1959 Pontiac Parisienne Drive

Drive of 1959 Pontiac Parisienne.

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

the dash is a mid century masterpiece

I remember seeing those vehicles as a child when we crossed the Detroit river into Windsor Ontario. My dad worked for Chevrolet in Saginaw & Detroit from the 1940's till he retired in 1974. It was a hodgepodge of Chevrolet/Pontiac combined in one.

[@tvelis513]

Makes me want to cruise this baby with Santo and Johnny “Sleep Walk” on repeat

[@kenzobenabese9779]

T

[@devonnewest7990]

What a find! The interior is especially gorgeous and very late-50's chic. I'm so happy to see how you love, enjoy and appreciate all these cars. And you rescue them too from ppl that would quite possibly destroy them. Thank you for sharing with us! Looking forward to your next video :)

[@josephgaviota]

My grandfather-later-my dad owned an auto garage when I was growing up. I used to delight in going in the garage when the lights were off, and turning on the "parking lights" on the old '50s and '60s cars and ADMIRING the great dash boards of the time. So many great colors and displays. Chryslers had some neat dashes back then.

[@devonnewest7990]

Oh and that dash is a sparkling jewel! 💎

[@garycorbin2789]

That steering was the reason spinner knobs were so popular in the day , it's still possible to get one today , great stuff Adam 👍

[@joemackey1950]

spinner knobs, aka "necker knobs" so the driver didn't have to use both hands when his sweetie was by his side. :)

[@rightlanehog3151]

Adam, Be careful what you say about our 'Frankenstein' Canadian cars or we might send a few extra cold fronts your way next winter!!

[@RareClassicCars]

Hey, I like them!

[@RareClassicCars]

After all, I own 2 uniquely Canadian cars.

[@rightlanehog3151]

@@RareClassicCars Did I mention hockey goons? ;-)

[@chuckhaugan4970]

Be careful.... Trump might latch onto that weather threat and campaign to build a 30,000 foot, tall, wall, along the border.... And Canadians will pay for it. LOL!!! Yes, politics are that lame down here. BTW, I miss the days when Chara skated for Ottawa and hope to see the cup hoisted by the Leaf's before I die. I was born January of 1967. And have literally waited and hoped, my entire memorable life. LOL!

[@orwellknew9112]

Alberta Clippers I think you call them. Fun fact, Albertans have never heard of an Alberta Clipper. It’s a term only used in the States.

[@LakeNipissing]

This is a truly beautiful time capsule car, sir! I have a 1967 Pontiac "Frankenstein" (aka Parisienne) convertible with a 283 / Powerglide (I believe 1967 was the last year for both), but it does have power steering. Odd combinations like your car still existed in the 1970s... my cousin had a 1978 Plymouth Volare "Premier" sedan, and even being "Premier", her car had power steering, but brakes with no power assist. Didn't even think power brakes would be an option anymore by 1978.

[@darrenbyrne4622]

Thats beautiful

[@chrisforeman8433]

Love all the cars and your videos!

[@a.person7825]

Adam, I’m going to be honest. I have ADHD and anxiety issues at times. Your videos are a part of my therapy; I mean that in the most sincere way possible. If work or my kids are too much for the day, I take a trip back to 19 sixty-something or the malaise era and be perfectly at ease.

[@atatexan]

Really interesting, engaging video on a car I never cared about but now am interested in all its interesting tours through the GM parts bin.

[@josephgaviota]

I was _really_ impressed at how QUIET that car is overall! VERY little road noise, very little engine noise ... I'm thinking it'd be a REAL treat on a long drive. Thanks a lot for sharing with us :-)

[@kdsdar]

Beautiful car! Love your videos! You do an excellent job describing the cars!

[@chuckhaugan4970]

Of all the cars you've brought out, this car is my favorite. Just something about 59-64 unique styles of the big three is appealing. It's so sad so many were rust buckets or thought of as disposable cars. Keep that car as a trailer queen. It's special.

[@timsmith428]

..great ride..thanks for sharing great memories...

