Our February Feature Car is this sharp survivor 1967 Beaumont Custom four door hardtop belonging to Kim Connors. Kim purchased the car from the son of the original owner. The car was in long term storage and as a result needed some love to get it back to roadworthy status. Kim give us the details on what he had to do to get the car back to tip-top shape and with the help of the previous owner gives us some details on the history of this rare Beaumont:

Shortly after I purchased my 65 Beaumont in September of 2017 one of my neighbours mentioned that another neighbour in our complex also owned a Beaumont.  Finally in 2020 I saw the 67 Beaumont 4-door, yellow with black top parked in our guest parking lot.

Over the winter I got to know the owner, my neighbour Roy, and started to learn the interesting history of his 67.

His father retired from Air Canada in 1967 and bought himself the new 1967 Beaumont as a retirement gift.  He closed the deal on March 31st, just a day before the new provincial sales tax was introduced on April 1st of 1967.  Roy remembers his dad in deep negotiations to close the deal on March 31st.

As with all humans our memories play tricks on what we remember, but below is Roy’s recollection of the history. 

 Roy thought his dad ordered the car but according to the Vintage Vehicle Report the car was delivered to the dealer on October 11, 1966.  When his dad picked up the car it had a spatter or speckled roof which appears to have been added by the dealer considering the car left the factory with a yellow roof.  Roy remembered his dad delivering the car to Ziebart on April 1st before bringing it home, but the Ziebart receipt is dated August 8th.

Sadly in 1972 Roy’s dad passed away from a battle with cancer and Roy’s mom kept the car locked in her garage for the next 26 years until her passing in 1998.

When Roy inherited the car in 1998 he was faced with a few repairs to ensure it was road worthy.

I have Roy’s permission to share this story: As a natural reaction to mourning, Roy’s mom felt anger which led her to take a tire iron to the eyebrow on the front left fender.  Roy replaced both eyebrows at the same time.

Both front fenders had rust at the bottom which he had repaired plus he removed the spattered roof and had the car painted its original yellow, He also changed the roof to black.

Over the years Roy had other minor repairs done to the car including replacing the original radiator with an ugly aluminum one, replaced both bumpers, and a few other small things.

In 2021 while taking photos of our two Beaumonts together I happened to mention to Roy that if he ever considered selling his car I’d be interested.  I never dreamed he’d consider selling the family car and honestly I wasn’t overly interested in it (other than the one-family aspect of the story).

*Ed note: VVS is aware the model # is incorrect and is sending Kim a replacement copy of these docs

In the Spring of 2022 while picking up the mail I met Roy at the mailbox where he asked me if I was still interested in his Beaumont.  I replied that yes, I was.  It took most of the summer for him to get the car (and possibly himself) ready for sale but finally in the September of 2022 I took ownership.

Upon taking ownership a couple of things stood out:

The heater box was full of mice nests making the winter drive between Winnipeg and Morris very cold with no heat.  The carburetor and entire fuel system were shot requiring replacement from the tank to the carb.  Brakes needed replacing as well as the water pump. I also chose to replace the ugly radiator with period-correct appearing rad. 

The car had an aftermarket Delco radio which I replaced with a Beaumont year-specific radio that Poncho member Robert from Everything Electronic Services modified with hidden modern components.  Robert also had the clock rebuilt for me.

Thankfully Carl (4SPEED427 from this site) was fully retired by then and performed all the upgrades for me, of which I am ever thankful.

What stands out most to me is the condition of the interior.  You can tell it hasn’t seen a much use or been exposed to damaging sun.  The odometer shows just under 43,000 miles.

Between a busy job and slowly relocating to the east coast I haven’t had a lot of time to enjoy the car, but I am hoping the summer of 2024 is different and I can add some miles.