Our September feature car is one that hails from the same town as our long time member and moderator Carl Stevenson. In fact Carl has known the car for quite some time and was gracious enough to take the photos and do the write up on this beautiful 1967 Beaumont SD396. Here's the scoop!

Submitted by Carl Stevenson (4SPEED427)

This 67 SD 396 Beaumont has been in the same hands for 40 years! Close to 30 of those years, the car sat outside, pretty much a bare hulk, patiently waiting for its turn to be restored. Brian K of Morris Manitoba is the lucky owner. I won't reveal his age but you get the idea when I tell you he bought his first Beaumont a bit over 50 years ago! Since then he has owned many many Beaumonts and a number of Chevelles as well. You will have seen one of Brian's restorations featured on Canadian Poncho very recently, the March 2022 66 SD 327 4 speed convertible belonging to Brian Bergen. 

This Beaumont is one that is considered by many to be the holy grail of Beaumonts. It's a 67 SD396/350hp. It's the model 738 meaning it was built after the changeover (around the end of November 1966) when the Sport Deluxe became its own model which included the big block hood,  instead of being an option on a Beaumont Custom with no big block hood in sight on the 396 cars. The original engine was absent when he got the car and he was told it was a victim very early on in the car's life. 

Brian loves original details when restoring cars. While this car is clearly not an absolutely 100% correct resto (witness the suspension with airbags, and the wheels), the majority of it was done with authenticity in mind. Notice the T-3 headlights, original Harrison big radiator, the paint detail on the rear SD-only trim and tail light bezels (black on SD, gray/silver on Custom), and the yellow overspray on the underside of the hood.

Brian said he looked at many many original painted hoods to see how the overspray should end up. And speaking of that hood, it was missing on this car when he got it. Because he was unhappy with a reproduction hood when restoration time arrived, he found an original 396 car for sale, bought it, replaced the domed hood with a flat hood and resold the car. Such are the things car guys do to get the parts they want! Another thing to notice is the emblems on the front fenders (which were replaced just recently with NOS GM fenders). They are in the absolute correct location, something that is so often messed up on Beaumont restorations. 

The GM documentation shows the minimal options this car was ordered with. Personally I would have done one thing different. I would have ordered without rear defog and used that cash to help fund a limited slip differential on a 396 4 speed Beaumont!

Normally a person who would spend this much time, effort and money restoring a car like this would drive it sparingly. It would likely see some weekend car shows, maybe an odd weeknight cruise in perfect weather and likely an enclosed trailer for any long-distance running. Not this car. Brian built it to use.

Every time he takes the car out, it sees 1/2 a mile of gravel when it leaves and again when it comes home.  Since restoring it about 12 years ago, the Beaumont has logged about 80,000 miles! There's not likely many cars that have received an entire body off frame every nut and bolt restoration that have seen that kind of numbers in that time frame. That amount of driving is not without its perils though. Brian says he's had to repair the stainless windshield trim a few times because of rock damage. He's had to replace 3 or 4 hood lip mouldings because of rock damage. Yet he told me with all of that, he has not had any damage to the front of the hood from rocks!

The most significant updates in that mileage though has been 3 engines and 4 Muncies! By his own confession some of that might be due to his enjoying the car. I can attest to that, having been his country neighbour for over 20 years. Numerous times on a quiet summer evening when I was out in the yard I heard the noise when he got to the end of the gravel and onto the pavement!

This car is a regular sight around our town as well as numerous car