[@tomstout9917]

What a great car, 2 more great videos .

[@ntdfmaverick]

Such beautiful materials in the interior

[@tsukki_amv2848]

Best car in your collection I have seen yet!

[@williamratcliff31]

Beautiful car. Thanks for sharing this video

[@christopherkraft1327]

Another oldie but a goodie!!! Thanks for sharing!! 👍🙂

[@elizabethcherry920]

I remember back in the early 90s I went to Montreal on vacation, well I decided to take a trip to that city's amusement park which is on an island by the Molson brewery ,well I looked out the bus window and I seen what I knew was a Chevy Corsica, but it had Pontiac badges on it, well go to find out it was not a Corsica, it was a Canadian Pontiac Tempest. This was the second time I had been to Canada and I knew that in Canada they sold different vehicles, so seeing that Tempest I was not that surprised, but I did want one and still do, along with a 1980 Chevy Belair

[@danswartwood4580]

Oh now is the driving video COOL

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

I've never been in anything older than the mid 70's. But I really love full size GM vehicles from the 60s and 70's. Hopefully one day I'll at least get to drive a big 60s beast

[@loualiberti4781]

What a Beauty!

[@bcfairlie1]

Who needs a V8 really. This is perfectly sufficient for the task. The task is to be seen. And you can't miss seeing this monster

[@hellcat9996]

Lots of caster to return that wheel like that. Goes straight down the road good I bet! Love it.

[@mflt302]

So in 1959 cars built and sold in Canada (specifically for the Canadian market) had speedometers calibrated in MPH instead of KPH?

[@RareClassicCars]

Until 1978

[@nighthawk552001]

Yep, nothing became 'metric' in Canada until 1978.

[@LakeNipissing]

In Canada: Up until 1976 - MPH *only* 1977 - large MPH , small km/h 1978 to today - large km/h , small MPH Note: The 1977 speedometer would essentially be used in all American cars after 1977, with large MPH and small km/h.

[@josephgaviota]

When I was a kid (in the early '60s), our teachers told us that the US was going to convert to metric in 1975, so get READY for it! I guess the Canadians really did try to convert in the mid-'70s. We're still "Imperial measurements," and now I'm old enough I hope I can live w/o converting to metric before I die.

[@LakeNipissing]

@@josephgaviota It was a huge waste of money to accomplish little except for daddy Turdeau to further differentiate and isolate Canada from the USA. Millions was spent replacing road signs and retrofitting equipment. 44 years later food is still being sold by the LB, building supplies are being sold by the foot, nails and screws are being sold in inches. People report their height in feet and inches, and weight in pounds. Car tire pressure is in PSI. Industrial equipment is in PSI and degrees Fahrenheit. I will hand it to them... speed limits and distance signs are still in km.

[@gordonborsboom7460]

Definitly not one handed steering, given how wide your turns are while holding a camera. Its amazing how much visibility there is with those thin pillars. Makes me think of the GM promotional video of a head-on collision between a 1959 malibu and a 2009 malibu. Check it out on KZbin. Shocking, but not surprising.

[@gordonborsboom7460]

Whoops. Its an IIHS video oh a Bel-Air vs Malibu

[@hawaiifiles]

Love all the chrome on the dashboard. So retro futuristic.

[@onthemove2836]

Your channel seemingly came out of nowhere and now it's one of my favorites. How about talking a little bit about you- how you got into car collecting and how you find these original classics. Maybe you did this in another video but I haven't caught all the way up yet.

[@davepike6170]

Wonderful car! I'd be perfectly happy driving around in this straight six Powerglide Pontiac! Powerglide was fine on six and eight cylinder engines, I've driven a few. Powerglide was not as great on a four cylinder, though! 🙃

[@1575murray]

By the late 1960s GM was phasing out the Powerglide in favor of Turbo Hydramatic since its competitors all had three speed automatic transmissions which were more efficient.

[@WhittyPics]

I may start calling you the bakery channel because of all the cream puffs you have

[@fleetwin1]

Yeah, watching that wheel whip back takes me back for sure. I'm surprised it had power brakes though.

