thinking:
- Make room for a pile of stuff next to it
- Unload it and inventory it
- Remove engine, take to dyno shop for evaluation
- Lift body off frame to decide if I have to re-restore the chassis
- Take a bunch of photos of rust damage to get some quotes


 With a thought process like that, you'll be fine.

Be methodical, organized, focused, and keep tabs on the costs (and don't look at the costs if you are squeamish). You will get through this build, and when you do you will have something super rare and cool!

 

Man, I am so stoked to see that this car has been found and given a new lease on life



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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.

In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...

Cam, Toronto.


I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton



Poncho Master!

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Well, since I last updated this thread I got the car home and unloaded it's guts from its carcass. If you think that's gross, add "rodent infested" for effect, and you're starting to get the idea. It's a mess. On the plus side, this car was acid dipped (but not well primed) and the chassis cleaned so everything is dry. No grease!

Today I unloaded everything out onto the floor into logical groups and took pictures of what I have. For example, power windows. Harnesses. Seatbelts. Underhood. Wipers. Plugs and brackets. Rubber Pieces. And so on. I also have one group of "Rare Parts" that includes the louvers, emblems, side markers, rally caps, air cleaner, shifter, and so on. Only a few braces I couldn't identify, so I posted pictures on the forum to see who could figure them out!

Next step is to put all of that stuff away onto a shelving unit and unload the trunk, which contains the bulk of the interior.

The good news of the day is that I found the missing two louvers just thrown into the interior with all the other "junk" pieces, but they weren't damaged. And in my "Magic Pontiac Parts Cupboard," I found the two NOS red side markers I need. Sadly I am out of stock on clear lenses. I guess I need to check Ames to see if the backsides (Lens and housing) are shared with anything - crossing my fingers, but not hopeful. Also still missing one 427 emblem. And the Protecto Plate didn't make it, which is unfortunate. Good thing I have photos, but I'd rather have the plate. The seller is "going to look".

The most embarrassing part was that my first step was to unload all the body panels, which were stacked on top. I did that and was missing a door. Long story short, my wife came out to help me look one last time and it was buried under the convertible top in the well below it, but it just looked like trunk firewall from behind! Can't believe I missed it, but I've got it now.

Status - Half Way Through.JPG



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Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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I hope you did jigsaw puzzles as a kid.

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70 2+2 convertible
70 2+2 hardtop
70 Parisienne hardtop

 

 



Poncho Master!

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Today's task was to remove the body from the chassis, which went fairly well. I had a friend cut some 48" pipe so that I could triangulate the floor-to-cowl section before lifting the body off. It might have been worth it to X-brace it, because the back is VERY heavy. By which I mean, lifting at the very back of the rocker still presents a tippy proposition, so I wound up adding some weight up front and then clamping the whole car down to the lift to make sure it can't rock. I bounced on the back of it before raising it and it's nice and stable.

Not many surprises. Rust is actually a little less than I expected, so that's good.

One thing I did notice was there's cool linkage that connects (I guess) the steering column to the standard transmission. Is this so the column is locked? But when, in what gear? Or is it neutral safety?

The other odd thing is a triangular piece of metal on the driver's side frame.  F41 specific?  Convertibles?  All cars?  Only my car?

IMG_5721.JPG



-- Edited by davepl on Sunday 14th of January 2018 06:17:20 PM

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A Poncho Legend!

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I believe that linkage forces you to put it in reverse to take the key out.

Those were always removed and tossed, nice score.

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)



A Poncho Legend!

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69.JPG

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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles 

1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)



Canadian Poncho Superstar!

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Yes, the linkage up to the column is to lock the transmission in a particular gear when the key is out (I believe Reverse gear). I suspect Howmac can provide pertinent info. The lever on the 4 speed columns is specific to the 4 speed cars.

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