Member: Randy McIntyre

Car: 1968 Beaumont Custom

I got my driver’s license in 1970; maybe that’s why I have a soft spot for cars and trucks from around that era. I have the utmost respect and admiration for you guys who painstakingly rebuild and restore those symbols of my childhood. When my oldest son was 14 we started a project (a ’56 GMC pickup) that has really shown me the expenditure of time and money that such a project requires. That project is still in the works, and someday the time and the money will all come together to see it to fruition!

This story, however, is about my daughter’s project. Natashia got her driver’s license in 2004 and soon found the novelty of driving the family car was wearing off. When she started looking for a car of her own, though, I was surprised to discover she wasn’t interested in any sensible, fuel efficient, reliable late model Sunfires or Caveliers like her friends were driving. No! She called those “Belly Button” cars; everybody had one! She wanted a 70’s era muscle car. When her search first started it could have been a Mustang, a ‘Cuda, a GTO or anything from my high school days. How could I argue?

To make a long story short, we kept a watch on the local ads and after eliminating a few possibilities, found an ad for a ’68 Beaumont in a local newspaper. We made a trip into Saskatoon one evening to have a look at the car. She looked a bit rough around the edges, all dressed up in grey primer with a set of mismatched bucket seats placed where the old bench seat had once lived. This afforded a view of a very ugly, thread bare, pea-green carpet. I was sure the primer would be hiding a multitude of sins, but was prepared to deal with some steel replacement. The decision was made for Natashia, however, when the owner offered to start ‘er up. It was a case of “love at first sound”. It seems the previous owner had spent his money on the power plant. He had swapped the original engine for a 400ci Chevy with high compression pistons, a Holley 770 carb sitting on an Eldelbrock performer manifold, and a very lumpy cam. Breathing through a set of headers, this combination produced a nice, deep, throaty rumble. We had no choice, but to empty out her bank account and drive the car home!

‘Tash drove the car for the rest of the school year and we made a few minor repairs as we became acquainted with the Beaumont’s personality. Oh yeah, she had her own personality. Liked to start and run perfectly until it was time to come home, then refuse to start. More than once Dad had to go rescue daughter from a car that wouldn’t even click! Funny thing is, quite often I would climb in, turn the key, and she would roar to life without any protest what so ever! I told ‘Tash that she liked me better.

Having a car with a quirky personality isn’t all bad though. Natashia knew how to hook up a set of booster cables better than most of the boys in her class! That’s got to be something useful she can keep for the rest of her life.

The next fall she started into her grade twelve year and had said all along we were going to fix up her car in time for graduation. When winter was just around the corner we started getting the car ready for a visit to the body shop. ‘Tash and I carefully stripped off the bumpers, chrome moldings, grill, headlight assemblies, windshield wipers, taillight housings, marker lights and anything else that would come off. We also completely gutted the interior. We intended to redo the inside while the guys at Prairieland Collision were working on the outside. We spent a lot of time conversing with the body shop over the next few weeks, deciding what panels to keep and which to replace. In the end we put new metal almost everywhere but the roof and the doors. I just kept ordering parts and ‘Tash just kept working every day after school so she could finance the transformation.

We ordered an interior kit (carpet, upholstery, headliner etc.) from Original Parts Group in California and we managed to find a nice set of bucket seats by advertising in the Canadian Chevelle and Beaumont News. What a great resource the club is. So many articles specific to the work we were doing and so many great contacts with people who had parts to spare and experience to share.

‘Tash and I learned how to re-cover all the seats and door panels and even replaced the headliner with a little help from a friend who is in the upholstery business. When we finally finished, we were very proud of all our efforts. It was a lot of work to tear everything apart and then try to remember how it all goes back together, but it was worth it! Probably the best father-daughter project we ever enjoyed together (certainly the biggest).

Clint Kennedy (our body specialist) helped us choose a beautiful black DuPont colour for all that new metal and ‘Tash picked out a deep candy-apple red from the same company to use for the wide rally stripes she had been dreaming about. A visit to Kelvin’s Wheels in Saskatoon yielded a splashy set of Cragar 5 spokes to accommodate as much rubber as we could fit into the wheel wells.

Graduation month (June/06) rolled around with still plenty of work left to do on the Beaumont. Days off were spent over at the body shop fitting carpet and seats back into the car while Clint put the finishing touches on the paint and body work. We really put on the pressure in the last few days and went right down to the wire. Finally we were able to pull it out of the shop at noon on graduation day! ‘Tash had to drive it to school with no interior door panels or headliner, but from the outside it was a thing of beauty. Have a look at the photo of a very happy girl in her graduation dress.

We finished the interior over the next couple weeks and when our local Dusty Wheels auto show came along in September, Natashia was honored with the ‘Peoples Choice’ award. Next Easter she showed the car at the Draggins Rod and Custom show in Saskatoon and received a second place in the Mild Custom event; quite a thrill for a girl who had worked very hard to finance this project from start to finish. Another year or so of loan payments and her ‘Beau’ will be all paid for.

‘Tash drives the car as much as she can during the summer months and often gets compliments and notes left under the windshield wiper. Give her a wave if you see her “MY BEAU” license plate around the streets of Saskatoon this summer! Oh yeah, I still plan on finishing that GMC pickup as soon as I get the chance. (In case my son sees this article)

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