For our November feature we are stepping back one model year from our October car and showcasing Jason ("Jake") Sherlock's sharp 1963 Pontiac Parisienne. Jake just recently purchased this car and has been pleasantly surprised at how original it is and how well it runs. This Poncho has seen a fair share of highway miles since Jake aquired it and he is impressed with how reliable it has been. Jake tells us a bit more about himself and his Parisienne:

 I grew up in a small farm town in the Fraser Valley and as a kid the job during haying season was to drive the tractors. We were too small to throw bales at that point..In Winter we would drag neighborhood kids down snowy backroads on inverted hoods off the old cars that were everywhere. I earned enough to buy a 1957 Morris Oxford all metal station wagon/traveller from a local farmer for $35.00. I was 13 yrs old...and got caught driving it on the road by the RCMP. I was hooked on driving and so began my story of cars and trucks. My Father was the worst driver and or wrench ever known to man!! Lol. He's gone now but he would agree. Mechanically challenged he was so my brother (who is 5 yrs older than me) and I learned any way we could, and we did. He became a mechanic and I a bodyman. My vehicle count at this point was 35. No Chrysler products are in the list although I almost bought a 340 Cuda 3spd standard when I was 18. As I moved through my trade in autobody I gravitated over to heavy collision work but not before working on all the classics including a '64 mustang with a custom retractable hardtop built for a paint rep in Langley that we showed at the PNE in Vancouver. I forget all the details now but it was red (of course - I hate red) and these things were indeed prototypes built in the early 60's by the same dude who came up with the '57 Fairlane retractable. There's no big story here I'm afraid. As a kid and then into my trade I saw and worked on many classics including some european beauties - highboys,lowboys,scallops,flames, blah blah blah. I had mostly GM stuff in my corner though. So here's the  Pontiac's that have been in my life: This Parisienne, a 1972 Ventura (green with black guts) and a '77 Phoenix with a 305 no less. Other GM's I've owned include a 59 Biscayne 2 dr post, a '60 Apache short fleet, two '63 Novas, a '64 C10 short step, a '66 C10 short step, two '77 Chevy Vegas, a '72 long fleet pickup , a '72 Impala ,a 1980 Gmc short step. I'm no longer working in the trade but still do at home.

We recently sold our boat so I decided to look for a classic car. I'd love to have a 67-69 A body Pontiac but I don't want to do a full blown resto any more and we can't afford what people are asking. Therefore I started looking for a nice B body. I am a fan of the 61-64's for sure but I do favor the stacked headlight look. I looked for several months and found some really nice ones State side. Then one day I saw this car peeking out on the Castanet classifieds out of Kelowna. It was close to home and a good price so I jumped in my little 1990 Tracker in the middle of January and drove the Coquihalla "hiway thru hell" and bought the car.

Then I waited for 2 months for decent weather to trailer it home! In the end my wife Cindy and I drove to Kelowna, put a permit on it, collected up all the bits and pieces that came with it and I drove it home! The car had not been driven any distance since 1976 although the previous owner had spent money having things done to keep it mobile. This car is stock except for the 4bbl carb. All suspension body mounts etc are/were original to the car.

The interior is all original. The dash pad, headliner, parcel shelf, steering wheel, and glass are mint! The body is straight and was painted way back when. It has lots of flaws (staining, chipping etc.) but I really don't mind. I wet sanded it to 2000 to bring a little life back to the paint and she looks good. I bought a few things for it to spruce it up a bit including sill plates, door handle bases, kick panels, nickel plated vent grills and floormats.

I also installed a new air breather, station wagon springs for the rear,  and big block springs and spacers up front as well as an adjustable track bar. Tires and wheels consist of 15 inch torque thrust original with the antique silver centers and the BFG 215 75 15 skins.

Of course I've kept all of the original stuff. This summer we put over 1500 kilometers on it on a road trip through southern British Columbia. The car has the original drive train in it and reads 103,000 miles on the OD. It runs flawlessly and the 2 speed with 3.36 gears out back makes for a fun car to cruise around in. This winter I will pull out the motor and tranny and clean them up and remove 56 years worth of grime.

I won't rebuild it yet as it runs too good! I'd like to put a 2 barrel back on just so it's stock although that Edelbrock works pretty well. The body mounts need doing as well as the suspension bushings. The box mounts in the trunk and couple of the floor braces also need attention.  I think I "rescued" this car just in time so to speak. It had museum quality petrified mice in the frame and the underbody metal was so dry I sprayed down with a case of WD40 followed by a case of Honey Goo to provide some moisture repellence! Everything on and in the car works although I did have to pull the clock out,  dismantle it and clean it . It works good now! I'd like to says thanks to everyone on the forum who helped me with stuff. Details make the difference!

This car has an interesting history. The previous owner bought this car off the lot at Carter Motors on Pandosy Street in Kelowna in 1964 and he gave us pics of him leaning on the car dated 1964 however the original warranty book in the glove box lists the buyer as Calona Wines.

The previous owner says Cap Capozzi (the owner of Calona Wines at the time) ordered this car and then did not take it. It wasn't big enough so he went with a station wagon as he was a "very large man". The previous owner was told about this car on the lot by his father who worked at Calona Wines at that time. Great story..Carter Motors is gone but Calona Wines is still around as Peller Estates I think. Paper work from Oshawa verifies the selling dealer and also the original motor in the car!   Jake