[crustysarge]

I am stationed in Italy and every now and then something unusual pops up. This is a 1963 Pontiac Laurentian in Southern Italy, about 12 hours from me. Apparently the old guy brought it back from Toronto when he came home to retire, not uncommon story over here. Looks pretty original, appears to have a 283 with a Powerglide. Has original tag and was imported into Italy but never registered. Anyway, pix suck and video sucks but car does not look bad, I can pick it up for around $5,000. I don't expect to see a big market for it and would probably register it, fix a few things, enjoy and then sell next year.

Is it a post car? Looking at video it appears to be, I don't know these cars but was told that is fairly rare, I have leaned rare does not always mean value. Opinions? Would you buy it for $5K?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzG...x6SkpmQUk/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzG...YwOENPOWs/view

[crustysarge]

Couple more pix and online ad in Italy:

https://www.subito.it/auto/pontiac-a...-219765664.htm

[Stuart]

It is a two door post car. Unfortunately I don't have a good feel for its value, we don't run into much about Canadian cars in the US - hopefully a Canadian (or one of the Australian guys) can provide more information. It does appear to be in good shape from the photos so $5,000 sounds like a reasonable price.

[Evil Stu]

http://canadianponcho.activeboard.co...ll-size-forum/

Maybe have a look here?

283 and a Glide is base V8, 327s and 409s were also available. Laurentian is the mid level trim, between the strato chief and the Parisienne. 5G isn't bad for a nice car like that

[77 TRASHCAN]

I like it! Cool cruiser. Even though it has a Chevy engine, ANY Chevy parts needed would be easy to come by.

[Heybuck]

$5000 is cheap considering what it is and where it is. Certainly a VERY unusual car in Italy and any place in Europe.

Yes, the resale market is possibly limited but only so far as you will have to find the right medium to advertise it when you come to sell it.

If that car was over here in Australia, it would sell upwards of A$16,000.00 all day and probably a lot more than that.

I would have thought that it would appeal to one of our Swedish or German enthusiasts considering they could simply drive it home.

Buy it and enjoy it. I can just imagine that thing up in Northern Italy or cruising along the Amalfi Coast. I'd love it.

Ian

[61-63]

If it were in the states I would say $5k was a deal from what I can see, but I would have to see it in person and put a magnet on the outer surfaces and see the underside. It would make a really neat 409 4 speed car IMO.

I'm like Heybuck I would think a German or Swede would be all over that thing if it is as good as it appears.

[Evil Stu]

Originally Posted by 61-63

It would make a really neat 409 4 speed car IMO.

I saw one of them just the other night. A 65, black over red

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by 61-63

It would make a really neat 409 4 speed car IMO.

I suspect there are more Canadian big Pontiacs with that combination today than were ever built new... I'm sure they were pretty rare.

[crustysarge]

I don't think the Germans or Swedes or Swiss are too interested as it is not a "real" Pontiac in their purist's eyes and most of the Pontiac guys I've met over here are really uptight about those things. Wife put her finger on my shoulder and said "finish my 70 Lemans before buying another car". She is a saint and never pushed me like that before in 30 years of marriage, I am 4 years behind on her Lemans...Still, the car draws me south, checking airfare from Venice, don't feel like a 14 hour road trip and believe me, that part of Italy is not where you go carrying cash and a car trailer...I'll ask my Sicilian friend to handle the deal and get it trucked up.

[Evil Stu]

Originally Posted by Stuart

I suspect there are more Canadian big Pontiacs with that combination today than were ever built new... I'm sure they were pretty rare.

1964 Custom Sport HT, 400/425HP... 10
1964 Custom Sport HT, 340HP 4 spd... 15
1964 Custom Sport conv, 340HP 4 spd... 8
1964 Custom Sport HT, 340HP auto... 30
1964 Custom Sport conv, 340HP auto... 10
1964 Parisienne Safari, 400HP... 1
1964 Laurentian Safari, 400HP... 1
1964 Laurentian 9 pass Safari, 340HP 4 spd... 1

[Alf ista]

5 grand looks a really good price for that car. Looks pretty good from the pics.

[Heybuck]

I just noticed the ad is asking for 5000 Euros. My rough calculation brings that up to nearly US$6000.00 but I still think it's well within the ball park pricewise.

Let's hope it finds a good home. Alf ista, you should buy it and take it to Ireland. I intend to visit Ireland next year so you wouldn't mind loaning it to me I'm sure......I promise I'll bring it back with a full tank of fuel.

