Member: Roy Michelau
Car: 1968 Beaumont Station Wagon
Car: 1968 Beaumont Station Wagon
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As usual it all started (2002) by reading a car guys/gals worst enemy "The Bargain Finder publication." Now let me see- what don't I need this week?
Wait a minute! Who would put a fuel cell in a Beaumont station wagon? I better go back and read the entire ad. (It takes a few extra seconds/minutes sometimes for some things to sink into my thoughts; must be getting old!) 1968 Beaumont station wagon-Fuel cell, Battery box, roll cage, hood scoop less motor & trans.; will sell for parts or complete; Calmar, Alberta (that's only 1.5 hrs. drive away). I had better call and get the straight scoop. Yes, it was an old drag race car-did I mention I have enjoyed watching drag racing for over 35 years. (Never raced-always wanted to.)
Turns out the guy had stripped the entire car and had already sold most of the front end off the car, removed the front trick suspension and 12 bolt rear differential to build another Chevy race car and told me he had replaced the panels with new El Camino ones as he could not purchase them for wagons and painted the car 2 years ago. This would make a great "100 foot shoot out car". (Fastest car to go 100 feet from standing start-just like quarter mile drag racing.) This is an event that is usually held in conjunction with Show & Shines and is sometimes held on "main street" in several towns/cities in Alberta. A real crowd pleaser and gives the show and shine guys and gals a chance to really display their car/truck/motorcycle in action. This has become such a popular event that there are now approximately 10 events during the year and we even have an association to co-ordinate them all.
After talking to the owner I thought I had better call my cousin Gary to see if he would be interested in going 50/50 partnership on building a shoot out car. As Gary already owns numerous Chevelles & El Caminos, a Beaumont Station wagon to "play with" was OK with him. I called the guy back and told him we would take the car if he could get some kind of wheels back under it so we could load it on a trailer. He agreed to do that and we arranged to go pick the wagon up in 2 weeks. (Did I mention that I really am beginning to dislike "The Bargain Finder publication".) JUST WHAT I DO NOT NEED IS ANOTHER CAR (ask my wife Debbie) as I already own 6 cars-including a '57 Chevy 2 door, 13 vintage motorcycles and 3 vintage snowmobiles. (I must be Car Crazy!)
I do not even remember ever seeing a 68 Beaumont wagon-new or used ever-lots of Chevelle wagons. I guess I do NEED ANOTHER CAR! The gent we purchased the wagon from said he was able to do a Canada wide registration search (in 2001) to see how many were still on the road in Canada and advised he was told 3 including this one. As Beaumonts were never sold in USA it is possible that this could be correct and I would be interested in hearing back from any members if they are aware of any still in existence registered or not. I can be reached via email address - michelar@telusplanet.net
Upon arriving to pick the wagon up we found the guy beating on it with a sledge hammer trying to install a front suspension so we could put wheels on it to load on the trailer. Great introduction of what was to come. The body work was OK but the paint job was done in his garage and was poor. Only a drivers fender, front dented bumper and a hood with a scoop riveted to it very poorly. It did have the front seat. It was missing the whole front end basically. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING PROJECT went through my thoughts. We finally got wheels under it, loaded it on the trailer, paid the gent and hit the road home. It was ours, but WHAT THE HECK DID WE GET OUR SELVES INTO !!
The parts list required to simply get the wagon back to being road worthy (100 foot shoot out cars need to be registered and insured) was long. Over the next two years we slowly accumulated the parts and pieces to start putting it back together. Gary located a used 12 bolt posi differential with 4:88 gears from a Chevelle and he also found a good old used 454 engine. We installed new bearings, seals, brakes, brake lines and brake drums before installing the differential into the car. New adjustable trailing arms, poly bushings, sway bar, 10inch drag slick tires/wheels and ladder style traction bars were added during the installation. (Lots of skinned knuckles and fingers later!)
At this time we installed an electric fuel pump, made up custom 1/2" stainless steel fuel lines to the fuel cell, installed the emergency power shut off switch into the rear bumper and ran all the electrical cables to the front of the car. The fuel cell, fuel cell safety enclosure and battery box were reinstalled "inside" the back of the wagon. (No trunk to hide these here- just lots of windows.)
