Here's One for Stewart

[HAULIN IT]

I spent Saturday & Sunday at the racetrack. One thing I tried was blocking off the grille....As close as I can tell it was good for a repeatable several hundredths & a full 1 mph. Thought I would share, Lorne

[Captkaos]

How was you cooling?

[HAULIN IT]

No problem at all, I'm sure sitting in rush hour traffic in August would be a different story The track guys do a good job keeping things moving & it was cool, about 60*. My truck stays right around 160* all the time. Lorne

[Stewart G Griffin]

This is awesome!  This was actually going to be one of the next things i did, but i havent got around to it;  My main car (the cavalier) is back on line.

i think maybe you should next try the tonneau cover and possibly get a fiberglass tailgate.

Of course what would really be awesome, and, actually may be even a larger payoff for your application is to completely seal/make it flush, the underside with light gauge sheetmetal.  Since you're racing, you're probably not too concerned with drilling or welding on to the frame.  i do want to drill or weld on the frame so i'm trying to come up with some sort of clamp type system to fasten the sheetmetal to the frame.

There also appears to be a special front air dam which appears to have been available on some limited edition 73-87's, specifically the 76 models, the could also help aerodynamics.  i will try to find a link if there's time.

But yeah a grill is generally not needed for drag racing if you have a fan.  This also applies to street/strip cars when racing.

[Dragon]

Man Lorne, That thing just looks right with that Rocketship on the Grille   Looks like it would be one of the Rare Oddities I would see in Canuck Land(Hey if MercuryCA could get pickem'ups, why couldn't Oldsmobile )

There also appears to be a special front air dam which appears to have been available on some limited edition 73-87's, specifically the 76 models, the could also help aerodynamics.  i will try to find a link if there's time.

Stewy look a little closer at Lorne's Pic Bro, Looks like he already has the dam

As for the '73-80's Getting them, everything I have seen, points to them being more of a Blazer/Suburban Option, but also available on the 2WD Pickups/Vans as well...   I have been wanting to add one to my '77 for a while now.....

[HAULIN IT]

Thanks Dragon, Earlier in the year I went to an Oldsmobile powered weekend. Powered being the key word, but almost everything was Olds bodies, with a few Firebirds (came with 403 Olds) & a dragster or Two thrown in. A guy walks up, checks out the truck & says "This may be a stupid question, but did this...hmmm, was that....a" I stopped him & told him not to ask on Olds weekend. He replied "I didn't think they ever made one, but wasn't sure".
 Funny you mentioned Canada, my brother & I went to a car cruise one evening. He was standing next to his car talking to a guy he knew. Two guys talked past, got to my truck. My brother heard the one say "I don't know... maybe they built them in Canada. You know they built those odd Pontiac/Chevelles & things up there". Have to give the guy credit for thinking it through.
 As for the air deflector, the one on there now is a 2wd '81up piece. I originally had a 4x4 one on it before I lowered it, then it drug on everything so I got this one. After getting used to seeing it at it's height, it's hard to believe how it sat before, a real unassuming 12.80 quarter mile ride. Lorne

       

[Dragon]

NP Lorne!   Generally things iwll look either Doctored or Really Cheezy in Pics, but your Rocket Badge Looks Dead-on for a Factory Piece   My Family made a Regular Trek to CanuckLand every other weekend, from when I was 2, till I was 19.....  I always Loved seeing the Automotive Oddities that was there, and also heard Plenty of stories about the different kinds as well.....  The Kool thing was hearing all of the Oldtimers talk about their Meteors(Canadian Ford's of the 50's), and their Pontiac's.....  My Favorites were about the guys that Had either a Pontiac or a Meteor, and Various Pieces or trim was from the other manufacter(Yep Factory Installed Ford Pieces in a Pontiac, or Vice Versus)....  I absolutely Love the Canadian Acadian Beaumont's, and Canso's!  Yes they were Chevelle(Beaumont) and Nova(Canso) Bodies, with different Front Fenders,Grille, and Tail lamps, but they weren't actually Pontiac's originally......  GM wanted to Create an All New Canadian Brand(Acadian), yet it didn't think the Brand was ready to stand on it's own at the time....  So GM decided the Acadian Model line up would be sold through Canada's Pontiac Dealerships....  Eventually the Acadian Brand would fade away in the late '60's early 70's, but GM did allow the name to return in the Late '70's till the Early 90's as Pontiac's Canadian Chevette

What I find really funny about your truck, is that there is a Local kid that has Early Model S10, that he swapped on a Bravada Grille, and placed a Turbo Charged Quad4 under the hood Basically you two have Oldsmobile of Canada's Mini & Fullsize Pickups covered

[HAULIN IT]

Thanks for the complement Rob! Nice history on the Canadian cars. Did all of the Beaumonts have Chevy engines? My friend had a low-option '68 with a 307 & guy at the local cruises has a '67 with a 396.
 I've got a "few" hours in the grille. I started with the space between the moldings & used an Oldsmobile hubcap to scale the length. The border is a piece of 1/4" aluminum that I cut out the four shapes (so the Red would sit flush) & polished it, then cut the red areas from a broken 2005 Impala tail lamp. I made a mold for the base from a girlscout cookie box & poured Fusor heat-set plastic repair adhesive with drywall mesh in layers from the backside. A "little" sanding, some leftover paint = One of a kind grille

[Dragon]

Again NP with the Compliments on your truck Bro  I'm just a Longtime Rocket & Odd Rod/Kustom Lover, who enjoys seeing something different from the crowd!  LOL Sorry for the Speel on the Acadian's, as you can tell I'm a bit of a Mag & Book Nerd, when it comes to anything Automotive,Aviation,Naval,Military, and Etc History.....  I grewup with my Grandparents for 7yrs, and I enjoyed reading alot of the Old Books my Grandfather had on various subjects......

