Oh, Canada! Between 1966 and 1969, Pontiac Beaumonts strutted their stuff as a Chevelle look-alike but with a dash of maple leaf flair. Sporting unique tail lights and a dashboard reminiscent of a Pontiac GTO, the Beaumont came in styles from sedans to convertibles. The rarest gem? The four-door hardtop. The top dog was the SD396, boasting a 350 hp engine. With only 72,000 produced, these cars are as rare as a polite hockey player, making them a collector’s dream, eh?
Our Canadian cousins had a Pontiac Beaumont available as an option for the Acadian from 1962-‘65, but it is a separate model from ’66 through “69. For these four years the Beaumont looks almost identical to a Chevelle from the same period. The tail lights are the only exterior feature that is unique to the Beaumont.
The Beaumont has a dashboard the same as the Pontiac Tempst/LeMans high performance GTO. Poniac’s arrowhead motif has either the fleur-de-lis or two red maple leaves added as a distinguishing feature. Body styles offered include two sedans, two hardtops, a convertible and a wagon. The four door hardtop was not a big seller and is the rarest of the Beaumont line, making it highly collectable today with any drive train. The trim levels are basic, custom, Deluxe and the performance Sport Deluxe (SD) line-up which compares to the Chevelle SS.
Prior to 1968 the SD is a trim option, but for the last two years it is only available with the 396 under the hood. The SD package could have been ordered with the two door hardtop or the convertible models. Like its sibling, the Beaumont SD has the bucket seats and center console available, but would also have body striping and chrome trim identical to the SS Chevelle. The Rally wheels are borrowed from the Chevelle, but they would be fitted with LeMans wheel covers. The engine and drive chain are from the Chevelle, with its full range of three six cylinder engines, including the OHV in-line six, five small block V8’s and the big block Mark IV 396 producing 350 hp. The transmission could be the two speed Powerglide or three speed Turbo-Hydramatic, or the three speed standard on the column, but the four speed floor shifter is the top performance choice.
The most desirable Beaumont to collectors is the SD396 with a four speed standard transmission and could have been ordered through-out the models production run. In 1968 there were only 65 Beaumont convertibles produced, all of which had the 396 under the hood. Harsher winter conditions north of the border coupled with low production numbers have made the Beaumont a very rare, but highly collectable. As a separate model, there were only a few more than 72,000 Beaumont models leave the Canadian production line in four years for the domestic market. The Beaumont was also exported from Canada to Costa Rica, with GM South Africa and GM Chile manufacturing them domestically.
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