earl e rizer

The reason for doing a separate car from the USA model was due to Canadian import laws at the time. This changed with the new Auto Pact Bill signed between US & Canada in the late 60's, took effect for the 70 model year. The Canadian Pontiacs used US dash, interior & sheet metal for the most part. But SOME sheet metal was different due to the length of the US cars that are longer than a Chev. Also here in Canada we built RHD Pontiac's in knock down form for the British Commonwealth nations and South Africa. The rHD cars used a Chev dash panel modified and molded in fiberglass on some years. Other European countries as well as South American got the left hand drive. They were sub assembled in Canada, mostly Oshawa Ontario and final assembly all over the world. Again mostly due to trade agreements and high tariffs on US goods abroad. The most common engines were Chev small blocks and the inline 6 StoveBolt that was bored to 261 C.I. for Pontiac exclusively. I had quite a number of Poncho's growing up here in Canada. My favorite one was a 64 Parisenne with a 409,3 speed stick. If you want more info just go to Canadian Poncho website www.canadianponcho.activeboard.com We always welcome new members!!

Some good advice on this thread. I agree, buy the best you can afford, even if that means taking out an equity loan and making payments VS buying a basket case and restoring. Believe me you can make some very large payments and still it will be a drop in the bucket compared to body shop bills, rechroming, interior kits, wasted hours chasing bad leads for parts, busted knuckles, and sometimes giving up due to the overwhelming darkness of the tunnel ahead only to lose big time. I've been messing with cars since I was 14, turning 60 in the spring and I'm surprised by the amount of people who think as old cars as an investment. Maybe a depreciating investment or write off, but if you don't love old cars go buy a painting or antique clock.

The ad has now been deleted, so I hope someone saves that old girl!

1) false Zora is known as the father of the Corvette but Harley Earl takes the credit here 2) true 1st major US company, but not 1st fiberglass. Isnt that the Woodhill? (in your avatar?) 3) false the 1955 Chrysler 300 was the 1st 4) true. Targa was a name 1st used by Porsche ( I think?) 5) trtue. At least its called that by GM

You have owned a Corvette ... or two ... or more. You read Vette magazine. You watch the Barrett-Jackson auctions on TV. So you know all about Corvettes, right? Let’s see how much you know. Pop Quiz 1. TRUE OR FALSE. The Chevrolet Corvette was the creation of 1) False Zora Arkus-Duntov. 2. TRUE OR FALSE. The 1953 Chevrolet Corvette was the first 2) True fiberglass-bodied production sports car built by a major US automotive manufacturer. 3. TRUE OR FALSE. The 1957 Chevy/Chevy Corvette with fuel injection was the first American production car with an engine producing one horsepower per cubic inch (283 HP/ 3) false 283 cid). 4. TRUE OR FALSE. In the name “T-top” used to describe the removable tops on C3 coupes, 4) true the “T” stands for “Targa.” 5. TRUE OR FALSE. The Chevy Corvette is America’s sports car. 5) true I will post the answers soon..

Hi Marmon fans. Just seen this posted.http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/cambridge/marmon-car/1024794475?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true:D

I had the exact same radio with 8 track in my 68 Newport Custom. It sounded pretty good back then!

These hoards prove how rich a country the USA truly is. There are so many hidden million dollar plus hoards coming up for auction it boggles my mind! So much stuff just left to deteriorate with owners unable to mentally grasp selling anything. My Grandpa was quite a packrat and ordered the bulldozers to bury a huge amount of his stash including my Dads 37 Indian as well as piles of 20s-30s car parts when his huge old estate was sold because of his poor health. That was back in the 70's and it was a seldom seen occurrence. Now i seem to read about bigger and bigger hoarder auctions every week. Do Model A's multiply when left hidden for decades? Or didnt anybody ever scrap them, because its amazing how many have come up in the last few years!

