It seems we don't see too many 68-71 Acadian's and it's always a treat to be able to feature one on Canadian Poncho. After going through some hard times Ken Perry's luck finally changed and he was able to treat himself to this sharp 1970 Acadian. Ken has been treating the car to some much needed love and is currently in the midst of restoring the interior. From the photos he provided of his work in progress, it's obvious he's doing a great job. Ken tells us more:

In 2015, my second marriage fell apart. I lost everything...AGAIN. BUT I never lost my spirit to live or dream to one day have or build another car. I have had 3 novas, but I always wanted to have an ACADIAN. Not just any Acadian though. It had to be a 1970 (The very last year that any REAL muscle cars were built for sale in North America). I worked pretty hard at being the best me I could be. My reward was winning a pretty big lottery prize here in BC.

I bought this car as a "BS" SS Nova from a 20 something guy who really did not know what he had or the passion to do anything with it. He bought it from his cousin who inherited it from his Grandma. THEN I GOT It! It was in Hamilton Ontario. Sooo... technically I'm the 2nd FAMILY owner???? It is ALMOST rightfully restored back to an Acadian.

It was in really good original condition to start.  It had a good strong 350 motor 350 tranny, Flowmaster exhaust, and 373 gears (yup i drove it home 3500 rpm all the way).

The engine compartmen had a lot of mix n match engine chrome pieces. There was a single core rad but no shroud or over flow bottle. Fortunately it had an aftermarket temp gauge that actually worked. It didn't have wipers (it rained like crazy in Minnesota) so it was RAIN X to the rescue.

All the body panels were straight and original. The trunk floor was 90% rust free. From underneath the floor boards were solid. The front bumper had some road rash.

The wiring for EVERYTHING was like spaghetti. The rear end felt like it was about to explode going through the mountains in Idaho and Washington. I drove 45 mph max.

WHAT A RIDE, WHAT A TRIP! So winter happened in BC. Time to park the car and tear it down. I pulled the carpet to clean it and THERE IT WAS - the rust. It was right where the firewall meets the floor pan on both sides. 

An easy fix but as my buddy says "If your gonna do it, do it right."  NEW FLOOR PANS PLEASE. It only took 2 days to get the car back. The results were AWESOME.  It now has solid floor pans now from trunk to firewall.

The front clip was next. I figured I would take inner fenders and rad support out give a sandblast and paint.  NOPE. It was cheaper to just buy brand new AMD products and epoxy prime and paint.

With that done it was now time to deal with all the little parts. Lots of time was spent hand stripping and cleaning, spraying primr, then paint and bake in my oven. Then top coat paint, and bake in oven again.

The engine bay wiring was redone with all correct type/colours of wires. I reinstalled all the little pieces. I also hand polished the original grill (over the course of 3 days). The new filler panel was painted. I sold the old rad support and inner fenders in a blink (I needed some cash back!!).

The Acadian was now at my buddies house. He owns a fully restored, factory correct 70 Nova SS.  That real SS became my DONOR car. As he is replacing all original SS parts with the 'bigger' available options, my little goldie received those parts! This made my car a little bit more believable as a SS clone (BUT ... an ACADIAN SS clone!!!!). With the entire front clip removed we cleaned the subframe and repainted it. I replaced all 4 door pins. They now open and close like brand new!

Over the course of two weekends I reassembled the car.The original front bumper with all the road rash just looked ok.  SO I called up a guy in Washington State (Biscays Classic Chevy). He just happened to have 1 AMD front bumper. I could not get there fast enough. It was a 5 hour drive! So after all is said and done (and $$$$ spent) MY ACADIAN is back together and on the road.

Recently when looking through Canadian Poncho, I came across my car. Someone had posted photos of it for sale about 4 months before I bought it.  (Does it ring any bells yet Todd?).

The transmission finally cooked itself. Another long time buddy at a wrecking yard offered up a fairly recent rebuilt 700R4. I figured "Sure, WHY NOT?!".

While installing the transmisison, the A arm bushings kind of fell apart. SO I purchased a complete tubular set along with new BIG BLOCK springs and voila, I now have that lowered stance.

I added the brake booster and reservoir plus the steering box from the real 70 SS Nova.

This car now rides like it is on rails. The handling is awesome. As for stopping.... well, me thinks me needs a disc upgrade!

For the summer of 2019 the cooling system will get a much needed upgrade to a 3 core aluminum rad that fits in as a stock replacement. That also includes all the factory correct hoses and clamps and factory looking water pump.

The interior will get a little freshening up with a pretty cool stereo and and new gauges (as well as an in-dash Tach, oh YEAH)

The car originally came with a regular Nova SS tail panel.

It left massive holes in the metal tail panel. The original holes for the emblem were still there however.  With thanks to member Donald Barril-Bissett, who had the piece I needed, I was able to inset the emblem in the correct position. I then painted the panel to match the front filler panel and rims. Voila! Now everyone knows they are following an ACADIAN!

Many Thanks go out to my buddy Raj.  Also to Poncho members  dcneric (Eric in Regina) Donald Baril-Bissett (Emblems look awesome. Thanks guys) And all our Poncho members who have reached out to offer help and assistance.

Every guy's car project begins with a dream............

                      ............  TO WIN THE LOTTO FIRST.

Ken Perry