Ian

[Alf ista]

Originally Posted by Heybuck

I just noticed the ad is asking for 5000 Euros. My rough calculation brings that up to nearly US$6000.00 but I still think it's well within the ball park pricewise.

Let's hope it finds a good home. Alf ista, you should buy it and take it to Ireland. I intend to visit Ireland next year so you wouldn't mind loaning it to me I'm sure......I promise I'll bring it back with a full tank of fuel.

Ian

Hey Ian. Sounds like a plan as long as you return the favour Nice car too, you wouldn't get the "it's not a real Pontiac" thing here either as people would just see it as a big old cool cruiser.

[Willshire]

Seems like a fair price for that car. 283 glides are pretty common here. All impala parts will fit lol. the impala frame and US pontiac frames are different. to the point, i believe, a pariesienne fender will not fit on a cat without mod'ing the lower attachment point. And the potmetal dash looks to be in good shape which is a huge bonus. those are pricey.

[Laurent63]

Hello everyone
I'm from Switzerland and I'm new to the forum.
You're probably wondering why I'm posting in this old topic.

My wife and I are the proud owners of a 1963 Pontiac Laurentian 2 door sedan as of May 2021.
Bought in Switzerland. Color is Aqua Metallic and the engine is a 283cui.
We still don't know very much about the history of our Pontiac and are always looking for information.
Thanks to Google, today we found this topic from 2017 and were very surprised when we saw the photos.
Same year, same model, same color and same interior as our Pontiac.
Two exactly the same 1963 Pontiac Laurentian in Europe...? We think, No Way !
That's why we compared photos from here with our photos.
Small paint damage on the outside of the body and inside, above the ashtray, are 100% consistent with our car. So we are quite sure that this Pontiac from Italy has been in our garage for 11 months and is also driven when the weather is nice.

Does anyone of you know how things went with the car in Italy or does anyone know a contact ?
We are grateful for every tip.

Best regards
Laurent63

and please excuse my google translator english...

[Heybuck]

Welcome to the forums Laurent63. I hope you can enjoy your car for many years. Being that its a 2 door sedan makes it a very rare survivor.

It would be interesting to know how your car came to be in Europe? You may not be aware of the fact that in the early to mid 1960's Pontiac big cars were exported from Canada and sold in France, Belgium and England. Probably other places too? I have no idea how many were sold or what body styles but I imagine if you had plenty of money and you went to the local agent, they would order it for you.

1963 Pontiac Laurentian's were assembled from CKD packs & sold here in Australia but only in 4 door pillared sedans. You still see them at car shows etc from time to time but sadly they have nearly all been modified. Big engines, B&M Shifters, Alloy wheels, etc. So its nice to see yours in its original form. Keep it that way and you will greatly enhance its long term value.

I presume you already know that there is nothing on your car which is mechanically interchangeable with an American built car. Even the front sheet metal is going to be a little different because your car is built on a 1963 Chevrolet platform.

For example, say you need ball joints for your car. DON'T think you can buy them from a Pontiac parts specialist (such as our hosts). You will need to get them from a Chevrolet specialist and in fact I'm sure you will find the availability of driveline and chassis parts are much easier to find via a Chevrolet specialist out of the USA or Europe and will be cheaper too.

Most of the electrical parts such as the windscreen wiper motor are Chevrolet as well. I sold a windscreen wiper motor to a guy in South Africa a few years ago. He had/has a 1964 Laurentian (Pontiacs were sold RHD in Africa but in very small numbers).

If I can assist you ever, please don't hesitate to ask. If I can, I'd be happy to help

Ian

[Laurent63]

Hello Heybuck
Thank you for your reply.
We are very happy with the car and we will do everything to keep it on the road in its original condition for many years to come.

We know it's a rare car. Only 1063 examples of this model were produced in 1963.

That it's more Chevrolet than Pontiac was a bit confusing for us. But now we think it's funny. Especially when someone asks us if we have replaced the engine 😁

As far as we know, these KitCars were also used in Netherlands and South Africa.
We're glad ours is a "real" Canadian.

Unfortunately, we still know far too little about the history of our Laurentian. It was registered in the UK at the end of 2017 and imported to Switzerland in 2018.
Thanks to this topic, at least we now know that he was also in Italy.
We are now trying to find out how and when he came to Europe and Italy.

Thanks for your support

Roman

[Stuart]

You can get some historical information on GM cars that were built in Canada from this site: https://www.vintagevehicleservices.com

[Laurent63]

Originally Posted by Stuart

You can get some historical information on GM cars that were built in Canada from this site: https://www.vintagevehicleservices.com

We already have the information from VVS. Unfortunately, only the first car dealership in Toronto is known