1957 Pontiac Laurentian

I think you should click and enlarge these pictures. The textures are delicious.





We dragged it home about 20 years ago. It's a Canadian model, slightly smaller than the American Star Chief. Since then, we've taken off all the chrome, which is still under the dresser in my old bedroom at the farm, taken it off the frame, and repaired the gaping holes in the rear quarter panels. And yeah, when boys found out I had vintage chrome in my room, I became more interesting! Someday I'll tell you about the crowd at the shop when I was that age.

Dad called me the other night. The conversation went as it usually does: I say hello, he says YEAH and goes straight into what he needs to ask/tell me.

This time it was like this: "YEAH. A guy came in the other day and asked what we want for the Pontiac. He wants it reeeeal bad. He said he's got a buddy with a '57 Studebaker Hawk that he might be able to trade for it."

Now I must explain a few things, because as much as all of this is normal to me, I have to stop sometimes to consider that my upbringing may not have been considered all that normal by most folks.

My dad was a farmer/ backyard mechanic. He has painted hundreds of cars. I've owned four working vehicles in my life and the truck I'm driving now is the first one that was not intercepted on the way to the junkyard. The rest I just sorted ended up with, and my ol man fixed them up and we put them on the road. The first thing I did when I got my GMC was take it home to Dad for new fenders and wheel wells and a new coat of paint. This is the way it is. I grew up with several wreckers in various states of construction and deconstruction, lurking in the backyard behind the shop. I played in old cars. My sister and I pretended we were runaways and stuff, runnin from the fuzz in our hot car with four flat tires. Heck tires were a bonus. Some were just sitting on rims, or on the axles.

We got the Pontiac in a trade for a '62 Impala. It was a nice car. Wouldn't have taken much to get it going. But this one...when I was 12 I decided I wanted a '57 Chevy. Soon after I realized that every other car freak on the planet did too. It's one of the most beautiful cars ever built.



The Pontiac though, is slightly different. It's chunky and muscular.





So now, another dude wants to buy it. I've been ordering the ol man to turn everybody down for 20 years. He's been prepping the steel, getting the fibreglass front fenders and hood that came with it ready for primer. He's got the new frame stripped. He's been working on it. We've been collecting parts for it here and there, always on the lookout for a deal. But I'm really broke. This guy, whoever the heck he is, is dangling money in front of our faces. Supposedly.

Now for the shady Studebaker option. This is what kicks me in the gut. First of all, I don't get it. He's gonna trade his buddy's car? Does the buddy know about this?

That's not the real kicker though. You see, the Studebaker Hawk is the Car That Got Away. It ended up in a field upside down and I really don't want to talk about it. I wasn't even there and it makes me feel kinda sick. There are two things I always figured I'd do for my Dad if I ever get rich. One is buy his farm back. The other is get him a Studebaker Hawk.



This car is one rare bird. It's so unique. I have only seen a few close up in real life. Isn't it hard to believe that it's a North American car? I think it looks a little European. I've heard this car was ahead of its time. Dad regrets losing his.

I can't buy my Dad's farm back for him if I can't even afford my own farm. But let me tell you...it is very tempting to give up one of my material dreams to get him one of his.

To be honest I doubt this alleged deal. I can't tell you how many times in a week some tire kicker wanders in off the road and wants to buy something. They sometimes want to buy a horse too. He doesn't even tell me about all of those because he knows it royally pisses me off.

We have dreams of going to street rod meets and cruise nights in the old Laurentian. We'll do it up in black primer like a real early 60s street machine. We'll put cheap Canadian Tire seat covers on it because we'll run out of cash before the upholstery phase of the project. The two pieces of chrome trim on either side of the grille will still be missing. It'll get through the safety check and that'll be as far as it gets.

At least that's been the plan...