[@alextimbol]

we had 69 LTD with manual steering and manual brakes. Beautiful ride and style. Felt like driving a barge. Stops and turns needed to be planned in advance.

[@josephgaviota]

I always thought the LTD were a good car. Aside from needing to plan in advance for turns and stop, do you think it was a good car?

[@alextimbol]

@@josephgaviota It had a nice ride, but I wouldn't call it a sports sedan. It should be OK as a barge if you upgrade it to power steering power brakes, etc. ie fit it out with factory options for the time, or as a restomod.

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

Nice car I bet it's faster than 1979 pontiac of similar size and no plastic wood, good times for US cars back then.

[@WilliamThompson-X]

i like the cat face on the tail fins. never saw it that way before you mentioned in an earlier video.

[@markbehr88]

Very nice. I would prefer a V8 but you can’t fault that six.

[@tombob671]

We had a 59 impala and the xframe helps that smoothe gliding drive

[@kfl611]

I think being big and heavy and long helps you glide over the bumps too. I had a 1975 caddy, super long, and that was the easiest car to drive ever. I just glided along at like 8 miles per gallon. But I could do 70 mph on a back country road easily. Love those big heavy long cars. Not much plastic in them babies.

[@josephgaviota]

I agree, the longer wheelbase made a difference. Most of the cars now are so short.

[@MrGalenlcox]

Made my day! My Dad had a 59, have to find the photo. It was his favorite car! You just hang on to that car too special to sell. Hand it down in the family.

[@cherrylove3656]

real machine quality that you don't see anymore

[@Gordonseries385]

When the train gates goes up, you forgot the engine is running. Nice car!

[@LakeNipissing]

With engines this smooth and quiet, lots of starters made horrible sounds when drivers wrongly suspected their engine had stalled.

[@steves9905]

what a honey...

[@chemxfan]

I had a friend back in the day (met this guy through the school we were both attending) that had a '68 Impala Sedan that he got from his grandmother - 327 w/a Powerglide. He let me drive it, & I too kept looking for the 2nd shift into 3rd gear. What a cool car that was - & how wild is it that the Sportsman class of Drag Racing uses a Powerglide style transmission in cars capable of 8 sec. 1/4 blasts?

[@MrWill73]

Beautiful Pontiac! How did you find such a well preserved 1959 Pontiac? Would love to hear a story about how and where you found such a low mileage and preserved automobile. I love low mileage original cars. I have a small classic car collection and all are original mile cars. The lowest being a 14,000 mile Oldsmobile 442 and the highest being a 82,000 mile ‘69 Dodge Charger. Please share one your stories of tracking down these great classic cars. Thanks 👍👍👍

[@johanbrand8601]

A Chevrolet in Pontiac clothing

[@Zickcermacity]

I would love the steering on that Parisienne! Does the car stay straight without constant correcting? Must have lots of King Pin angle engineered in, because cars back then rarely had more than 1-2° of Caster angle

[@CORVAIRWILD]

Powerglide, super turbine 300 or jet away, or C4, C6, FMX or Chrysler torqueflite 727 or 904, Borg Warner in American Motors, they all had a 1 to 1 top gear. S 3rd gear or 2nd gear in a 2 speed, all the same. So when you're cruising and those transmissions, they're all the exact same, irregardless if the 2 or 3 speed transmission. Only four speed with overdrive had a lower 4th gear.

[@eddieschwab864]

Something like that I'd be driving around blasting 50s music all the time sort of like a certain car that was alive and evil hahaha

[@davef.2811]

Beautiful!! Any idea what the final drive ratio is on her? Not a very large engine for such a heavy car. How DO you find all these pristine older cars?

[@RareClassicCars]

I think it’s a 3.55 or thereabouts. Will prob do a video on the latter.

[@Thomas63r2]

I’ve never driven one with the 261 inline 6 cylinder - how would you compare that to driving a slightly newer full size GM car with the 250 inline 6?

