It's interesting to see how many old Ponchos came within inches of being turned into scrap. Fred Paget's 1968 Parisienne is one such vehicle. Luckily Fred is a wise fellow who had the foresight to see what a great car it could be. It's been 31 years since Fred rescued this car from the crusher and with the help of a 2+2 that was well beyond saving, he has transformed it into the beautiful car you see here. Let's find out more about this Parisienne from Fred:

First, a disclosure so no one gets misled here.

This car is not an original factory built 2+2. It is a combination of parts

from several cars, one of which was an original 2+2. More on that later.

My car was, originally sold at the former Ron May Pontiac - Buick

dealership at 147 Prince Street, Sydney, NS and was put in service on Oct.

04, 1968.

The first owner didn't waste much time getting to Alberta. He resold it to

a gent in Medicine Hat on Feb. 24, 1969. The warranty transfer was

completed at the former Jack Stephenson Pontiac - Buick located at 1450

Trans Canada Hwy., at which time a new "Protect-o-plate" was issued.

The second owner kept the car until sometime in the 1970s when he gave it

to his daughter who in turn sold it to my brother in Calgary on Feb. 27,

1981 for the princely sum of $750.00. The odometer reading at that time was

133,900 miles.

Brother kept the car until 1986 and since he had bought a Honda Prelude, [

of all things ] he asked me if I wanted the Pontiac. If not, he said he

would send it to the crusher since he was unable to sell it. Consequently,

for the sum of $1.00 to make it legal, I became the next owner (some days

I have wished I had never agreed to take it).

The car in its original form came in Palomino Ivory, not a very popular

color it seems. Alberta Registries called it "green". The interior was, as

close as we could guess Ivy Gold.

Options included the 275 hp 327 engine mated to a TH 400 auto trans with a

3.08 open rear end. Probably single exhaust also. Other options were PS,

PB, tilt column, AM/FM radio, rear defrost, rear speaker, dee-luxe seat

belts, full wheel discs and fender skirts. There was also an aftermarket AC

unit on it when I got it. It had a compressor the size of a one-lunger

motorbike engine on it that likely took ten HP away from the engine.

I didn't do anything with the car until 1992 at which time I decided to

rebuild the engine. It was pretty tired by then with around 162,000 miles

on the clock.

Had the block tanked, magnafluxed, bored with new pistons fitted, deck

surface cleanup planed, crank turned, new oil pump, cam and lifters, timing

chain and gears. Heads were in bad shape so reassembled with a good set off

a '71 pickup just to get it running.

It sat until '97 while I hunted for a good left quarter panel to replace

the rusted original.I discovered around that time just what orphans

Canadian Pontiac's really are when it comes to finding body parts. Finally

found a good one in a North Dakota junkyard on a Parisienne from

Saskatchewan. How's that for chasing your tail?

Finally got a painter pal to throw a quick paint job on it in 2000 and got

to drive it after owning it for 14 years! As an aside there was no recorded

formula for the paint since it was originally lead  based. I contacted

Dupont and they graciously concocted a recipe that was almost perfect.

I found the 2+2 while on a job up in the Peace Country in 2002. It was

forlornly sitting by the road in front of a farmer's place so I asked him

if it was for sale and it was. I gave him $500.00 and towed it home on

Christmas eve - my present to myself.

I figured out pretty quickly that this old dog was never going chasing

rabbits again. It was completely rusted out; frame, body, and all. The

good news was the parts which made it a 2+2 were all there except for a

couple of wheel discs.

It was pretty bare of options beyond the 2+2 with only a 327 (which didn't

run), TH 400, AM, PS, PB, and lots of dead mice.

Now I don't know what other guys would do, but I took all of those parts, refurbished, and re-upholstered them, and added them all to my car. You might say "clone" or "Tribute", but I just regard them as "an owner installed option" and in doing so there is one old 2+2 that is still around (and it has more options than the original).

I had the heads from the 2+2 rebuilt with new bronze guides, springs, and hardened seats two years ago and gave her a real good going over. I also had her repainted last year. The present odometer reading is 165,074 miles.

And that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hope you guys and gals like the results. To any pilots out there; this build was really "From the Ground Up"!

Thanks to Todd for allowing me to tell my story and for featuring my car. It is an honor!