This '67 Beaumont SD was an elusive 10 year search, finding it locally in 1987.
- red on black w/buckets & console, 396-350HP, M21, 12 bolt-411's, big block hood, factory tachometer...1 of 451 Canadian models produced
The husband street raced the Sport Deluxe for 6 years and his wife took a bank manager job promotion in London. Car was only in Ontario for 2 weeks, when I spotted it. I was driving through St. Thomas on my drive home from work...only 5 blocks, to home.
- so if I leave work a minute sooner or one minute later, I would have never found it.
I saw the quarter panel louvers and my heart began to pound, and like a maniac, I did a quick turn-around in someones driveway and headed after the 1967, in hot pursuit.
Luckily, I didn't have to run any red lights (LOL) and he pulled into a Mack's convience store.
When I walked up to the car, saw the strato buckets, through the back window, yes all the SD trim there, BB hood, 4 gear...very nice, I thought.
Owner was already in the store, getting directions from the clerk...his buddy was in the passenger seat.
In the trunk was a vacuum clearer...he had just took a carpet cleaning job..and didn't know his way around / and needed a car that was now better on gas.
Owner comes out, and I have him pop the hood...there is the 350 HP mill (w/Holley cast intake) and the driver side chrome valve cover is factory dimpled as used to clear the Nova power brake booster...I am liking what I see.
Inside, the buckets had no foam left, with blankets on the springs / but this is a 4 sp console car with Competition Plus shifter, factory tack, two factory under dash switches (one for radio speakers and one for rear defrost)
Even before I bought the SD, I purchased a spare BB hood w/louver (Arizona tin found locally), an extremely rare Beaumont speed warning speedometer (w/ivory ball), both rear SD die cast horizontal trim (one NOS piece), one new front fender eyebrow aluminum trim from GM and an original disk brake setup with PB booster & master cylinder w/proportional valve (from a restored SD, that was smashed head on into a tree...1 of 40 per 1967 production numbers). Plus some USA sheet metal:
- picked up one good Chevelle door with full green tinted glass, that came out of a house basement (at TN junk yard) when I was on vacation 20 years ago (I was hopeful of getting an SD sometime, just didn't know when, so I started to collect parts).
- one mint Chevelle front fender from a bankruptcy auction, I waited all day at...
my winning bid was $35, no one else could properly identified year/make of rust free panel
(
a few locals, were the shill bidders...
...and out of there comfort zone, in jacking up the price far enough)
PS - the occupant floor pans, are still in excellent shape (under the carpet, no rust and nice original red factory paint)...SD needs trunk floor, outer wheel wells & rear 1/4's.
- last year picked up a NOS driver side rear GM quarter panel...found in a barn since 1983
- and NOS Beaumont rocker panel trim, 1 year Canadian item that differs from Chevelle piece, in paint color
And finally, the
1967 Beaumont Sport Deluxe (originally from Western Canada, SK) - hardtop stored in an insulated garage ever since, after photo was take in 1988:
- setting on 14" original Olds 442 Rally II rims with Firestone 721 radial tires
- wheels were takeoffs from my green machine, to get through a safety check & drive it the summer of '87
Cosmetic - swapped a nice pair of original strato buckets, rear seat, carpets and steering column out of a 1967 Beaumont Custom parts car.
- to spruce up the black interior, and keep it looking original and more respectable
I bought my first 1965 Chevelle 2 door post car (6 cyl. with original Danube dark blue paint) around 1973 - and immediately fell in love with the "A" bodies...when in high school.
As a Beaumont hobbiest, I have owned 10 hardtops from the 1967 model year (over the decades)...0.01% of model year production...LOL
My current Chevelle/Beaumont fleet of unrestored 2 door hardtops (all moth-balled in year round/insulated storage, for decades):
1) 1965 Malibu Super Sport, 283-V8 with rare 2 tone blue interior & buckets
2) 1966 Beaumont Custom, 283-V8 original Danube blue paint, bench seat car w/75K original miles
3) 1967 Beaumont Custom, 283-V8 bench seat car, PS, PB
4) 1967 Beaumont Custom, 283-V8 original paint Marina blue & strato bucket seat interior w/65K original miles
5) 1967 Beaumont SD (pictured above)