Having hit the 1000 member mark, I felt I'd celebrate by making the car that inspired Canadian Poncho the feature for July. You veterans to the site have heard this story before. I promise not to repeat it after this! However many of you may not know the story behind my 1969 Pontiac Laurentian and the reason why I wanted to own one.  First, we have to go back about 39 years

It was the Spring of 1970. My dad was looking for a car to replace his 62 Impala. It had served him well but was starting to get quite rusty.  Being the sole bread winner of my family and having two young kids, he needed a car that would be reliable, inexpensive,, V8 powered,  a two door hardtop (he didn't want a four door as he was afraid wed open the doors and fall out!) and most of all it had to be a GM product. A visit to the local Pontiac dealer (Sinclair) revealed the perfect car. They had a 1969 Pontiac Strato Chief that was a company demonstrator. This was the first time the Strato Chief two door was sold as a hardtop. This one had everything he needed:  A 350 V8, power steering, power brakes, and AM radio. Although green wasnt his first choice of colour, the price was too good to pass up and the Strato Chief went on to be our family car for 12 years.






There were many fond memories of this car. Trips to friends and family. Dad letting me drive the car on the dirt roads that led to the cottage. My sister and I fighting for the front seat when we went on errands with dad. Ever since I got my drivers license I wanted a 69 Pontiac. I didn't care if it was a Strato Chief. The Laurentians and Parisiennes werent much different anyway. It seemed every 69 I looked at had been a victim of our harsh winters. Many had frame damage and knowing how hard parts were to find I didn't bother with cars that had rotted sheet metal. I even thought I found THE car back in 1987. A 25000 mile Strato Chief 2 door hardtop located about 2 hours north. You can imagine my disappointment when I found the roof completely rotted under the vinyl top. After that let down I pretty much gave up on finding a decent one. Fast forward to 2007. Both of my parents had since passed away. I thought more and more about the great times we had with that Pontiac. Just for a kick, I posted a want ad for a 69 Pontiac online. I had a few replies however most of them were either priced to high, located too far away or too rusty. Having been spoiled by having owned old cars from the southern U.S didn't help!

A few weeks later I received an email from a fellow giving me a heads up on a 69 Laurentian for sale in Welland, Ont. The car looked pretty decent and it appeared only some interior work was needed. It had just come out of  a 30 year hibernation, having been put in storage in 1978 by the original owners son after having been completely stripped to bare metal and repainted.

Unfortunately I wasn't in the position to pay the asking price unless I could sell the car I already had and I wasn't having any luck in doing that. The Laurentian was owned by (now) CP member 67BBSD (Ken). Ken posted the car on Ebay and the car sold. I had pretty much forgotten the car when I got an email from Ken a few weeks later. It turns on the buyer on Ebay wasn't happy with the car and he suggested I contact him to see if he would sell it to me. Ken sold the car for a lower price on Ebay than he had originally posted in his ad. This price was more in my budget and I felt that if the new owner would sell me the car for what he paid, I could swing the deal. I managed to contact the owner. He was agreeable in selling the car to me for what he paid. He was located in Guelph and we tried to hook up on a few occasions. It seemed like it wasn't meant to be. My interest waned somewhat and I started looking for something else. I decided to look for a muscle car that I could buy, enjoy for a year or so and sell and make some money. A little while later I found a 69 GTO for sale in Old Autos. The car was from California and the price seemed low enough that I could make some money with very little elbow grease. Little did I know at that time the market would drop like it did! I contacted the seller and he was located in Guelph. When I learned this I remembered the Laurentian. I figured if I could contact the owner of the Laurentian, I could check it out as well. When I mentioned the GTO to the owner of the Laurentian he said That car is located right next door to me!. What do you think the odds are of this happening? Fate? I had a friend come with me to check out the cars. The dealership I worked for was nice enough to let me take a dealer plate with me. I was determined to come home with something. I checked out the GTO first. It really didn't do anything for me. I felt it needed more work than I was willing to put into it and felt I wouldn't be able to get my money out of it. We walked next door to check out the Laurentian. I could not get over how solid this Canadian Pontiac was. I paid the sellers price and drove the car home.

Once I had her home I could asses what was needed to make her reliable and to jazz up her  appearance. It really wasnt much to look at with those wire hubcaps, 14 wheels, fuzzy seat covered interior and cracked nose cone.



My first plan of attack was to go through the brake system. The shoes, cylinders, flex lines, rear lines and master cylinder were replaced. I scored a mint nose cone on Ebay and had it painted Mayfair Maize to match the rest of the car. The 14 tires and hubcaps were replaced with 15 steel rally wheels with correct Canadian Pontiac Centers. The tires are repro Firestone Redline Wide Ovals purchased from Coker Tire. A redline spare is also in the trunk (thanks to Ken for selling me this tire and those Pontiac center caps!) .





The worn cloth upholstery was replaced with more durable vinyl purchased from NOS Reproductions. Special thanks to my wife for helping me install these covers. You pretty much need two people to do these right. The carpet was also replaced. I also scored these custom floor mats thanks to NOS Reproductions. They are perfect!









I was also lucky to nab a rare rally gauge cluster on Ebay. The 8 track player that was installed in the 70s still works however I opted to install a more modern radio with a SD card slot. I hid it behind a GM tissue dispenser. Modern speakers hide under OEM grilles. Two 4 speakers  are located under the dash where the mono speaker used to be.






Under the hood the original 350 cleaned up and was injected with a few more ponies thanks to a 350hp 327 cam swap, Edelbrock intake and carb. Exhaust flows through a dual exhaust system by Waldrons.





With the Holley Carb:




The paint is still the 30 year old lacquer applied back in 1978. It is starting to show its age however I hope to preserve it for a few more years. Im still amazed at how well it still shines. The vinyl top was also replaced in 78 and still looks very good. I suspect the super rare Laurentian body side moldings, emblems (including 427 emblems), bumpers, grilles and weatherstrips were also replaced with NOS in 78 as they are all in excellent condition. Thanks to Ken, I was fortunate to get copies of photographs taken of the car in the early 1970s as well as photos of  the restoration in 1978.









Many people have asked me why I kept the green interior with the yellow exterior. Why not? Remember, this car was built in 1969. Wonky colour schemes were the norm and I feel this just adds to the character of the car. As for future plans for Lemon Lime? A big block is on the engine stand and will hopefully find its way between the fender wells this fall. After that I hope to just keep it clean and put lots of miles on it.
















When I bought the Laurentian I immediately became frustrated with the lack of information on these cars - both in print and online. How could there be so little information on Canadian built Pontiac's when they were everywhere back in the day? Why did people snub their noses at them? It wasn't for lack of style or reliability. I soon realized the Beaumont and Acadian guys were in the same boat.  I decided to take matters into my own hands. Canadian Poncho was formed in the hopes that Id meet other folks who shared the same passion for these cars. We could exchange knowledge, parts, and support. And thanks to Canadian Poncho I have met so many fantastic people who have helped me get the Laurentian to the condition it is in today. I also feel privileged to have met many, many great people and have seen some fantastic cars. You have all made owning my Pontiac that much more special.




Todd







-- Edited by 69Laurentian on Tuesday 30th of June 2009 10:50:42 PM