It appears that if a 66 Beaumont Sport Deluxe was ordered with a 396, the only engine available was a 360 horse. Strange, as a 66 Chevelle SS396 could be had with a 325 (base), 360 or at some point, a 375 horse. Also, it seems the 66 Beaumont never got the fancy hood, even if it was ordered with the 396.
On a side note, supposedly the Canadian 66 Malibu SS cars with a 396 never got the hood either.
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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
I attempted to respond to this before however something happened midway in my reply, probably due to my sloppy typing. I'll try again. I attempted to purchase a 1968 SD with a 375 horse engine in April of 1968. My ex-wife's father was a salesman at that time with the local Pontiac dealership, hence the attempt. Another friend sold at the Chevrolet dealership and a 375 horse Chevelle WAS available. I was young at the time and somewhat ignorant as to high performance cars in general therefor did not realize the difference between a 396cu, 375hrs. and a 427cu, 385 hrs., of which I ended up with the latter. The only real horror of this situation is that prior to my discussing this with my former girlfriend/wife I had completed an order form for a 1968 Roadrunner Hemi with the identical options. All I had to do was drop off a cheque for $200.00 and he would have submitted the order. I know, you think I am exaggerating however you must remember in 1968 this was 5% of the purchase price. I doubt a 375 hrs. was available unless proven by GM and I further doubt there was a COPO division at that time for the Canadian Pontiac division. A number of years ago an individual was attempting to market a 396cu. 375hrs. Beaumont SD at Carlisle and through Hemmings. As far as I am personally concerned this was fraudulent and a disservice to true owners of Canadian SDs unless proven by GM documentation, which would have been available. In conclusion, any individual representing a Canadian car as authentic and he/she does not have GM documentation then that vehicle is almost certainly a fake. I should note however that a fake is often a representation of a similar vehicle with an up-to-date drive train and suspension system that far out performs the original vehicles. With respect to the above COPO connotations above, I did purchase a 1969 Chevelle 427cu. in. 425 hrs. from B & A Chevrolet just off of Yorkville in Toronto in late 1969, taken over at that time by Addison Chev/Olds. I have all the documentation for this one as well as everything else I've ever owned, including my Strato Chief. I read over the above and apologize for my ramblings however it is what it is and may be an incentive to others to agree or disagree with me.
1968 Strato Chief, 427cu. in. 385 hs., as was stated, Jade Metallic Green, black interior, 3.73 posi., F41, tinted glass, 4spd., etc. . I am the orignal owner and have the original bill of sale, as does Astro.
Where was your Strato Chief sold new? Sinclair Pontiac in London sold 7-8 Strato's with 427 4 speeds in '68. I talked to a fellow who worked for Sinclair at the time and owned one of them. He said Sinclair used to campaign them against Central Chev's Biscaynes. I wonder if there was a minimum order. Todd
The 375 HP 396 was an available option to be ordered. If you specified that engine as your choice for any Chevelle SS then your car was built in the USA and exported to Canada. That choice wasn't available if you were ordering a Beaumont
In the years that I've been researching Canadian built cars, no documented Canadian built 375 HP 396 cars have come up. The options available in Canada for a 396 V8 in Beaumonts and Chevelles were 325 and 350/360 HP depending on the model year. For the full size cars that maybe different I don't have any documentation on way or the other.
Same goes to '70 Chevelles SS' none were built in Canada with the LS6 engine.
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Dave Weir
Member #1
Canadian Classic Chevelles & Beaumonts
http://cdnclassics.chevelles.net/
Hmmm, I was making that statement based on the powertrain chart as well as the parts listed in the Beaumont parts catalogue. There is no record of 325 horse in 66.
Are there documented 325 horse 66 cars out there? If so, I am surprised that a 1972 edition of the parts book would not have been updated.
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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
I have a 1966 Pontiac Acadian, Beaumont Factory General Motors Price Lists With Options Lists catalog effective October 7, 1965 if anyone needs any specific pricing. The L34 396/360 is the only 396 listed (at Retail $260) plus a list of options that must or must not be specified in order to get the L34.
In '66 I bought a new 283 SD Beaumont. In the fall of '67 I traded a friend for his '66 SD 396 Beaumont. In '66 the SD 396 Beaumonts got the L34 360 hp 396, standard hood, V8 emblem, bucket seats and console. The exterior trim was identical to that on our 283 car. Nice sleeper. I've never heard of an L78 Beaumont. Here in Southern Ontario at least, all the L78 cars that I have seen over the years, came from Baltimore. Our COPO Chevelle and our '69 L78 Chevelle both came from Baltimore. Strange because Tonawanda, where these engines were built, was a lot closer to Oshawa that Baltimore. Never did figure that one out. The '66 SS396 Chevelles were 138 cars. I don't think that the '66 Malibu SS could get the 396 but I could be wrong. A lady in the Peterborough area has a nice red '66 Malibu SS hardtop.
Above are a couple pictures of a 66 Malibu SS from Chevellabration last year. The car now has a 427. How do I post pictures so they are on top of the other instead of side by side? James
Can any one tell me where I can find floor mats for a '67 Beaumont SD, with the word Beaumont on them and also with the Pontiac emblem (spear emblem) I'm looking for front and rear mats. I went to Pontiacmall.com but they do not have them with the word beaumont.
As a late responce to the statement above about no canadian LS6 chevelles made,a buddy of mine has a 70 LS6 El camino thats canadian made,so there were chevelles Im sure.
As a late responce to the statement above about no canadian LS6 chevelles made,a buddy of mine has a 70 LS6 El camino thats canadian made,so there were chevelles Im sure.
Chris, Elcaminos were never made in canada. Sold here occasionally. But never actually made in Oshawa
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Beaumontguru
MY BEAUMONT HAS 4 STUDDED TIRES AND 2 BLOCKHEATERS......AND LOTS OF OIL UNDERNEATH. The other one has a longer roof.
As a late responce to the statement above about no canadian LS6 chevelles made,a buddy of mine has a 70 LS6 El camino thats canadian made,so there were chevelles Im sure.
Would it happen to be a black bench seat column shift turbo 400 and someone else has the matching numbers engine and won't sell it to the car owner?
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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
If the el Camino is Canadian built, then the GM of Canada documentation is available. That will put a quick end to the argument. I don't recall el Caminos being built in Oshawa either. Back in '66 most of us Canadians weren't even aware of the different details between ours and our American counterparts' cars. A friend had a new '66 Canadian 396 360 hp Chevelle with the HD 3 speed on the floor. It had the flat hood. They only came with the buckets and console as part of the package. No bench seat as in the US. I don't know whether it was badged as an SS396 or Malibu SS but I'm pretty sure that the car had the cross flag Turbo Jet 396 fender emblems. I'll ask Ken if he has any pictures of the car.
