It seems pretty apparent that 1966 is a popular year for our members when it comes to Canadian built Pontiac's. It's not really surprising given the clean, well proportioned styling the Pontiac's had that year. We have seen a lot of great examples of 66's here over the years. One great sixty-six that many of us may not have seen very often on Canadian Poncho is Gary Lupton's Parisienne. This car wasn't always as nice as it is now. Gary and his son Devin did a fantastic job restoring the car. As you will read below, it wasn't an easy restoration. As with so many Canadian Pontiacs, this one had both rust and collision damage. Follow along as Gary tells us how he brought this Poncho back to better-than-new condition:

"I have always been fond of the 60's Ponchos. My first was a '64 Laurentian 4 dr that was our family car that I bought from my father. I was looking for something in the 63 to 67 range. My son Devin, told me about a car that was parked in Delta that belonged to the daughter of a fellow that we worked with. Went to have a look and it surprised us that it actually started although I didn't know how long it had been sitting. Got in touch with the gal and the deal was made. We drove it home and on the freeway it was a blast from the past. You have to love the ride in these big brutes. 

I started the tear down to find what we had and how good it was. Lots and lots of work was ahead in the build. Someone had done some bondo and in places it was almost 3/4's of an inch thick. Most of that had to be removed and new proper pieces put back in. A lot of time was spent sourcing parts from all over North America. 

The majority of the welding I did myself, which I had never done before. My son was in the mechanics course and had his third year so he did the motor build after it came back from the machine shop. I was able to do the body work with a lot of helpful information from a body guy that my son worked with. 

Most of the parts I got from a guy that had a huge collection of '65 b body stuff which he later sold to the Tin Man.

The two major repairs that were made was both of the rear quarters. Was able to source this from a '65 that was in very good condition. The drivers side was a total redo from door to the trunk. Passenger was only from the door post to the center of the wheel well including the post which had been hit at some point in its life. Major headache. 

Had the frame dipped and the body blasted and then did all the preparations before my son did the paint which was the first that he had ever done on his own. I think that he had a very good teacher!

All of the running gear is numbers matching, as I discovered after getting the GM docs.

A few things have been added that were not original to the vehicle such as the tach, rear defogger, the belt moulding below the back window, wheel well stainless in the rear wheel lip, (I didn't like the skirts), spinner hubcaps, and the passenger side mirror. The dash in the car is as it was when I first looked at it with a little touch of paint. 

In all the build took us 5 years and I couldn't be happier. I just love to get it out on the road and cruise down the highway as it floats along. 

Thanks for allowing me to be in that place at the top of the site and thanks to Todd for this fantastic site and all of his dedication.

Gary (Luppy) Lupton"