Happy New Year! Our January Feature Car belongs to Kim Connors. Thanks to fond memories of a relative owning a 65 Acadian Beaumont SD Convertible back in the day Kim decided he had to have the exact same car. Not an easy feat as so few of these cars were made. As luck would have it Kim found this Acadian Beaumont very close to home. Kim tells us more about this exceptional car:

"I was only 4 years old in 1965 and living in rural, central New Brunswick, when my Aunt, a recent graduate from the Miramichi Hospital School of Nursing, moved to Halifax to start her career and bought a new 1965 Acadian Beaumont convertible.  It was a Sport Deluxe package with a 230ci engine and a 2-speed power glide transmission.  The colour was mist blue metallic with a black top.  Thats all I can remember about the accessories and because the car was eventually sold for scrap, I dont have access to the serial number.

She kept the car until ~ 1970 but during that time, I can remember so vividly riding in the car with her and falling in love with the top down sensation.

Jump 30 years forward to the turn of the century, I decided that I want to own a sister to her car and started a savings account for the same.  I would search off and on but never found matches to my criteria; Must haves: 1965 Beaumont, Sport Deluxe, convertible with 2-speed power glide. Nice to have: 230ci engine & mist blue metallic.  I had come to terms with the fact that I would accept a car with any engine and I could eventually paint it mist blue metallic.

After 15 years or so of casually searching and, being content with the status of my Beaumont Savings Account, I decided to get more aggressive with my search.  There had to be a car out there somewhere.  During these 15 years my career progression required relocation from NB to Prince Albert Saskatchewan and then to Winnipeg where I now reside.

With the help of technology, I registered for an alert system that would email me anytime listings were created relative to a 1965 Beaumont.  I got daily emails for parts, some hard tops, different years, etc and once a yellow 65 SD was listed in Montreal but when I called, they said it had sold. 

Then one day while awaiting for a flight at Torontos Pearson Airport, I got the email I was waiting for.  A 1965 Acadian Beaumont SD convertible, mist blue metallic (not in listing), 230ci, 2-speed power glide.  I was so excited that I didnt even take notice of where the car was located.  I immediately fired off an email stating my interest and then proceeded to provide a list of phone numbers to every possible means of contacting me that I could think.

When I arrived at my house in Winnipeg, there was a message from the son of the owner stating that he received my email and shared his number.  Before dropping my suitcase, I called, and to my surprise it was a 204-number meaning they were in Manitoba.  After a short discussion, I learned the owner was located just 3kms from my house.  I immediately went to see the car and the very next day, September 12th, 2017, I bought the car.

The car, one of one hundred and thirty-three made of this model, came off the assembly line on February 22, 1965 and was shipping to Dickson Motors Ltd in Winnipeg on February 23, 1965.  My understanding is that the original owner was a police officer who lived in a town east of Winnipeg.  He sold the car in the 1980s to the collector I bought it from, making me the third owner.  The odometer rolled up to 90,000 miles in August of 2019.

After purchasing the car, I had to spend a few dollars to pass MB MVI requirements;  New disk brakes installed on the front, the rear drums rebuilt, new brake lines, tire rod and ball joint boots, change the rims to fit the disk brakes and undercoated.  After MVI, I installed 2 new carburetors (unfortunately the first was faulty and the mechanic wasnt able to diagnose it), installed a Pertronix electronic ignition conversion kit and coil, had all of the dash and interior lights updated and rewired, installed a replacement clock and installed 4 new Coker white-walled tires.

Whats next?  I am in possession of new reproduction seat covers from Legendary Auto of New Jersey and plan to have them installed this winter along with a new boot for the convertible top.  The heater core has a small leak that will require repair or replacement and at some point, the engine will probably require a rebuild as it shows signs of wear.  Notwithstanding the fact that the 230ci engine was never designed to move the car quickly, I will attempt to keep the car as original as possible.  Absolutely love it.

While my childhood and early adulthood were spent around mechanical equipment, maintaining and operating 60s and 70s pickups, heavy trucks and logging equipment, 40 years of a career in management has left me soft and scrambling to remember how to keep an older vehicle operating.  I did remove and replace a window regulator last winter which helped me gain some confidence and I have recently heated my garage and started restocking some tools and equipment.  Some of it is starting to come back but the by far the greatest thing that happened to me in this journey is my membership in the Canadian Poncho Group.  The online help has been great but even more so, the local assistance I have received from the Manitoba members, particularly Beaumontguru (Dave) and 4SPEED427 (Carl) has been exceptional.  I am also starting to meet some other great members as time goes on.

As I near retirement, I have a desire to own another Beaumont (fairly open criteria at this stage), and a late 60s GM pickup (with more specific criteria in mind).  I will most likely retire, partially at least, to my NB home but the first order will be to build a new garage designed with maintaining a car collection."