John Bury is the proud owner of this months Feature Car. John has owned this 1968 Pontiac Parisienne 2+2 convertible for 30 years. It was a pretty much a basket case when he bought it. You wouldn't know it to see the car now! John gives us the details:
According to GM Documents there was a total of 741 Parisienne 2+2 Convertibles built in 1968. I’ve owned this one since 1994. It’s a 327 - Powerglide car. Matador Red with Parchment interior and white top. Riding on Pontiac Rally II wheels. The car is a summer driver and treated as so.
I don’t know a lot of it’s history. GM Documents says it was originally sold out of Brandon Automobiles Ltd in Brandon Manitoba. They also say it came with a black top and skirts. I bought it here in Edmonton Alberta and the previous owner didn’t seem to know much of it’s history since he didn’t own it that long and it was already an Edmonton car.
Here’s the history since I’ve owned the car. I purchased the car back in October of ‘94 for $500. The previous owner got transferred to Vancouver and had to sell. The car was under a tarp in an apartment complex parking lot. He had the car already stripped down and in grey primer. The interior was rough. The top was almost nonexistent but you could tell it was white. The engine was an oil burner and the tires were junk. But the wheels were newly painted Pontiac Rally II’s and the trunk was full of extra parts. At first the car was going to go on the back burner for a while since my wife and I were engaged to be married the next May. After some discussion we decided if we could make it work in our budget and time frame then this would be our Wedding Car. The Autobody Shop next to where I worked said they would paint the car and have the top replaced for a deal if they could have it for the whole winter. I would move it back to our shop on weekends and put in quite a few late nights making the car road worthy. It was cutting it close but the car got painted and new top installed. Also at that time I replaced the carpet and had the rear seat reupholstered. The rest of the interior was cleaned and painted where needed. The front seats just got fuzzy seat covers for the time being. And the weather was nice enough on our Wedding Day to put the top down for pictures and such which made it worth it all.
For the next few years before the kids were born we would take the car on longer trips enjoying the top down. Numerous times to the mountains in BC.
Once we drove as far west as possible to Tofino on Vancouver Island. Another time we drove down to Montana and drove the Hiway to the Sun which is a must drive in a convertible. Now mostly I take it to Cruise Night Meets, Show and Shines, and CP Coffee Meets. Eventually I would like to drive out to Brandon Manitoba for the Super Run Show because of the car being originally sold there.
During COVID it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary and with everything shut down we took the car back to the same church we got married in and our son took some pictures of us posing with the car. On a side note, the Priest came out and asked what we were doing. We explained and he invited us in and we got to redo our vows so that was an awesome day.
I’ve made a few upgrades to the car through out the years. The worn out 350 was replaced with a period correct freshened up 275HP, 327.
The 10 bolt diff was swapped out for a 12 bolt. Front disc brakes were added from a ‘70 Caprice system.
A remote operated stereo was added under the drivers seat with speakers behind the side vent panels so no holes cut. With the help of Canadian Poncho members I was able to source down the missing 2+2 Louvers.
And the interior did get mostly finished. The front buckets got reupholstered and the door panels painted since they were just faded.
The few things I have plans on doing yet with the car are maintenance related. The suspension bushings, the body mounts, door hinge pins and some weatherstripping. I may get FM added to my radio and do away with the under seat stereo.
The paint on the car being 28 years now has it’s issues but not weathering too bad for the age and it’s not in my budget to redo it right now anyway. Plus every chip has a story lol!
Always liked 1968 Parisiennes, red especially, my Dad had a red 2 door hardtop, black vinyl top, for a demo. You have been getting a lot of enjoyment from this one for a long time.
Congratulations on being the monthly feature car.
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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
Congrats on making it to the top of the page. What a great cruiser!
One of the reasons I am into Canadian Pontiacs was due to cars like this, the big 2+2 convertibles that I saw as a kid. I see that only 741 were built for '68, so I'm sure I have seen every one they built
There's almost something sacred about long-term ownership of a collector car. They receive as much care and attention as a family member or pet. It shows on this car.
It is somewhat amusing to us today in this world of 8-speed automatics to see a Powerglide in one of these cars, but they work better than they should, are light, simple, reliable and draw very little power to spin. Good on you John for leaving it alone. Also the 327+ versions are the best ones.
Another amusing thing to me is that GM used the a small 2+2 badges on the door panels that mimic the SS badges. It was a good solution.
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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
The car's a beauty John.
Interesting it had the V52 Guard, Front Licence Plate option. I was looking for a pair of them a few years ago, and was finally able to source a pair. The holes for the front license plate bracket & guards are present in your front valance.
Congratulations John! I can't believe it, you've been an active member of CP forever and yet your car has never been featured? LONG overdue!
Having seen John's car a couple of times I can say it's beautiful. Like he says, it's not perfect and that's exactly the kind of car that is enjoyed the most by the owners. Another great month at CP.
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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
Like LandShark, a bit biased too. Love it and especially the white interior. Mine is due for new seat covers and foam and really considering switching to white / parchment. Great story and congrats on 30 years of ownership and use!
Congratulations John! I can't believe it, you've been an active member of CP forever and yet your car has never been featured? LONG overdue!
Having seen John's car a couple of times I can say it's beautiful. Like he says, it's not perfect and that's exactly the kind of car that is enjoyed the most by the owners. Another great month at CP.
Im not really sure why its taken so long. I dont really have a good excuse. Not even COVID. LOL. Actually just before COVID I was at a Show n Shine and this guy came up and asked if he could take a few pictures of the car. We got talking and he said he had this so called online classic car magazine. Well he featured my car in My Star Collector Car February 2020. I liked what I saw there so since then it was in the back of my mind and when Todd posted last fall CP was short on feature cars that kicked me in the butt to go out and take some pictures. Thanks everyone for the kind words.
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'68 Parisienne 2+2 Convertible Matador Red (Resale Red but not for sale).
What a beautiful car and a great story. I guess being young and in love, you didn't back down from that ambitious schedule of getting it ready.
Looks amazing and good on the Priest adding value to the visit
