INFORMATION ON 1963 PARISIENNE

[CONVERTIBLEMAN]

LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON 1963 PARISIENNE, ARE THE BODY PANELS THE SAME AS THE CATALINA?, WERE ALL OF THESE CANADIAN PRODUCED PONTIACS OUTFITTED WITH CHEVROLET DRIVETRAINS? ARE PRODUCTION NUMBERS AND FACTS AVAILABLE? I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING AT A 63 PARISIENNE CONVERTIBLE WITH A 409 AUTOMATIC, WAS THE TRANSMISSION A POWERGLIDE? HOW DOES THE VALUE OF THESE CANADIAN PONTIACS COMPARE TO U.S. BUILT?

[dross1958]

I should be able to help with some of your questions. Being Canadian and owning US and Canadian cars helps. If you need more information, just ask, but it may take awhile as I have to dig out the literature from storage.

Until the mid-late 1960's all Canadian Pontiacs had Chev engines/transmissions. They were built on the same assembly line,and also used Chev frames.

Most panels, and trim both inside and out is different that US cars and that makes restorations much more complex. You can not pick up a catalog and order body,trim,interior parts easily as you can with US Pontiacs. Although on the other hand, you can go into any NAPA auto parts store and find most of what you need mechanically still on the parts shelf.

Value will depend, like anything else, on condition, what model, and where in the country you are trying to sell somthing. Canadian convertibles are rare since they never made many in the first place, weather being the main reason. My Canadian 1958 Pontiac Laurentian for example being a 2 dr hdtp, they only made just over 400 when new. I have not seen another one in 20 plus years of ownership. So, compare that to the tens of thousands of 1958 US Pontiacs made in 2 dr hdtps and rarity is certainly a factor in value. It all depends on who wants what and when.

General Motors of Canada, also has the same historical reference department as GM USA. So if you find a Canadian Pontiac, you can access the history , quantity made when new , where sold, etc. just as you can here.

Most body panels will NOT swap out, so before you listen to someone telling you that they will, take careful measurements and photos, make notes of mounting holes, and other important items to cross reference. I have bought way too many US parts that I could not use because of a few simple inch difference one way or the other even though they look the same with the naked eye.

There are still lots of NOS Pontiac parts to be had in Canada though, and just stock up when you see somthing.

If you need specific info, let me know and I will pull out my Canadian brochures etc and see what I can get for you

[engineer]

I have the canadian MPC info if you need some help as well.