Disaster struck Pete Barber (a.k.a "DualQuadPete") a few years ago when his garage and two collector cars were destroyed by fire. Thankfully Pete was well insured and was able to rebound fairly quickly. The garage has been rebuilt and two new collector cars take up residence inside. One of these cars is this 1964 Pontiac Parisienne Safari Wagon. Pete's wagon is a solid example with a few modifications to make it more enjoyable to drive. Pete tells us more:

"On Feb.16th of 2017 I had the unfortunate disaster of my shop burning to the ground, and losing my modified 52 Pontiac Torpedo back and '69 Olds Cutlass convertible. Vintage Auto Insurance was Great on coverage of vehicles and house insurance covered the garage. I was informed of a 64 Impala S/S for sale close by sitting in garage for 17 yrs that  was a actory 409 4 speed. I went to look at it in March and bought it on the spot. I was content to stay with one vehicle..  NOT !!!! The garage was rebuilt better and higher than the first one and I added a hoist. Later that year Canadian Poncho had a 64 Parissiene Safari wagon ad up for sale in Regina.

"OH Boy!" I said to my girlfriend Sharon. "I'm in trouble here!". I held off for 4 days trying to talk myself out of calling but it didn't work. I made the call to Derrick (who was hesitant on taking call from 905 area code). We talked for awhile and he sent pictures and video. On the second call to him He said "I'll describe this car as if it was you here "nit picking" it apart". What he said didn't bother me so i made him a offer. He countered. We met in the middle and the car was SOLD!! Now, how to get it home.. I figured out my cost on driving out with trailer (I don't fly) then called Mackies transport in Oshawa. They gave me two quotes; pickup right away or go on "standby" for when a space came up on the truck. I called Derrick to see if it was OK to wait for a spot to come available. No Problem there. Four days later I got an email from him of a picture of the wagon being loaded into the hauler. When it arrived her and the back door swung down I thought "I hope it's as good as the pictures and description!".

The driver fired it up. WHAT A SOUND !! He backed it out and we went over the car. NO DISAPPOINTMENTS! It was exactly as described!!! I drove it around the block and man, that 4 speed shifted nice and the exhaust note was sweet! It has a really stiff clutch compared to the 409 due to the fact it is a double disc clutch. The previous owner in Alberta used it to tow drag car!! It was sold brand new in Calgary and it spent it's life out west.  It's a 350 "010" block possibly out to 358. It has an aluminum high rise intake with a Holley 650 electric choke, 202 double bump heads, and a really "lumpy" cam!! 

It also has a Borg Warner T10 4speed, disc brake conversion, 905 strg. box 3:36 Posi rear end. Wheels are 15" Cragar S/S mags. There's also a super heavy duty Reese Hitch and air shocks. There was one problem. Derrick forgot to put the ownership in the wagon! Another call and a few days later it came in the mail.

I had to repair a front turn signal socket and adjust parking brake before taking it for the Ontario safety inspection. It passed and I got the ownership changed over and obtained new plates. I was "good to go"!

When I had it appraised for the insurance I had it on lift for inspection and the appraiser was amazed at the condition of underside!! . We have driven the Safari twice to West Virginia in 2018 and averaged 23 MPG on both trips.

The toboggan and "snow shoes" on roof rack kind of freaked some people out down there!!!  It "pulls hard" in all the gears and is "almost" as much fun as the 409 for GO but it will carry a lot more BEER!!!

I've added LED's to Tail/stop, all interior lights and added 3 under the dash and four in wagon part. I converted both outside mirrors to sequential LED arrows, and converted all dash lights to LED's as well.

I changed the AM radio to AM/FM USB unit from a supplier in OLD Auto's without "butchering the dash" . I did the same unit on Impala too. So, I didn't stay a "one car guy" The garage looked "empty" on one side! Thanks to the lift  I can "stack" them now and still have open bay!!  Room for one more? Maybe!"