We've all seen those classified old car ads. They are the ones with little or no description and terrible photos. If you are like me, you usually skip over them in search of cars for sale with better photos and more detailed descriptions. Andre Saulnier is not like me. He saw an ad for an old blue station wagon with a vague description and terrible photos. What he found is the treasure you see here. This fantastic 1966 Pontiac Laurentian Safari is a true survivor. It might be safe to say that this might be the nicest, most original example in existence. Andre has only owned the car for a short time and didn't get a lot of time to enjoy it this year. I'm sure that will all change come Spring! Andre tells us more about finding this beautiful Poncho:
Strangely, my 1966 Pontiac Laurentian story began the day I sold another remarkable car affectionately named “Olive” by my wife. Little did we know that we would miss this rare green 1972 Plymouth Surburban Sport wagon so much. Camaro, Jeep, Challenger, Camino, nothing in the driveway could replace the feeling of driving an old wagon on a deserted back country road with my wife beside me and my 85 years old mother sitting in the back.
Nothing, until my eyes got sight of one ugly, pixelated, blurry picture accompanying a brief description on LesPac, a local classified advertising site.
A few emails and many months later I was standing in a not too far away driveway beside this magnificently preserved 1966 blue beauty astonished to learn that I was the only person who took the time to come and see the car since the ad was up.
This utilitarian wagon was being sold by the son of the one and only owner. Bought to be the “backup” vehicle of the family owned grocery delivery truck, this Pontiac Laurentian was seldomly used since the delivery truck almost never broke.
Pampered and always kept in a gigantic heated garage, this 46,000 miles all original car was driven a few times every summer on sunny Sundays.
Price negotiation was a breeze thanks to the gentleness of the owner and my composed absence of objectivity in the face of such a discovery.
The rest is now history, flatbed car transport and dropping in my driveway, neighbour's jaws dropping, wife first sight eyes popping, mother smiling in my back mirror, Friday local car & coffee with smirking onlookers, and an apple orchard fall last drive.
My Poncho story is the hardened proof that even today with the millions of people scouring the internet, garage finds and barn finds are still possible to anyone paying attention to unexpired old car ads with ugly pictures and unorthodox description.
Great find for sure. Most all of them have been used up & returned to the elements. This '66 Laurentian is in surprisingly good shape. It looks like a mostly untouched example. There was one almost identical to it about 2 blocks from my house until the mid-1970s, except that it was medium blue rather than medium turquoise. It was then traded in back in 1975 for a new Parisienne Brougham sedan.
I remember looking at an ad for a car that seemed uninspiring. I called up after 3 weeks and I heard that I was only the 2nd person to call in all that time. The 1st person, when seeing the car, bought it on the spot.
Congratulation ! Beautiful survivor ! I love survivors ! I like to call and physical view too, instead of emails or texts, more personal and polite and you never know what you'll find, just like you did ...
That's the way I like them....Doesn't get much better....
x 2 ... super nice wagon!
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Prince Edward Island
'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.
What can I say? I think it's one of the nicest, most original cars that I've seen anywhere on the net. It's my dream to find one like this some day, but they are few and far between.
Congratulations to Andre for finding it and taking on the job of caretaker, and not succumbing to the desire to turn it into a hot rod. Cars like this need to be enjoyed and preserved as is, IMHO.
I just about had a coronary after checking out this sweet 66 time machine. We have a new winner and i think she is just simply the nicest 66 Poncho i have ever seen. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. I know i am not the only one that is green with envy and i will bet that Carl wishes this baby was his stable mate. Cheers. George
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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six
1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8