The last 409 Pontiac?

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

The last 409 Pontiac?

67BBSD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Wow, thats really late-I would have been surprised to see anything past Jan 65 ! and Black too !

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Yeah I kind of wonder if GM might not have sent its last 409s to Canada to use them up so we might have a later end date.

ken

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

That is a huge piece of the puzzle for us. I don't think we have seen solid evidence of a 1965 396 Pontiac yet. As 66 Grand Guy says, maybe there are none. Only 74 340 horse, wonder how many 400 HP were made.

StriperSS · Poncho Master!

I remember seeing a red 65 Custom Sport hardtop with a 409 in Vancouver years ago. It belonged to a friend of a friend who had a 327 4 spd 65 Custom Sport, also red.

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

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Wow thanks so much AS Todd said a big piece of the puzzle I have never seen one....

gparis7 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

This info fills some of the gaps about 65 409 production. Thanks for posting.

Ghost Post · Poncho Master!

WOW...great info!.

With the late delivery, being most cars were shipped within a few days of being built it'd appear to be built long after the US plants switched to Mk. 1V production..

Also this situation brings to mind the question of if Canadian Chevys were also receiving W-Motors after the US plants?.

Is the original engine in the car and if so can you lay the build date on us?. If the original engine is gone, the engine build info could be obtained from Geo. Z. as it should be on the microfishe page..

Until something else w/ a later date shows up, this could certainly be considered as the last 409 built!.

-- Edited by Ghost Post at 09:18, 2009-01-16

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Howdy guys, Thanks for the interest and for blowing up that documentation. i still can't figure out how to do that.

Also yes we still have the orginal engine although it is in a 55 GMC at the moment. When we can get a glimpse at the date code we'll definitely post it.

ken

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

66 Grande guy wrote:

Yeah I kind of wonder if GM might not have sent its last 409s to Canada to use them up so we might have a later end date.

ken

I agree, wouldn't be the first time GM has done that. Not unlike sending all the old tooling down to South America and building stuff for years down there after it has been discontinued here.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Astro Jet wrote:

66 Grande guy wrote:

Yeah I kind of wonder if GM might not have sent its last 409s to Canada to use them up so we might have a later end date.

ken

I agree, wouldn't be the first time GM has done that. Not unlike sending all the old tooling down to South America and building stuff for years down there after it has been discontinued here.

So are we leaning to the concept that GM Canada might not have installed 396 CID V8's in any 1965 Ponchos?

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

66 Grande guy wrote:

Howdy guys, Thanks for the interest and for blowing up that documentation.

ken

Where does your brother live Ken? I think I may have seen this car?

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

73SC wrote:

So are we leaning to the concept that GM Canada might not have installed 396 CID V8's in any 1965 Ponchos?

Unless someone can produce some documentation showing same, I would agree. I don't think GM of Canada was big on major mid year changes, can you think of another instance where they did something equivalent to this? Being a smaller market, I think things were pretty well set in stone at the beginning of the production year. There was pressure to get the new Mark IV out in the US because of NASCAR, and Pontiac was cleaning Chevy's clock in the muscle car wars by having big cube engine to offer in the GTO while the Chevelle could only be ordered with a 327.

-- Edited by Astro Jet at 14:53, 2009-01-16

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Hi I doubt you would have seen this car running. it hasn't been on the road for about 20 years. We live up in Lac la Biche in northern Alberta.

Right now its waitiing its turn for restoration sitting outside. If it is the last 409 car we'll probably move it to place of honour though!

I'll post a picture.

ken

Astro Jet · Poncho Master!

Well there is someone in the west end of the GTA who has a 65 Pontiac with a 409. I last saw it a cruise night at a Canadian Tire on Dundas in Mississauga.

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

and the photos are; lost? misplaced? wet? sold? eaten by the dog....

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Maybe we want to acquire that car for our museum. The last 409 in North America just might be a Canadian Poncho!

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

HI guys, here are a few pictures of the tired old beast. Sorry about the snow. There was just too much to tackle. I 'll get a better picture when some of the snow melts. The engine is the one from the car but it is in the bay of a 55 GMC. Pretty rough looking but worth reuniting eh?

I couldn't get a peek at any of the date codes where it is sittiing. We'll have to drag it out and get a look.

I'll post when I get those.

ken

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Sounds like this car will be worthy of a full nut and bolt resto. She'll be a real looker esp being black on black. I wonder how many 409 cars came factory with a block heater??

67BBSD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

69Laurentian wrote:

Sounds like this car will be worthy of a full nut and bolt resto. She'll be a real looker esp being black on black. I wonder how many 409 cars came factory with a block heater??

My deepwater blue 67 SD 396 had a factory block heater, I used to leave the plug hanging out of thegrille for cruise night-made for a conversation piece amongst lookers.

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

This car must have been ordered by somebody who wanted to go summer or winter! It must have been a real bear in the snow.

I know it was a real torque monster. I remember one of those famous occasions when my brother said OK, watch this! and really punched it! We got through first and when he shifted into second we felt this big lurch and watched the driveshaft twirl its way into the ditch. Cracked the bellhousing almost all the way around. What a beast!

Thinking about that stuff sure makes me think I'd love to see it going again. My brother works in the bush (one week in and a week out) so he doesn't know any of this latest info. Once he sees how you guys value this thing, I have a feeling we're going to start something soon. It s just kind of languishing out there, looking kind of sad.

When I think of the times when I was young and foolish that I told him to dump the body and just keep the engine!

ken

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Wow, that is a very important piece of Canadian Pontiac history. When can I come and pick it up

Yes, that car needs to be re-assembled, for sure.

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Het Carl, when he gets out of the bush, I'll tell him you came by and took it. Its time he had his first heart attack anyway!

ken

-- Edited by 66 Grande guy at 12:29, 2009-02-22

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

66 Grande guy wrote:

Its time he had his first heart attack away!

ken

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

66 Grande guy wrote:

Het Carl, when he gets out of the bush, I'll tell him you came by and took it. Its time he had his first heart attack away!

ken

I think I'd have my first heart attack knowing I was doing that to someone, taking away his 409 Pontiac!