Maybe your wife was onto something about you"scaring another one away" sometimes people are too close to their possessions and take offers or critique as a personal insult, not as negotiation tools. I am one of those people. I hate trying to sell a car I'm attached to, but I have worked for 2 other car guys part time and found it much easier to sell their cars. You must have some friends in the business? Get an opinion from them, with no rebuttal from you promised in advance. Remember as previously stated here theres an ass for every seat, or water reaches it own level. Price is KING. More so now than ever with the glut of old cars and waning interest from the younger crowd. Time of year can be a factor, but maybe its time to let someone else not so close try and sell them for you.

upvote from me. good luck

The shows are basically infomercials with some entertainment thrown in to get car guys to watch them. They are obviously not interested in "stock cars" Start a email petition to try and persuade the TV network to dedicate a show to preservation of old cars.

Looks like a 37 Stude, but the chrome headlights & details aren't right. More like a REO truck?

One car in particular that can fool a lot of people, me included is the 69 Mercury Marauder X100. That is the softest,most realistic man made "pleather" I've ever seen! I remember they called 'soft as a baby's bottom" in the reviews at the time.

I loved the sound of the Sprint 6. I had a 67 Firebird convertible with the Sprint pkg, 3 spd. stick. It sounded more like a Jag than an American car.

Interesting comments about the engine color. Good for him to keep it red even if it wasn't the factory color!

Even though the 63 has a body on frame and heavier gauge metal I think the crash test results will show the chance of injury/survival will be better in the 72 due to a more advanced engineering from Chrysler. Also by then the NHSTA was publicly more vocal about automobile safety. The steering column issue is the 1st that comes to mind for me. I prefer the '63 Exner design to the Fuselage '72 anyday.

The dark side of the internet.......shows us local hillbilly masterpieces that are now international stars due to their unique WTF? __________________

Also the salt air climate has played havoc with the metal. A few Canadian friends have taken some pic's for me (which I can't find) and a lot of the cars were very rough.

The amount of road tax on diesel should be calibrated by weight of the vehicle it is being used in. A semi truck does a lot more road damage than a VW TDI. The other thing i noticed about Europe vs. USA & Canada is how many people rely on train & bus service. If more rail transport were used we could take more heavy trucks off the road, saving both fuel & maintenance. That just doesn't seem to be of any interest to people in North America.

I believe the convertible frame had more reinforcements or was thicker gauge metal? Should work under the 4 door though.

As with all clubs (single marque car clubs especially) there are always a few people that can ruin an onlookers perspective. The higher price of the car= more of this attitude prevalent, so with M-B's that surely happens. I found a few guys, fortunately that were really into the cars not the status. They were both European and still had the accents to prove it. This may not be the same case in your area. I lived in Kitchener Ontario at the time and it has a large German, Austrian & Polish population. Mostly working class and the shop were they hung out was not high end so it made it more approachable to me at least. Their newsletter had decent info too. But that was close to 25 yrs ago, so i doubt it's the same now. My worst experience, and the one that made me vow to never ever go near a single marque club again were worshipers of the plastic American idol, Corvette...... a common (enough) Chevy! Every time I get the urge to buy one, the memories of those owners sobers me up enough to say NO! But I would buy another 2 seat M-Benz again.

One thing I remember about the M-B club members years ago that they were definitely more interested in driving their cars then if they were correctly restored. I'm in Ontario Canada, so a lot of the old Benz's had rust problems due to our miserable climate and liberal use of salt on the roads. I had a '66 250 SL at the time that was not mint, and never would be without spending far more than it's value. the few members I had chatted with were very cordial to me and helped me find parts for my car, so I still respect them. Without knowing what your local M-B club is like, I suggest you at least approach them and get a response. If they are snobbish, forget 'em and just enjoy the heck out of your very nice old car! Specific marque clubs do tend to be snobbish, some worse than others, but can be a great source for info.

Harley Earl started the Styling & Color Studio so his influence cannot be diminished. The cars that Bill Mitchell had a big hand in such as the 63 StingRay and the 63 Riviera are more to my liking. One old saying that still makes me laugh was one attributed to someone on the styling staff about Mr Earl " He would wear Chrome on his clothes if he could"

The car is very rough for that kind of money, but some too rich Corvette Club dude will pay too much just for the bragging rights. Then likely finish off what little originality it has left by writing an even bigger cheque to have it body-off over restored.

The 55 & 56 station wagons used the exact same body shell. Just a different front clip than Chevrolet. Canadian Pontiac's were also exported from Canada to Europe, South Africa & Australia. The right hand drive ones used a Chevrolet dash fabbed in fibreglass