Dave West is the proud owner of our August Feature Car. Dave found this 1966 Beaumont Sport Deluxe convertible in the Auto Trader. He was quick to the draw and beat another fellow to the owners door and struck a deal. Dave and the Beaumont now reside in Texas. I can just imagine the strange looks his Beaumont receives in the Lone Star state! Dave gives us the details:

The story behind how I acquired this car is interesting given all the fortuitous timing and events at that time of my life.  First of all I need to rewind a bit to provide some background on why and how I came to love these 66/67 A-body cars.  

When I was a kid way back in 1989 just after I graduated High School I came across a 1966 Chevelle SS396 4-speed hardtop at a car lot on Calgary's infamous 9th Avenue auto mile in Inglewood.  I believe it was named Porky's for those that might recall.  It was in rough shape with lots of rust in the lower quarter panels and door sills, but Jeez it had a 396!  I had a 1969 Chrysler Newport Custom 2 door hardtop with a 383 magnum.  Man that car could run the old boat that it was...  Anyhow that's another story. Back to the Chevelle.

It was a Sunday evening, Porky's had closed for the day but I walked the lot and fell in love with this car.  A guy I worked with at Mr. Lube had recently had his 67 SS396 totaled by a "friend", so I figured this car was not going to last long.  The next morning I called and it had been stolen off the lot over night!  I was crushed.  The one that got away...

Fast forward to 2006. I am now married, working for a decent wage, and been through a number of vehicles (2 Corvettes, Chevy trucks, Mazda RX-7 to name a few) and I was on a project in Qatar.  Within a day or 2 of when I came home to Calgary in May (on a Sunday) my father-in-law was hemming and hawing about my long interest in Chevelles and wanted to know if I liked Beaumonts as well.  I said sure but good luck finding one!  Well...

So he pulls out an ad that was in the Auto Trader. A nice color feature ad.  "1966 Beaumont SD Convertible White/Red interior...(and so on)".  It was in Devon, near Edmonton.  I got very excited and called the number. Yes it was still available.  Road Trip!  Early the next morning off we went with cashiers check in hand.  I had already "bought" the car over the phone the night before promising the seller if it was as good as it looked I was taking it with no further discussion required and I was bringing cash.  So I show up later Monday morning. The seller and his wife were wonderful hosts. They had 4 beautiful classic cars carefully shoe horned into a 3 bay garage. Apparently he needed some room LOL! As soon as he opened the entry door and I caught sight of her I completed the transaction (in my mind at least).  We started her up, backed her out, and went for a little ride.  Upon returning they were kind enough to invite me in to visit and "negotiate".  After a short while the doorbell rings. Apparently another buyer had made the trip from Grande Prairie, also with cash in hand.  I had beat him to the punch!  He sounded a bit disappointed.  He actually started to get a little desperate sounding, maybe even "rude" (just a little given his disappointment I suppose and I completely would understand if the situation was reversed). The seller finally told him the car was sold and reminded him he had told him it was when he had called earlier that morning before he left Grand Prairie and politely informed him it was time to leave. He said goodbye and shut the door.  Without further ado off we go to the bank to deposit the cashiers check and complete the sale.  I told him the bill of sale needed to be made out for $1 less than the asking price in deference to my father-in-law who always said "Never pay full price and never take anything less than your asking price!"

Back into the car and off to Calgary we go. She ran like a dream!  Then eventually we went back to Edmonton (my folks live in Edmonton area) and put the car into storage while I went away on another assignment overseas.  Upon returning in 2007 I had an opportunity to relocate to Texas and work out of the Houston office. So on a trailer she went, and off to Texas we go! She gets attention wherever we go.

Here are her stats.    283 with the 2 Speed Powerglide (this weeps a littleso it needs attention)

                                  White top with Powered mechanism (replaced in the '80s- I have receipt)

                                  Red Interior (refreshed in the 80's as well so I might want to find the Beaumont door emblems)

                                  Power Brakes, Power Steering (original drums but I am thinking about changing to disk brakes)

                                  Non-original (possibly Buick?) rally wheels (I have the original hubcaps though)

                                  Partial frame off restoration (front end removed) during the 2003-2005 timeframe (not factory paint.)

I have no intention of changing too much as I don't need a performance vehicle (I have one that ticks off those boxes, and then some!).  She is great for heading out to the local DQ for a banana split.  We have another local drive-in restaurant called Sonic and this car in known as the "Sonic car" in my family.

In 2020 during the COVID the High School my son graduated from put together a parade to honor the grads since there was not going to be a ceremony.  As you might envision there was plenty of interest in the "Tribute car built for Beaumont, Texas"(another great story).  Since I so rarely drive the car as I envision getting run into by some of these crazy Texas drivers (or worse...) - some friends I have known for years were surprised by it. It means I have kept my secret safe LOL.

Thanks to this website I discovered just how rare these cars are.  I knew they were "pretty rare" but not how exceedingly rare.  I discovered this forum and decided to do some additional research.  Frank at VVS has been very helpful, scrounging through the old files and micro fiche's.  If we are to factor in the options and color selection we figured by deductive calculations there were less than a dozen similar cars produced.  Having it assembled on the 4th of July is special considering my present location as well!  It is one of the last SD convertibles produced for the 1966 model year.  Even if it is not it is still very unique to me.

I want to Thank Todd and the admins for putting together and continuing to host this forum without which much of this information might not have been so readily available to me.  Ain't the interwebs great?! If you think my story is great you should hear my parents talk about their garage sale find - a 1958 Parisienne convertible!  Through this forum I was able to discover some of the history of that car as well!

I consider myself very fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time and in the right situation financially to acquire this vehicle.  I had previously thought about getting a project car but no longer need to. This car was, and is perfect for what I need.  To summarize in the words of my teenage son: "And the girls love it too!".