Yes, that info is thanks to Kevin's persistence as well as investment with GM Vintage Vehicle Services. There's been lots of stories of other 66 Parisiennes, Laurentians and Strato Chiefs with an L72 but no solid proof has ever surfaced, at least on Canadian Poncho.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
The video is good but to me it would be more credible and impressive had he included the Dual Quad 409 available in 1964, also at 425 HP. He knows his stuff but not as well as us. As well, evidence of and actual existence of those 64s is readily available.
Limited time option? You had 365 days potentially, spanning September '65 to summer '66 build-out to get your car built. Probably June was the cut-off for orders.
The big blocks were coming in from Tonawanda, so logistics were no different for any version. Given the very low installation rate that 427s had in these cars, my guess is that they just didn't justify taking responsibility for, parts wise for 10 years, for such a fringe combo. At Chrysler the Hemis were U.S.-built cars whereas Cornet / Satellite were built only to 383 in Canada, so too with Big Fords where in '65 the 390 was tops in Canada but 427 in the U.S.
Around 2006 I corresponded with an owner of a 1-of-6 1969 full-size Chevrolet with L72 power sold new in Canada. It was a U.S. built Impala Sport Coupe with a bench seat, M21, fender skirts & wheel covers originally. Sold new to a teacher in Windsor. I wonder what dealer, maybe Central Chev-Olds in London? They were up on the secret high-performance offerings.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
The video is good but to me it would be more credible and impressive had he included the Dual Quad 409 available in 1964, also at 425 HP. He knows his stuff but not as well as us. As well, evidence of and actual existence of those 64s is readily available.
Ta Da!
1964 Pontiac Custom Sport 409 Super Flame Dual Quad - 425 HP - The first most powerful Pontiac!
I always admired Marv's stock looking dual quad 425HP 409 Corvair. I know its not a Pontiac but it just popped into my head for some reason, it is a stock drivetrain except for the 409 and a radiator.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
I always admired Marv's stock looking dual quad 425HP 409 Corvair. I know its not a Pontiac but it just popped into my head for some reason, it is a stock drivetrain except for the 409 and a radiator.
Google Corvair with a 409, I think there is still a full build on the HAMB site.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Hard to find one stock now of both of these. No replacement for displacement, Id bet on the 427-425. I think they were underrated at 425 by GM in stock form.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Hard to find one stock now of both of these. No replacement for displacement, Id bet on the 427-425. I think they were underrated at 425 by GM in stock form.
I think you had to spin the 2x4 409 more for the same numbers as the 427/425.
A wee bit of it might have been the 16 CI more, but the rest down low was in the new head. It's interesting.
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
Chevrolet learned the limits of the 409 & experimented with the Mark II Mystery Motor. They finally released it for production with the Mark IV. Done in 6.5 & 7 litre displacements for racing purposes (396 & 427) they brought power to the masses cheaply.
I say Chevrolet but come on, we were speaking of the lighter Chevrolet-based chassis Pontiacs and how cool and rare in such configuration they were. Canadians were a cheap lot and almost always bought the smaller engines for economy in it's many forms. In terms of purchase price, operating costs, insurance, and even license retention. And lets not forget cold-weather starting.
I always get a little excited when I see a barge of a Pontiac with big cubes and/or a 4-speed.
As a kid in the sixties there were Canadian Pontiacs everywhere. On my 20-house street there were 9. In many cases the badging was so discreet that you'd never know if that Parisienne down the street might have a 427. Certainly that '66 Beaumont Sport Deluxe driving along the main road with dual exhaust & wheelcovers off might be hiding something.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
Marv also did a Corvair 327 , I think it was a convertible. I met him at a Halifax car show a long time ago, he has a 63 BelAir 2 door post, dark blue, tan cloth, dog dish, 4 speed, air, and a 396 2 barrel. It had 409 markings on it, he said he put the 396 in it for good gas mileage. It was a 69 iirc. It also had those period correct tow tabs under the front bumper. He has a large 409 collection in his garage, a wall of valve covers, intakes, manifolds, heads, and blocks. Ive seen pictures of it on line.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
That Corvair 409 swap is crazy. Very tidy & well done, but ARE YOU CRAZY? That thing would be so tail heavy that it would exaggerate the early Corvair traits. The transaxle would be the weak link in the drive-train. Some ran mid-engine Crown conversions, but that cost you your back seat. That might actually be so cool in a GT-40 sort of way.
Still, I remember the sound of a Corvair as one would drive past. That flat air-cooled six. You would hear it more going away than coming, and a nasty dual-quad 409 V8 would really be a total surprise in that beautiful sleeper. Very well done.
One other crazy thing about that Corvair. It has no air cleaners (or flame arrestors!). I understand the need for hood clearance, but... Two open 4-barrels, one backfire = one fire. It would burn the paint off those hood louvres in an instant.
-- Edited by CdnGMfan on Monday 13th of February 2023 07:42:17 AM
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton