Hi all,

Hope you're all well.

I have a 1963 Parisienne that has been off the road for the entire time I have owned the car, which is probably about 10 years now.

I've read the wiki page and some others that suggest that these cars were built in Canada, and exported to Australia, where some final assembly took place. Drivetrain is apparently Chevrolet

I have acquired some parts over the years, as follows;

307 SBC
Powerglide
Tailshaft with new universal joints and centre bearing
Quadrajet
Already in the car is a dual exhaust from headers back.

Missing from the car is;

Radiator
Fans
Power steering system (I think I have the pump)
Shifter on the column
Various parts of things such as accelerator pedal linkage, etc

You will have to bear with me as although I understand cars in theory, I have little practical experience with such things

Photos of the car will be forthcoming

I also found a website to help me decode the VIN. Does anyone know where I can find the VIN on this car?

I also probably have access to my brothers 64 if all goes well.

I was thinking something along the lines of;

Gunmetal grey or champagne metallic paint
No badges or trim on the side of the car
Setting the re-chromed bumpers closer to the bodywork
Upgrading the suspension (airbags?)
Lowering the car (setting the body closer to the frame? drop spindles?)
Simple interior (vinyl floor, perhaps buckets in the front over the rear bench)
LED taillights
Upgraded headlights
New weather seals on the doors, also for the windows

This would be phase one of the build. I would then plan to drive this around on the weekends before moving into more serious mechanical upgrades

Upgraded braking system (front and rear disks, updated booster, brake line upgrade etc)
Air conditioning
New/rebuilt engine
4 speed automatic
Power windows
Sound deadening and sound system

I plan to create a few different posts for these sub components, but if anyone has anything to add at this stage, it would be greatly appreciated

So to get this car running, I believe I need the following

Power steering system complete. What do I need? Pump? What else is involved? I can turn the wheels manually so I figure the steering rack is in there.

Ignition barrel - don't have one of these, any idea where I can get one?

Column shifter - I'd like to run an electronic one, can these be purchased and adapted to both Powerglide and TH400R4?

Accelerator pedal - Can Quadrajet be easily adapted to use a cable accelerator?

Transmission kickdown? - I don't understand how these work, can someone explain it to me?

Things like vacuum hoses? Again I don't know how this works

Radiator - Can I simply acquire one of these now and run it fanless (just whilst moving it back and forth once I get it moving around) and have it be suitable for my current transmissions and the 700R4 in the future?

I think this is enough questions for now!

Thank you for your time

Hi all, here'* some photos of my car in its current condition

Wow.. cool.. a Right hand Drive from AU !
Mark has been building a 1963 Catalina, and I'm sure he can help you on tech questions.
https://www.gmforum.com/your-ride-gm...thread-295730/
I will Pm him and try to get him involved in this thread....

That was the first thing I noticed too, the right hand driver side, that may make it harder for me to help find any parts if they are ever needed, but I'll deff be following the thread, I love to see projects like this.
Mark would probably have some good advice, as he has done awesome work with that Catalina!

Thanks for sharing your pics and project with us Dane, I hope it all goes well for you!

Welcome section25. I was alerted to you thread about the '63. I'm very partial to them having owned one in '72, a '64 Catalina 2 dr sedan in '69, and I'm building a radical '63 Catalina right now. Not sure how much info you may already know so forgive me if I go over old ground but there are several differences between the USA built and sold Pontiacs and the Canadian/Australian versions.
When Pontiac came out with the new "wide track" chassis for whatever reason, I've always heard that Canada would not allow the wider tread width in the country. I can't confirm this however. I believe it was probably more of an economics decision. Which is why you see the Chevy drivetrain. You could not get small economic engines in a USA Pontiac either, which is another consideration for why they used Chevy frames and drivetrains. Many full sized Canadian Pontiacs were sold with straight 6'* and smaller 283 V8'* for better economy. The true Canadian built full size "wide track" Pontiacs were built on Chevy frames, using Chevy drivetrains. The Chevy frame is both shorter in wheelbase and width than the Pontiac. If you ever get a chance to view a USA built Pontiac, at least '55 to '64 (may have been earlier but I'm not sure) the narrower frame and tread width shows itself by the wheels being much deeper in the wheel well. Especially noticeable on the '59 to '64 full size because the Canadian bodies were still the wider dimension, but the Chevy frame and tread width was narrower. Wider tires and rims with more offset can make the look go away. If you look at front fenders for these years and compare the length from the door opening to the front of the fender, you can see the shorter length. I believe all the length differences were made up in the firewall to wheel well opening panel. Being shorter.
I think Canada did it as a money saving proposition so there were less parts to use, import, make, whatever. Just my opinion.
So, if you are looking for chassis and body parts make sure you know what you are looking at and their origin. It'* not unusual over the years for USA Pontiacs to have been brought over the Australia. So those parts could be in circulation.
I believe this may have all changed with the 1965 models but I am not fully up on that fact. But I think all Pontiac full sized cars were regular Pontiac parts.
Pontiac and Chevy used the same frame design, the infamous X frame for a couple of years. Chevy and Pontiac shared it in '58 through '60. 1961 Pontiacs changed to the perimeter frame design for '61 on up. Chevy stayed with the X frame. It was deemed to be a safety hazard because the body rockers were not strong enough to take a full T bone type hit. So Pontiac changed but Chevy did not. Chevy finally changed to the perimeter frame with the 1965 model full size. Basically coping the Pontiac design, just using the smaller Chevy dimensions.
USA Pontiacs used true Pontiac engines where Canadians used the Chevies. Canadian Pontiac transmissions were also Chevy type and not the heavier duty Pontiac types. Powerglides and the old weaker 10 bolt slip in case. Pontiac used the stronger Olds Pontiac rear end. Much stronger.
here were various interior differences for each type too. But I'm not up on those part differences.
Just remember that your Pontiac chassis and drivetrain likely uses all Chevy parts from that same year.
I'm glad you've decided to get into the build on your '63. Since your Pontiac came with Chevy drivetrains it really opens up engine combination possibilities that Chevy made famous over the years. '63 Canadian Pontiacs could be had with all the 409 derivatives, I believe even the 425 horse 409 in '64. I think they used the SD (Super Duty) initials for their horse power cars, like Chevy used the SS (Super Sport) initials.
Well I've probably driven you to "the drink" with boredom. If you have more questions give me a PM and I'll try to give you a good answer. Have fun with your '63.
Oh by the way, I think you accidentally reversed the picture of the dash board/steering wheel. Something looks backwards!!! LOL.

Haha thank you all for your posts!

I'd like to go over Mark'* post again a bit later when I have some more time. As for now, here'* some more photos

Here'* a photo of my brothers car.

Sadly it'* not in this condition anymore, but I am hoping if this project goes well I can do this one too

In my reply I mentioned telling a USA car apart from a Canadian/Aussie car. With the narrower Chevy frame the tires are tucked further under the body. That pic is a perfect example of what I meant. The tire and wheel combination is way inboard of a US car. Plus, if you are a US Pontiac nut like me, the front fenders are shorter (the firewall to spindle distance is shorter) an d I can see it right away.

Mark

Hi Mark,

I just went ahead and read your post above. Thanks for the information - there was a lot to take in though!

Unfortunately I feel like I'm more confused after!

So from the photos I have shown you of both mine and my brothers car, are you saying that both of these have a full size Pontiac body, mounted on a narrower frame?

Am I reading this correctly?