#21  
Old 06-12-2013, 07:54 AM
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Heybuck Heybuck is offline
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Thumbs up Buy the Parisienne

I own a 1965 Bonneville AND a 1965 Parisienne Convertible.

Frankly, I don't think you should be scared of the Parisienne. It is mounted on a Chev convertible (Budd) chassis and it has all Chev running gear underneath. Mechanically, ANY driveline part is going to be cheap and easy to obtain. Almost anywhere.

You can swap in any Chev engine/trans combo you like. In fact I know of a '65 Parisienne sedan over here which has a Gen111/LS4 something trans combo. It goes very well yet its economical. Nice car.

A 454 Chev will bolt right in if wanted to go that route

But DON'T let anyone tell you to drop in a Pontiac engine. WON'T FIT. Well it probably would but a nightmare amount of work. The subframe will not allow the engine to sit down in the bay without a lot of modifications

That car you are looking at should have a 12 bolt Chev diff if its still original.

You can fit disk brakes easily and still retain the 14" wheels if you like. In fact you can easily fit 4 wheel disks if that's your desire.

Bodywise, the firewall is different the way it sits on the chassis. From the firewall BACK, it's all the same as an American Pontiac.

Forward of the firewall, the radiator support is different. It's the SAME as a '65 or '66 Chevrolet except it has a different top panel welded on.
The fenders are slightly different the way they mount up. American fenders can be modified to fit.
The inner fenders are different but they are the SAME as a '65 or '66 Chevrolet
The hood is the same.
All the front chrome is the same.
The bumper is different. It LOOKS the same as an American car but it mounts differently and it's LIGHTER. Maybe 15 pounds lighter.
The bumper brackets are totally different but again, they are much lighter weight.

The ONLY concern I would have in buying a Canadian car in the US is when you come to sell it. Buyers will be thinking just like you are now. But if the price is right then go for it. The body looks really good from your pictures and you could spend a LOT of money making an American car with issues look that good.

Frankly, I think the Parisienne is a good option.

And one more thing, seeing as how its a Super Sport, it should have the super rare vacuum gauge in the pod where the clock sits in an American car. If you ever decide to sell that gauge, please tell me. It's missing in my car.

Cheers

Ian.

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  #22  
Old 06-12-2013, 05:03 PM
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Ian: great info; learned a lot from your post.

Thanks, Jim

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  #23  
Old 06-12-2013, 07:58 PM
Redpiston Redpiston is offline
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Ian your post was very informative, thanks for taking the time. With regard to the front fenders, are they the same other than bolt holes to mount it to the car? I will keep you in mind on the gauge.

Engine-Ear - the white one was the US Cat.

  #24  
Old 06-13-2013, 03:38 AM
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Thanks for your kind words

The guards are the identical same on the exterior skin. The ONLY difference is along the top lip where there is a secondary piece of metal where the bolts go through. The inner guards on the Parisienne are a little more rounded so the bolt holes in the outer guard (we call a fender a "guard"), are in a different location.

But NOT by much!

In fact if you had both guards lying beside you, if you did not have a sharp eye you would probably never know. It would only be if you went to bolt it on and it was the wrong one, then you might start scratching your head.

Friend of mine over here had a '65 Bonneville Convertible. He managed to smack it very hard on the nose resulting in him having to replace the whole front clip. He successfully used all Parisienne panels & chrome on it and frankly you would never know.

Ian

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  #25  
Old 06-13-2013, 03:55 AM
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Just going back to my earlier post where I was talking about the diff.

On the 1965 Parisienne's, you could order them with a 6 cylinder engine, a 283, a 327 or a 396ci.

Your potential car, because it's a Custom Sport, it could have only had a 327 or a 396. The lesser engines were not available on a Custom Sport.

If you look underneath on the 327 or 396 cars, they were fitted with two upper control arms. The lesser engined cars only had one upper control arm.

Also, on the larger engined cars, the Panhard rod on the diff is a heavier gauge than on the 6's or 283's.

