I just had to check . A Catalina weighs 3566 lbs & a V8 Bel Air 3180 lbs, a 210 sedan 3130 lbs. Did'nt find any specs on a Pontiac sedan though.
Didn't believe me?! hahaha...... There has been quite a bit of interest in the Canadian Pontiac cars by Pontiac owners in the USA so I thought that I would go into some of the interesting history for those of you who are still interested. THE STORY: We will start at the end of the depression years; Many car companies did not survive the depression. Even the big three were affected by the depression so much so that cars like Cadillac and Lincoln were on the line! It is only with their more profitable and cheaper offerings they were able to survive. At this time the Canadian divisions of the large American automakers realized that the Canadian market was somewhat weaker and needed more entry level cars rather than all the mid-price vehicles that existed. Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth were the bread and butter cars of both nations. in the USA the Pontiac and Dodge were only slightly more upscale and slightly more expensive. In Canada the price difference between the low end cars and the low mid priced cars was greater. The solution for Canada was to use more common parts from the cheaper cars with slightly more upscale trim at only a slightly higher price. Canadians would feel that they were getting an unique vehicle and a better deal for the dollars. This, in 1937 the first significant "Canadian" Pontiac was introduced! This new Canadian Pontiac was called the 224; it featured a 224 C.I. overhead valve six based on the Chevrolet engine and was offering something that would not be offer in the USA till the mid sixties, which was an overhead valve 6 cylinder engine. The body for 1937 remained totally the same as the American Pontiac. However, the next year for 1938 the Canadian Pontiac also adopted the Chevrolet body, making the Canadian Pontiac more unique. In 1941, the Canadian Pontiac cars returned to using the US style L Head flathead till 1954, except for the period of WW2 when manufacturing in Canada was suspended for the war effort, but continued to use the modified Chevrolet bodies with Pontiac badging. For example, 1950-51-52 Fleetleader Deluxe (Canadian Pontiac) looks like a Pontiac but one could identify the Chevrolet in them with the Chevy rear fenders, taillights, etc. The 1954 Pontiac Fleetleader Deluxe has the distinctive profile of a Chevrolet 210 Deluxe and used the same frame and body and grill , hood and trunk streaks and engine from Pontiac. Starting in 1955 Pontiac was still using Pontiac styling and some of the interior trim from Pontiac but they were built on Chevrolet chassis with Chevrolet drivetrains. The Canadian Pontiac success came in 1955 when it shed its Chevrolet appearance and had full Pontiac styling with multiple body styles like convertible and wagons; it had retained the Chevrolet powertrains and shorted chassis though! The 1958 top of the line Pontiac Parisienne looked very much like the U.S. Bonneville but shared its shorter frame and drivetrain with the Chevrolet Impala. In the USA Pontiac sedan deliveries, that were available were based on the Chevrolet sedan deliveries, until 1958. The '59 and '60 Pontiacs were scorned cars, in Canada, by many buyers for it had the large wide-track body placed on the narrow tracking Chevrolet chassis and was the cause of a few laughs. The 1959 Strato-chiefs and the 1960 Laurentian and the 1962 Laurentian were all six cylinder cars, which was unheard of in the US Pontiacs. In 1962 when the Chevy II compact was introduced, in Canada,its twin the Acadian was offered in Canada only. Also, when the mid-sized Chevelle appeared, in 1964, GM Canada offered the similar Beaumont. The Pontiac cars were so successful in the Canadian market that by the early sixties the Canadian Pontiac Strato-Chiefs, laurentians, and Parisienne were challenging Chevrolet as the best selling cars in Canada! By 1965 the famous Auto-Pact between Canada and the USA made these "special" models ruduant and manufacturers could now bring models back and forth freely across three border. 1970 when models started blending together and all full sized Pontiac models were offered in Canada from the lowly Strato-Chief to the big Bonneville. Of special note, Canada exported many of its Pontiac cars, over the years to its British Commonwealth countries where they were imported there with a minimal duty because Canada is a British commonwealth country whereas if the GM cars went to these countries from USA they would be subject to a higher duty and therefore less competitive in those countries. That is why many foreign English speaking nations are familiar with names like Parisenne and Laurentian, etc. Of interest, to those in the USA, the Canadian Parisenne became available in the USA in 1983 before disappearing completely after 1986. Pontiac has been a strong and respected name plate in canada since they started building Pontiac cars in Canada since 1926. The bulk of the Firebird cars for the North American market were built in the Oshawa, Ontario plant in Canada. This plant will shut down with the end of the final production of the 2002 Firebirds. GM has called the stopping of the Pontiac Firebird a hiatus; maybe it will rise again like the Phoenix of legendary times.
I never belive anyone... But there it was in black & white anyway: Starting in 1955 Pontiac was still using Pontiac styling and some of the interior trim from Pontiac but they were built on Chevrolet chassis with Chevrolet drivetrains. And Pontiacs are heavier than Chevys...
How did I lose? I said that Canadian Pontiacs were Chevys dressed to look like a Pontiac. You said they were Pontiacs with Chevy drivetrain... I said that a Canadian Pontiac (pretty much a Chevy) would be lighter than a US built Pontiac (Catalina). You did'nt think so... As for the frames, if we are talking about Chevys I have no idea if they differ in weight Us vs Can.
*sigh* I never get tired of looking at tri-five Pontiacs. Especially the ones with the chrome suspenders. Here's a '56 built the right way - 421 and a 4-speed. Needs a bit of help in the engine dressings but otherwise it's perfect.
They were chevy floors, complete frame ,basically just the pontiac skin.You could swap a 55 chevy front clip on to a 55-56 pontiac or vise versa fire walls were same as chevys too ,lots easier to get patch panels for! I believe the chevy frame thing went from about 1937 -1970ish ,they even had there own flathead sixes up till 55 when they got the 261's or 265's.Ever see a dual quad 409 4 spd 64 parisienne ? They built em ! Koolkemp
Actually, yes. There was a 409 Parisienne ragtop at a car show in Fremont, MI a few years ago. I wonder how much trouble it would be to put a late 389 into a Canadian Pontiac...
Thanks a lot Late! Just when I thought I could wait until I could get mine chopped, you went and posted that!
That is one of the best chops on a mid 50's car I have ever seen, especially a 4 door...any more pix of this one?
This was owned by hellmet here on the hamb some years ago... this car is extremely clean, he did a great job bringing it back to life
Yeah but I can swap a lot of chevy pieces out on my Pontiac as well..............I think the best bet would be to have one side by each. Epinut.....who likes to lose?
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