[@RareClassicCars]

Much smoother and quieter with a bit more torque but less top end

[@ssan3257]

That car is absolutely beautiful! I hope you don't run up the miles too much. Why did you take the plastic off the seats?

[@RareClassicCars]

They were splitting from age and I didn’t want to risk puncturing the fabric.

[@discerningmind]

Interesting that the speedometer is in kilometers, as usually Canadian cars are. Wasn't this the first year for the wide-track?

[@RareClassicCars]

The speedo is in MPH. They didn’t change over in Canada until 1978. It was the first year of the wide track in the US, but Canada didn’t get the wide track.

[@discerningmind]

@@RareClassicCars I'm sorry for bothering you. The very next video I watched (on that car) you had addressed the wide-track question I'd had. I'm one of your newer subscriber's and one of the main reasons that I subscribed is because you do your homework to a T. One thing I detest on-line are mindless people passing misinformation on vintage cars. I always feel I have to comment on correcting their mistake so that young enthusiast's will have the correct info. You're an excellent resource for correctness. As well, you're a gentleman with a non-judgmental demeanor. I can foresee your channel growing. Thank you for what you bring to us.

[@official-billvancleef7128]

2:38 It felt like it was 1975 and I was 9 again, seeing the marquis on the right.

[@RareClassicCars]

There’s a video on it on my channel!

[@RexKarrs]

@@RareClassicCars Is it a Marquis, a Meteor or a Monarch?

[@KB-ke3fi]

Be great to see a video snap of the actual car.

[@RareClassicCars]

Check out my channel. There’s a video of the car

[@carlbusque1856]

Great interior. Live it is only 2 speed…

[@gilbertolima3320]

it rides so smoothly that problably I could have lunch inside this car, holding a fork and a plate, and I wouldn't make a mess.

[@LakeNipissing]

This is from the awesome era where you would pull into the drive-in diner, servers on rollerskates would supply a extending 'table' which could be stretched from the driver door to the passenger door, and you would eat burgers and ice cream floats from this table in your car.

[@josephgaviota]

@@LakeNipissing It's amazing (cough, cough) how far we've come. So many of the things we had in the '50s, '60s, '70s are now gone.

[@LakeNipissing]

@@josephgaviota In has become the world of un-fun, brought to you by bean counters and lawyers.

[@rickmontgomery3037]

@@LakeNipissing Exactly :(

[@rickmontgomery3037]

@@LakeNipissing The closest I ever came to experiencing that was going to an A&W restaurant about 20-25 years ago (it's long gone now) when they still had outdoor servers...it was such a unique treat to have those trays hang off the window...never knew of any place else at the time that ever did that sort of thing. Little did we realize then how much such a thing would no longer - or at the most, barely - exist in the 21st century. Such a shame.

[@OhPhuckYou]

0:31 It sounded like Alex Jones yelled something in the background. Lmao

[@americanrambler4972]

That steering is really slow! Reminds me of the wide turns people made with these old cars because the had to wind the wheel so much.

[@RareClassicCars]

Slow and heavy. Hard to do.

[@BenjaminKanarek]

Which city is this in, please?

[@petehunter2988]

I don't think they sold Pontiac in Canada before the late 1960's? The Parisienne and Acadian were hybrid Chevrolet and Pontiacs, but it wasn't until the 1966 automotive free market between the US and Canada did those and the Meteor and the other hybrid Ford/Mercury went away and the cars became the same, or so I thought?

[@RareClassicCars]

Canadian Pontiacs and Meteors were both sold until the mid 1970s

[@rondrake3720]

This is better than television

[@albertsmith4569]

Ray Romano, everybody loves Raymond, is that you????

[@neilschipper3741]

It definitely takes a certain knack to drive a car without power steering. Parking that Good Ship Parisienne probably will take about five minutes!

[@carlbusque1856]

Speaking of rare Canadian, avez-vous une Montcalm?

[@RareClassicCars]

Mais oui. J’ai une!

