Yesterday I found the Protection (warranty) Book for my 64 Pontiac. On the back page was Dealer Data. The car was sold Feb. 4th 1964 from Kathlyn Motors in Port Colburn Ont. The owners name was there And I will just call him Glen. Well I did some calls to St. Catharines and found the original owner who I spoke with for 2hrs. on the phone. So I now have all my questions answered and a lot more. It was a ordered CS with a M20 4sp 3.55 rear ratio. Now Glen wanted the 409 engine option, but was talked out of it and a 327 300hp motor was ordered. He added the trailer hitch because they bought a house trailer, the mystery of the electric trunk release was added from a later Buick Riv. We will get together this summer at his house with the 64 so he can see his old car is still alive. Some things that where similar. I had a 64 CS 409, and he is a Architect too, Amazing.
I've been thinking a bit about this and a good comparison came to mind. A guy I knew wanted to buy a 69 Chevelle SS396 but his father was very worried about all that power and in those days Dad's sort of ruled the castle so a 18 year old was likely to listen to his Dad. Angelo ended up with one of the most beautiful 1969 Chevelles I have ever seen even to this day but alas his father specified the 307. The car was so nice Rallye wheels with redlines silver with black vinyl top, buckets console, power everything, I actually loved that car. Angelo even changed it out to duals and glass packs and SS tips so it sounded real nice too, but he was talked out of the 396.
Well Ray the owner was talked out of the 409 and told it was not reliable enough for a family man. So a proven 327 was ordered. So now I know the car is a numbers matching and a 4sp car from birth.
Brian
I wish I could get some answers on my car, but the elderly previous owner (could be deceased) never replied to my letters.
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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.
When I had the 64 Catalina 2+2 I traced the original owner the same way, took a couple of calls to S.C but did get in touch with her, again a long talk on phone. When I was at POCI convention in S.C. I tried to get in touch but no answer, would have liked to get a picture of her with car. She was "blown away" that the car was still in use & even more so that it was in Canada. Last I heard about it ,it was in a storage building somewhere near Huntsville for last few years after "new" owner past away & family put it away????
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Some times I wake up GRUMPY, but today I let her sleep in !!!!!!!!BLACKSTOCK Ont.
I remember tracking down the original owner of my 1960 Catalina. His name was Burle Sprinkle and he lived in Texas. He only had it a few months when he landed a job selling cars at a GM dealer. He got a demo so the car was hardly driven. His wife didn't like the manual steering and brakes. The owner's manual had a lot of pencil scribbles. Berle explained that his wife would give his then young son the owners manual and a pencil to occupy himself on trips to the grocery store. He said his wife would often drive by the dealership and his 2 year old son would be standing on the passenger seat waving to him! Stories like that really add to the enjoyment of owning an old car.
You are so fortunate to be able to speak with the original owner of your car. You know the expression, "when a man dies, a library closes." The original owner holds many key pieces of the puzzle. The imperatives of the day change in different eras. He said the 409 was not ordered because it might be less reliable than the 327 (I could believe it if he was referring to the solid lifter, hot-cammed 409 as an all-season daily driver).
Funny, a current neighbor used to own a 1970 'Cuda 340 until the mid-90s. When I saw it I talked with him (Larry) about it. He was a newlywed in 1970 and he bought the 'Cuda as their first new car as a couple. He told me that he considered the 426 Hemi but the warranty was not very good (plus insurance would have been killer). The car was mint. I told him about a cruise (Markington Square) and the next week he took the car there. Before long Larry was driving a new Dodge Dakota V8. Apparently somebody offered Larry some serious money for the car and he eventually took them up on the offer. His 'Cuda had manual steering, a pistol grip 4-speed, Sure Grip 3.23 rear, 15x7 Rally Wheels with 60 series rubber, Road Lights, AM radio plus a vinyl roof cover. Winter stored since '74 but it looked as though it had never seen salt. Larry still always keeps his cars clean. The 340 had never been apart and sounded quite healthy.
When I bought my Chevelle from my late aunt's estate, I chatted with cousin Bob (her son in law) about the car. I learned that my Chevelle was ordered as a demonstrator for Wills Motors and that Mrs. Wills herself used the car for a time. My aunt bought it off the lot on March 20, 1967. When I saw the triangles on the headlights the first thing I thought was "Canadian Tire". Then I saw that they said "T-3" and I realized all the lights were original. Cousin Bob confirmed it as he said Aunty Janet never drove at night (heck, I never saw her drive at all). My car also had incorrect replacement battery cables. Bob told me that one day he got a call that the Chevelle wouldn't start, so he came over only to find that some thieves had stolen the battery. They didn't bother slipping the rings off the post, they simply cut the cables. (You should be able to shoot thieves IMHO )
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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
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