In case you or anyone else would be interested in viewing Old Car/Truck/Etc Brochures, here is a Website with quite a few scans....
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php
If you scroll down from the US Manufacturer Listings, you will find the Canadian Manufactrers.....  Select a Manufacturer/Model Brochure, and once you get to that page, click on the pics to enlarge them.....  There is also a size adjustment to read the fine print a bit clearer....

 Acadian's line started in '62, and during the '62- 63 Model years, the Beaumont was a trim level, and the Canso's were Originally refered to as Invader's(Canadian Designers said the Nova Concepts looked like a Rocketship).... In '64 Beaumont's became a model of their own, with the Chevelle's help......

To Answer your question, yes the Acadian Beaumont's, Invader/Canso's all used the various Chevy Engines that were offered in the Nova's, &  Chevelle's, as apposed to Pontiac Engines....  The interesting things, is that their Interiors, & Dashes were similar to their Pontiac Cousin's, and their Taillight Panels & Grille's were made to look Pontiac-esque....

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) is the truck used for racing only?

2) why were "canadian" pontiacs (ones built and/or sold in Canada) equipped with chevy engines?




GM=TITANIC

[SUX2BU99]

Ah yes, growing up in the Canadian prairies, Beaumont's were much coveted as a musclecar to have. Didn't see too many Chevelles around compared to Beaumonts but there were some. Same with Canso's vs. Nova's. My brothers very first ride was an Acadian......a 79 (that would be the rebadged Chevette).  A rare Beaumont to see was the SD (Special Deluxe I believe it refers to) and there are a couple that come out to the car shows. I'm pretty sure one was 427-powered. They have a rocker stripe that says SD by the front 1/4 panel.

Mercury trucks, yep seen lots of them. At my brother's wife farm back in Saskatchewan, there's a 52 Merc F1 (M100?) awayting restoration.

Some other Pontiac Canadian-only models were the Parisienne and Laurentian. We had the Bonneville up here but I believe we didn't have the Gran Prix or the Catalina here in the 60's. Those were all Poncho-powered. The Beaumonts though I do believe got Chevy motors.

Back to Lorne's truck, I have that same air dam on mine. It's getting ragged though as it scapes my driveway everytime I come in or out. I like the look of it and will replace it at some point with another I'm sure.

[nico]

This is very interesting... In my area, there is a real following for these BOP pickups... Two of my friends (both retired GM dealership reps/owner) have converted 78-80 diesel C10's to 455 power. The Olds was the easiest, considering the early diesels are essentially Oldsmobile anyway.  It is just a fun driver (work truck), with plenty of torque, but the Buick 455 powered one is a lowered show-truck and hot rod.  What better way to get an easy 500 ft. lbs. on pump gas...

[HAULIN IT]

Stewart, The Canadian GM cars weren't really Pontiac or Chevy from my understanding. As Dragon said, they were a mix of parts already in production & some "Canadian only" newly made parts. I've allways heard the Chevy engine were the cheapest of the GM V8's to manufacture, maybe this is why they were in them & later put in Buicks, Olds, ect. which later led to the corporate Black engines. The body style (grille & tail lamps) looked like Pontiac parts, but were really made just for Canadian cars. They also used Pontiac ralley wheels on many of the "performance" ones.
 As far as my truck goes...No, it's FAR from a "race only" piece. I've mentioned before, I tease my wife about driving it like an Old Dodge Caravan. During nice weather months it gets driven virtually everyday. She takes it shopping, we take it out to eat. I hauled a lawn tractor for my brother the otherday. A couple Fridays ago she hauled corn stalks for Halloween decorations.
 As far as comfort goes....You just put the column shifter in OD & go. Everything in the cab works, dome light, cigarette liter, even the key warning buzzer! I've gotten over 14 mpg on the highway.
 I've actually added sound deadening to the inside of the doors & an extra layer on the floor (partilly to hide the body drop) & under the seat. It's by no means quiet inside & you'd never have to question if the engine is running or not, but it goes down the road pretty nice.
 I found a couple pictures in my photobucket. The day after I finished the body drop, I came home from work, looking at the truck (which when I left for work, thought it was still a little high in the back) comming up the driveway I thought..."That's sitting pretty right". It was RIGHT, right on the snubbers! The wife had put 18 or more 60lb bags of peetmoss & mulch in it. I ended up taking out a few bags & measuring the truck as a reference on how much more it needed lowered. Lorne
 
  
   

[Dragon]

Very Well put with the Acadian's Lorne    As for the SBC's, yep GM discovered that they were not only cheaper to produce, but also more popular sales wise.....  The stricter EPA Emissions Standards, helped GM with the decision to go with a Corporate Engine line for all GM Brands....  That way GM only had to worry about spending money getting one line up to those Standards, instead of the various engines in the full GM Brand Lines....

Great In Progress Story and Pics Btw Lorne! Leave it to Wifey to come up with a way to correct the stance, without you having to change anything right away!