[@kihveli1181]

US models was copyrighted by Pontiac Motor Division. That's why General Motors of Canada Ltd. models was different. And US export to Canada wasn't good idea because it wasn't tax free.

[@bitrage.]

Beautiful car... my problem would be REALLY wanting to put some big blown engine in it and huge street slicks n ruining the value of the car...

[@BrokebackBob]

If this was supposed to be the top end model, the lack of backup lights and the lack of outside mirrors and the inside mirror not moving side to side is simply insane. I wanted to capitalize the word insane but I didn't. Talk about GM cheapening a car and then purporting it to be top of the line, pretty disgusting. That trick of not using the wide track chassis is really the icing on the deception cake. I have to close with the penultimate question: does the clock still work?

[@RareClassicCars]

Top of the line for the value brand in Canada. Canadian Pontiacs were priced like Chevrolets in the US

[@nighthawk552001]

All of that stuff was 'optional at extra cost' back then! The mirror should move side to side, it probably is seized. I had a Canadian made 59 Impala sedan for many years, and the mirror did move side to side.

[@paulparoma]

Looking at a car like that, it's sad to see what the evolution of car design has brought us in the 21st century.

[@ThePrissy11]

No car that size can move quickly with a six cylinder

[@chuckhaugan4970]

And a power glide..... My old Chevelle was a dog but let's remember the world was a different place in the early 60's: less cars, less freeways, and people traveled shorter distances for work.

[@ThePrissy11]

@@chuckhaugan4970 I remember “ slip and slide power glide”😊

[@falcon664]

I'll take a good straight six any day.

[@DTD110865]

I can and have driven cars without power steering. Mainly because I ran out of power steering fluid, and put off changing the fluid. So driving something like this wouldn't be that much of a problem for me.

[@RareClassicCars]

Ha!

[@nicugirbu1727]

Get a headstrap to hold the camera It'll be much better

[@pl5624]

Id wonder what the gas mileage would be...

[@fp5495]

FYI: Don't edit out the part when you start the car. It's really frustrating not to hear that.

[@RareClassicCars]

Thx. There’s a walkaround video of the car where you can hear it starting up.

[@stvitalkid7981]

Has anyone ever actually driven a Pontiac Parisienne on the streets of Paris? (and no, Paris, Texas and Paris, Ontario don’t count)

[@rja3226]

A combination of a Pontiac and a Chevrolet. No wide track. A Chevrolet frame with a Pontiac body.. Canada is number 2.

[@Thomas.von.Harting]

...forever steering....lol

[@danielthomas3057]

Armstrong steering.

[@dugwthree]

i think GMC produced a better product in years past. Not very good today. No long term reliability.

[@pierredecine1936]

I don't find a 6 and 2 speed slush-pump thrilling, but the car rarity & it's condition I do ! Since you can use anything GM, a small block crate motor & Turbo Hydramatic would be nice. With power Steering & A/C. Vintage Air, not factory.

[@codyluka8355]

Yes, you could but that would take away all of its originality. The six and Powerglide was a good combo. Not thrilling but dependable and basic. A crate motor, 700R4, A/C and power steering would only make it just like everyone else's.

[@pierredecine1936]

@@codyluka8355 I doubt there are any others it could be compared to - cars are very subjective - to each is own, but I understand your point - Cars are only original once.

[@raymontalbano8045]

I want it!🤗

[@pierredecine1936]

@@raymontalbano8045 It is very stately - kind of like a handsome woman ...

[@chrisjeffries2322]

Next time sit on a Pillow! lol

[@asteverino8569]

Parisienne? Never heard of this model name.

[@nighthawk552001]

Pontiacs in Canada in those days were based on Chevs, and the models were Strato Chief, Laurentian, and Parisenne. Same trim levels as Biscayne, Bel Air, and Impala. This was all due to trade agreements in place at the time and with all the manufacturers as well, for example, a Canadian Dodge was actually a Plymouth with some different styling and badged as a Dodge.

[@henryhill3778]

Most WORTHLESS Video... NO view of the car!