Like the back of the car the front also received a thorough replacement. (Remember the last owner was beating a used what ever he could make fit under the wagon with a sledge hammer when we went to pick the car up.) New control arms, ball joints, tie rods, bushings, brake lines, wheel bearings and custom (A) arms were installed. Drag racing shocks and a trick suspension were installed with new "big block" springs. Disc brakes and a sway bar were added for extra safety. The power steering and brakes were replaced with manual ones and a "line lock" was connected to the disc brakes. (Most people when restoring a car would be installing P.S. & P.B. not taking them out-but they take up too much room, weigh more and in general just get in the way if you have to do much work in the engine compartment.)
We decided, for now, to install the used old stock 454 and a 2 speed "power glide" transmission without over hauling them for now. We did, however, install a new flex plate and a flex plate safety shield and a transmission safety shield. A 3500 stall torque converter was also installed to give the wagon a "little help" at the starting line. Headers and new mufflers, radiator, starter, alternator, MSD electric distributor, ignition controller and rev limiter were also added. Next came a Holley 850 double pumper carb with an Edelbrock high rise intake manifold and we topped it with a K&N air filter system. A Hurst floor shifter was installed to control the power glide transmission.
A pair of racing bucket seats replaced the stock front bench seat and 5 point full safety belts were also installed. (A passenger is allowed to ride along during the 100 foot shoot out runs as long as they are also seat belted in and wear a safety helmet, just like the driver.) Nothing better than being able to share the ride, looking over at the passenger at the end of a run and seeing one of those "ear to ear" grins on their face. A tachometer and full set of instrument gauges were installed to work in conjunction with the factory (Idiot lights) in the dash. The car was repainted 2 years ago when the hood scoop was repaired and a new wind shield was also installed at that time. More safety items such as a drive shaft safety hoop and gravity activated automatic fuel pump shut down switch were also installed. (Shuts off the electric fuel pump if the car is rolled over to help reduce a fire.)
To date the fastest time the car has run in 100 feet is 2.72 seconds with a top speed of 39 miles per hour. This is a heavy car and would not normally be the car of choice for this type of activity. If any of you have been to the quarter mile drag races you know the lighter the car and driver the quicker it will go and that is also why you rarely see a wagon racing. As mentioned earlier we built the wagon to "play with" and usually have a passenger along for them to also enjoy the few seconds of "play time." We, however, are also enjoying the public reaction to the wagon. Every time we take the wagon out some "fellow car enthusiasts" just have to come over and look at it. They usually start a conversation with "I like your Chevelle wagon - but there is something strange about it." It's not a Chevelle, it's a 1968 Pontiac Beaumont! The response is usually "I never knew they made Beaumont wagons" or some have "heard" that they built them and even fewer say the have actually seen any year of a Beaumont wagon. These comments just about always are followed by "I've never seen a 1968 Beaumont wagon." The play time is a lot of fun but being able to save one of the last ones from the scrap yard for others also to enjoy makes it even better.
We still have a list of changes, upgrades and additions still to come hopefully in the near future. These include rebuilding or replacing the old 454 engine with more horse power. Upgrading the 3500 stall torque converter, installing a electric water pump and electric radiator cooling fan assemble. We also hope to install a more advanced starting line brake system that locks all 4 wheels. As you can tell by the extensive list of drag racing items and safety equipment that has already been installed during this restoration, this wagon is not your average "grocery getter." One of our long term goals is to run the wagon on a quartermile drag strip some day. (More play time.) The extra horse power and longer run times will eventually mean we will have to upgrade the 12 bolt differential to include stronger axles and a "spool" for the gears. A stronger build power glide 2 speed transmission will be a "must have" item by then and will be installed.
I can already imagine the day. I am flipping through the pages of the "Bargain Finder" publication- racing and high performance parts for sale. Now let me see- WHAT DO I NOT NEED THIS WEEK? Did I mention earlier that I am really beginning to dislike this publication? (Only because every time I seem to open one up I find something I just have to buy!) This publication has been very helpful in locating numerous parts and pieces over the last 4 years to allow us to rebuild the wagon to date. During this extensive parts search however upon inquiring about parts for the wagon on at least two occasions people just had to add comments like- "would you be interested in buying a Chevelle?" NOPE- NOT INTERESTED! THE LAST THING I NEED IS ANOTHER CAR! I now have a 1969 2 door hard top. Gary and I just had to buy the second one; another 1969 Chevelle 2 door hard top. (X-race car). Both cars will require full restorations. Did I mention earlier that I am really, really, really beginning to dislike the Bargain Finder?
Roy.
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