Quote:
Originally Posted by detamble13
Great pics, keep em coming. I hope to one day own a classic or at least keep my 2011 until it is considered one.
The Beaumont is the Canadian Chevelle so any story on it's ownership history and how it ended up in South Carolina? And SD is super duty I believe, what did that get you from the factory?
|
Sorry for the long read.
On the Beaumonts, SD is Sports Deluxe. They were built and sold mostly in Canada. They couldn't be sold in the US. Up until mid production year 1967 SD was an appearance package with extra trim and upgraded interior. It could be ordered with either a small block or big block Chevy engine. The last half of 1967 through the end of Beaumont production in 1969 it became a performance package with all SDs having 396 Chevy engines. From 1966, the first year a 396 was available in a Beaumont, through 1969 there were less that 2000 Beaumonts built with big block engines, all were 396 engines. in 1968 there were 702 SD396 coupes built and 66 SD396 convertibles. Estimates are that 70 to 100 coupes and left and I think there are 8 or 9 convertibles known to exist. My guess is that there are 15-20 1968 SDs in the US. I have never seen or heard of another Beaumont of any year in South Carolina.
I have been a big fan of Chevelles since the mid 70s when I started driving. I have owned several. I sold my last Chevelle, a 1965, in 1998 or 1999. In 2003 I decided it was time for another one. I wanted a 1970 SS but was looking at all years. While looking on eBay one night I saw a 1967 Beaumont. I had never seen or heard of a Beaumont but was intrigued. I started doing some research and liked what I found out. I had always liked something a little different and Beaumonts fit the bill. A month or two later the 1968 SD popped up on eBay. I really liked the car, especially the color combo. I contacted the seller, we talked a couple times and he sent me more pictures of the car. He told me what the reserve was. I put in my max bid at $1500 under the reserve. When the auction ended I was high bidder at a little under my max bid but the reserve wasn't met. I called the seller again and we worked out a deal at $1000 under his reserve. I had the car shipped from British Columbia to South Carolina 21 years ago this month. The original engine was long gone when I bought the car. It had a 427 when I bought it. It was actually a 454 block with 427 internal parts. That engine blew up a couple years after I got the car. I bought a real 1969 4 bolt main 427 block with the original heads, crank and a few other parts and had it built. After driving it for 10-12 years I had it rebuilt. It is now bored .070 with custom made pistons, hydraulic roller cam, Edelbrock AirGap intake with an 850 Holley carb. It dynoed at 543 hp. The car gets a lot of attention at car shows and cruise-ins because most people don't know what it is. It's not a show car. I think of it as nice driver.