[Heybuck]

So, a friend of mine bought the '62 Pontiac Laurentian shown in these (poor quality) pictures.

Around the same time, another guy we know bought the '62 Chev Belair shown in the same pictures.

Both these cars were built locally from CKD parts imported from Canada. Both cars were painted in standard Holden colours available in 1962. Both cars are factory trimmed in leather with wool carpets. Both cars have a 283/powerglide combo.

And both cars are true survivors. I seriously doubt that a better example of either car could be found anywhere in Australia.

Interestingly, the guy who used to own the Pontiac approached the current owner of the Belair with an offer to buy. SOLD. So both cars were brought together for a photo shoot last Sunday. Considering the Belair is moving 1000 miles north, it's unlikely they will be together again any time soon.

[Alf ista]

Two very nice cars there!

[Stuart]

They are very nice. I see the Laurentian has an additional set of lights on the rear, were those required by Australian regulations? It would be interesting to compare it to a Canadian built Laurentian to see what other detail differences there were (besides the right hand drive, of course.)

Something I've always wondered about is why there were so few two door versions of these cars sold in Australia - was it just limited demand for them, or local preferences, or what.

[Willshire]

No additional lights in a Canadian Laurentian. Just the 2 red lights.

[Heybuck]

Originally Posted by Stuart

They are very nice. I see the Laurentian has an additional set of lights on the rear, were those required by Australian regulations? It would be interesting to compare it to a Canadian built Laurentian to see what other detail differences there were (besides the right hand drive, of course.)

Something I've always wondered about is why there were so few two door versions of these cars sold in Australia - was it just limited demand for them, or local preferences, or what.

The additional Lights are indicators. Until about 1975 it was illegal to have red flashing indicators so all cars such as the Pontiac which did not have provision for an additional light, had to have one added. All rear indicators had to be Amber.
In the case of the Chevrolet, it was more simple. Just convert one of the round tail lights to an Amber light. They were cast here and in fact some years ago I had a few which I sold on eBay to some American buyers. Just something different I guess.

The two door cars were never popular in Australia in big cars. You need to remember that an American Pontiac or Chevrolet were expensive cars here. Well above the budget of an everyday buyer. Four doors were the car of choice for government cars, wealthy people, Taxi's etc. No-one wanted the hassle of a 2 door

[Keith Seymore]

Very cool; thanks for posting those.

I was the program manager for the 2012 Chevy Volt export programs (Opel, Vauxhall and Holden) so it is interesting to see how it was done back in the 60's.

K