Here's a Poncho we should have featured much sooner! George Kominek owns this super clean 1963 Pontiac Parisienne. George has owned the Pontiac for about 9 years and I'm sure you'll all agree the changes George made to the car have improved the look and fun factor of the car. So without further adieu here's George to give us all the details:
I first discovered this car while I was stalking the Canadian Poncho site (not a member yet) in June of 2011.
It was here I read all about it from a member (Zapper68) who gave details of the 41,000 mile 1963 Pontiac Parisienne. With a year to go before retirement I thought it would make a great retirement gift.....for me.
After finding the ad on Kijiji, I contacted the owner and made arrangements to view the Poncho. It meant a drive from Calgary to Unity Saskatchewan, some six hours away. I was really sure I was going to buy this car, so I prearranged getting a trailer from U-Haul. It was to be waiting in Unity for the trip home. My friend Todd came with me, and we arrived in Unity and headed straight to the address to view the car. It was beautiful. I did a quick inspection of the car and asked for a road test. With the owner and her daughter in the car, we went for a drive. The trip around the block was about four minutes, that was enough time to convince me this car should be mine. With a price settled, it was time to head over to U-Haul and get the trailer.
At U-Haul (a very small U-Haul operation), I was glad to see the trailer had arrived and went inside to complete the paperwork. When the U-Haul operator asked what car I was hauling, I told him it was the car listed on the agreement I had made three weeks before online. He then said he couldn't give me the trailer.
At this point I thought he was joking, but no, he was serious. U-haul (from wherever) had sent the wrong trailer, this one was for a small car....now what do I do. The U-haul operator said I could get another trailer (maybe) but I would have to drive some 150 miles to another U-Haul outfit.
Needless to say I was a bit upset. Standing there thinking about what to do, my buddy Todd said to me "Just drive it home". Brilliant! I went back to the owner to ask if she knew of an insurance agent that could give me a temporary insurance permit for the drive home (car had no plates). She said her agent lived across the street and even though it was after hours we went to the agent's office and got a six-day permit. The next morning we headed out on the road and six hours later we were in Calgary.The only issue I had when driving was the radio...well not so much the radio as the lack of AM radio stations. So for six hours, I listened to the hum of the dual exhausts of my new Poncho......no complaints there.
The only addition I made to the car up until this past summer was putting new tires on the Cragars I've saved for a special car since 1985. In March of 2013, I joined Canadian Poncho (should have done it way sooner) because there were things I wanted to do to the car and I needed the expertise of the members. And boy did I get lots of help and answers. There is just a wealth of information on the Canadian Poncho site.
A few years ago my Powerglide gave up and I was contemplating getting it fixed and jokingly said to my good buddy Richard in Sudbury that I should convert it over to a four speed. He said he had a spare Muncie from his 427 ‘69 2 door post Biscayne that was mine if I wanted it. Whoo, wheels started turning. Exploring the possibility that I could actually put in a four speed without altering the interior appearance turned out to be the clincher to do it. So after two years of finding and buying the necessary parts I did the change this past summer....I'm not a true purist, but I do like to keep as much of the original look of the car as possible.
At the same time this past summer I also bit the bullet and had the 283 rebuilt with a mild cam and added a 4 barrel carb to replace the original two barrel. I do have to thank a couple of members who were a big help to me with the car during the change over:
Don (DonSSDD) in Nova Scotia for all the conversion transmission tips and information and
Darryl (Pontiacanada) in PEI for all the original tach layout and wiring information.
.....thanks very much gentlemen.
Work still to be done includes painting the trunk to original speckled colour, converting the original air breather to accommodate the new 4 barrel carb, changing the buckets’ upholstery and getting era correct seat belts.
Thank you for the opportunity to showcase my 1963 Parisienne.
I can't believe you massacred a 41,000 mile car by putting a 4 speed into it!!! Just kidding of course, what a great upgrade you did, I too had no idea you'd already done it. Beautiful car, everything about it is just right.
Another great month at Canadian Poncho!
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
Congratulations George, you now have a fake 63, like me and that guy with the fake 66, I love the console and that 63 shifter and the tach are very rare and unique. Nice work on the 4 speed, hope you got to put some miles on it after getting it UPGRADED to 3 pedals.
Don
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Also I love those stories of unexpected surprises like the U-Haul! Interesting also that if my 283 ever gives up the option of a 4-speed and an extra pedal seems to plug in quite well!
Yes, very cool to have buckets in pre-Custom Sport days. This may be a dumb question but did a bucket seat 63 come with a console if you ordered a 4 speed like you did your's George? Or is the console 64 only, or is the console an option even if you ordered a 4 speed and buckets in 63?
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
Very nice and congratulations George. Great conversion to the 4 speed. It must have gone very well as we didn't find you on here with any problems! Hope to cross paths sometime and see your beaut.
I don't often frequent this site but must admit your Pontiac looked familiar! I often wondered if your car would ever be featured and here it is. Congratulations on the "Feature Car" of the month!
It's been a while since I've been back to Unity since my parents passed a few years ago. The party you purchased your Pontiac from also had a '68 Mustang fastback, 390 automatic, airconditioned, fold down rear seat that I had the opportUNITY to buy back then. Unfortunately, I was working full time and the timing wasn't good for me.
Nonetheless, I happy to see you are giving the Pontiac the love it deserves and again, Congratulations!
Cheers
Cal (Zapper68)
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1949 Pro Street Meteor Coupe, 468 BBC, 4L80E, Narrowed 9" 3.50 posi
1966 Biscayne post, 427 L72, M21, 4.11's 16600 original miles
1966 Hemi Satellite 4 gear 59K original miles 1968 Z28 302MO, M21, 3.73's, cowl plenum induction
I've seen that car from a foot away!! OH and by the way......it looks even nicer in person! Congrats George! luv how that 4spd conversion worked out..no need to go to the gym to exersice those legs....
Thank you for the tach shout out, it was no problem.
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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.
Here's the 63 Canadian brochure, no mention of a console but my dad had a new 63 parisienne and it had buckets and a console (with an automatic mind you)
George, if you got the GM Historic paperwork on your car, how many were there with bucket seats? Im assuming they may have counted them separately from the regular bench seat cars. My uncle had a new 63 Parisienne 327 4 speed with buckets, white with burgundy interior. He used to take it to the drag races in southern Ontario somewhere.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Very nice 63. My cousin who lived in Toronto had a 63 Parisienne convertible 327 bucket seats auto with a console. This was in the mid to late 60's. His car was light blue with a white top and light blue interior. When he would come up to Timmins in the summer I would detail the car for him and then go cruising.
Your 63 in white is much more attractive and you have done a fabulous job on the 4 speed conversion. I do not remember ever seeing a 4 speed 63 convertible.
Not to be critical but for a safety reason only get rid of the plastic fuel filter and replace it with a steel one. I do not trust the plastic one as they become brittle with heat and can crack and leak and cause a fire.
Congratulations on feature car of the month and enjoy many summers of cruising.