Frankly I think the Parisienne diff set-up is vastly superior to the Pontiac version. They really are locked into place. No "squishy" feel like you can sometimes get when your American car control arm rubbers are getting a bit worn.

In regard to the transmission in the Parisienne, the only auto option was a Powerglide. A good one of those is unbreakable but the downside is the two-speed. If that's not to your liking, an EASY upgrade is to bolt in a TH350. You need a long tail version. Should be easy to obtain in the US. Every second GM car of the 70's & 80's had one

And finally (till I think of something else!!), you can obtain the build sheet information on your Parisienne from Canadian Pontiac Services. I have the contact details somewhere at home but someone else here might have that info at hand. Let me know if you want the contact details.

Ian

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  #26  
Old 06-16-2013, 01:02 PM
Redpiston Redpiston is offline
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Default Cat in Michigan

Anyone looked at this Cat in Michigan?


http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/3738645539.html

  #27  
Old 06-16-2013, 02:15 PM
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Saw that one a little while ago. looks nice, paint cracking at the seam scares me a little, fram looks like it is coated with undercoating fairly thick. Hope there are no frame issues (that can be regular issue).

I thought for the price, this one looks good.http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cs...802640277.html Has a lot of 2+2 stuff on it, (maybe it is?) not sure of condition, but if you are serious about buying a car, I am sure that people would be more than willing to help out, including me.

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  #28  
Old 06-17-2013, 12:45 AM
rexs73gto rexs73gto is offline
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The green one is a good looker from 50 feet but with that rot on the rocker panal I'd stay away from that one. Also if it has that much undercoating on it they may be trying to cover something up. I live in MI & have seen a lot of cars in my time that people have sprayed undercoating on to cover up a frame that was rotted. I bought a 73 GTO 20 years ago that had the same condition & when you hit the gas you could feel the car shift from side to side because the frame was so bad. Luckly all I was doing was buying it for the parts as the rest of the body was bad to. Any car that is 20+ years old & from MI or any of the rust belt you need to go & see it in person & take along someone else to look at it with out the rose colored glass's of a new buyer. Bring ssome one that will tell you the truth & not spare your feelings. Get it up on a rack in the day light & never buy a car in the rain, they all look good when wet. Drive it just like your going to drive it. Make sure it will stay together. If the owner say take it easy don't do that ,,, take it back & walk away. Don't wreck it but drive it like you stole it so you know it's gonig to last. Because if you break it on the test drive your going to have alot more problems later.

  #29  
Old 04-16-2021, 12:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Heybuck View Post
Just going back to my earlier post where I was talking about the diff.

On the 1965 Parisienne's, you could order them with a 6 cylinder engine, a 283, a 327 or a 396ci.

Your potential car, because it's a Custom Sport, it could have only had a 327 or a 396. The lesser engines were not available on a Custom Sport.



Ian
.......I know this is a old thread , but to correct the info posted , in 1965 the Canadian Pontiac carried the 409 for the year , the 396 was not available untill 1966 . Chevrolet in 1965 dropped the 409 early in the model year and introduced the 396 for the remainder of 1965 and onwards , but for 1965 Pontiac Canada only offered the 230 6 cyl , 283 2 bbl , 327 4bbl , and 409 4 bbl (340 hp ) and 409 4 bbl with spec cam ( 400 hp ) . All engines were available in the Custom Sport including the 6 cyl 230.



.....1965 Pont Custom Sport , 1957 Pont Thatcher Wagon , 1957 Pont Sedan Delivery , 1958 Pont Sedan Delivery , 1958 Impala Sport Coupe, 1958 Impala Convertible, 1958 Delray Sedan Delivery, and a few more.


Last edited by 49Diesel; 04-16-2021 at 01:08 PM.
  #30  
Old 05-31-2021, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike nixon View Post
The Cat will have a TH400 not a 2 spd Super Turbine 300
I know this is real late but if you buy one with the ST 300 do a swap to a TH400 or a 350. To many problems arise over time with the ST 300. Tho with the 400 it should be an easy swap and possibly still use the original drive shaft. Or the 350 is the replacement that works... not sure, but check.

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