It may look like a Pontiac on the outside but there’s a Chevy underneath that handsome new styling. But then that was the way it was in Canada for many years, where Pontiacs were Pontiacs in looks only, hence their popular nickname “Cheviac”. Which of course explains why this full size Strato Chief sedan has a 230 cubic inch 140 hp Astro six under that dramatic front end. And only a 119′ wheelbase, a shorter body and a narrower track.
For how long did this charade go on for?
We’ve covered the basic history of the many unique aspects of Canada’s domestic auto industry here as well as in many other posts (links at bottom), but in the case of Pontiac it was simply that there wasn’t enough volume in Canada to justify the expense of building genuine Pontiacs there. Hence the solution of slightly shortening the Pontiac body to fit on the somewhat shorter Chevrolet chassis, along with all of the Chevrolet drive train and other components.
The Strato Chief was the lowest-cost line in the Canadian Pontiac hierarchy, essentially a Chevy Biscayne. Very basic interior appointments but it did retain the lovely Pontiac dashboard.
The Pontiac Engines and Power teams are of course 100% Chevy, with all the familiar suspects present and accounted for. And that started with the 230 six. Somewhat ironically, this six had less power than the older generation used in Canadian Pontiacs through 1962, which was the 261 cubic inch version (with 150 hp) that was only available in trucks in the US.
CC’s David Saunders had one of those 261 sixes in his ’61 Laurentian.
1970 was the last year for the “Cheviacs”; in fact that year the “proper” Pontiacs were also being sold in Canada, imported from the US since the recent Auto Pact essentially eliminated the tariffs that had made it too expensive to import them previously.
This would be the end of the line for these 119″ wb Chevy-powered Pontiacs, but there would be one exception yet for two more years.
Whereas 1970 was the transition year, where both Cheviacs and real Pontiacs were available, with the new 1971 generation of large GM cars, the Cheviacs were now gone, and these were now true Pontiacs through and through, with one exception: the low-end Laurentian was still available with a six cylinder engine, the Chevy 250 six. In the US, Chevrolet also offered the 250 six in their full-size cars through 1972, so fitting the six on the Pontiac assembly lines would have been easy enough.
I wonder if any of these 1971-1972 Laurentian sixes still exist? Now that would be a find.
This particular Strato Chief was found and shot by Cohort poser Dean Edwards, and I suspect that was a few years back given the cars in the background. One can wonder if it too still exists.
Related CC Reading:
My 1961 Pontiac Laurentian Six: Getting A Beat-Up Canadian-Market Pontiac Back On The Road by David Saunders
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: 1960 Pontiac Parisienne – I Solve A Profound Cheviac Mystery by me
Cohort Sighting: 1964 Pontiac Laurentian – The Un-Wide Track Pontiac by me
Was the automatic transmission called a “Ponti-matic”?
Nope, a slip and slide or Powerglide!
One must be getting old, because most of the surrounding cars were newish when the picture was taken, but now they all appear to be curbside classics.
There’s a quick reference to the pics being a bit old.
My dad had a 1970 Strato Chief two door hardtop, just like the one featured in this article. Ours was turquoise, with the most uncomfortable black vinyl upholstery. It had little raised bits, biting into bare legs. Said Strato Chief had the 350 two barrel and Powerglide, but no power steering or brakes I used to help my mom parallel park it by reefing on the steering wheel.
The six was available in theory, but I have never seen one. I suspect dad would have bought one, too, had it saved him a big $50.
This is the best that I can do, given the short notice..
This one is long gone, but I did stumble on a project ’66 Strato Chief in my local scrappy not too long ago. Enclosed are a few shots.
Interior
Mighty 283.
Rear view.
This is, IMO a pretty good looking Cheviac .
Too bad they didn’t fit the 250C.I.D. i6 standard .
With the shorter wheel base I’m sure they drove better too, easier parking and all that .
Looks tired but nowhere near used up to me .
-Nate
> 1970 was the last year for the “Cheviacs”; in fact that year the “proper” Pontiacs were also being sold in Canada
Chevrolet-based Pontiacs went on long after 1970, although the increasing similarity of US-spec Chevys and Pontiacs make it difficult to pin this to a specific year. For example, the Canadian ’77-81 Parisienne used the small-block Chevy 305 rather than the Pontiac 301 used in the US Bonneville. I’m not sure how much difference there was between US Caprice and Bonneville suspension tuning, much less differences between Bonnevilles and Parisiennes beyond the different engines. Pontiac was still boasting of “Radial tuned suspension” at this point.
Did Pontiac retouch their advertising and brouchure cars not to show “wide track” wheels in Canada?
But not in the way as before. The 1971-1975 full size Canadian Pontiacs were 100% Pontiac as far as I can tell. Same wheelbase, chassis and engines as US Pontiacs.
Yes, starting with the downsized ’77 B-Bodies, Chevy engines were used again. But by that time GM was starting to use various engines from different divisions in the US too. The true Cheviacs were significantly different in terms of their chassis and such.
By 1965, the track width difference was not as pronounced as it was in 1959.
USA 1959-front/rear 63.72/64 64/64 in 1960
Canada 1959 front/rear 60.3/59.3
USA 1965 front/rear 63/63
Canada 1965 62.5/62.4 (63.5/63.4 for wagons)
So, as you can see, the sobriquet of “Wide Track” had become just another hollow slogan.
That’s because all the ’65 GM B-C bodies shared the new perimeter frames chassis as well as suspensions. Before ’65 US Pontiacs had their own unique perimeter frames and suspension while the Cheviacs used the Chevy X frame and suspension.
I can almost guarantee you that the 0.5″ difference in tracks on the ’65 US and Canadian Pontiac is solely due to the US ones using wider 6″ wheels compared the 5″ wide wheels that Chevy and Canadian Pontiacs used.
Growing up in Toronto and watching American TV from Buffalo, I found Canadian Pontiacs very confusing. Where were the Bonnevilles? At the time I had no idea about the Chevy connection. We might be back to that if CUSMA negotiations don’t go well.
71-76 Canadian Pontiacs with 350s and 400s could be either Pontiac or Chevy engines and could have been assembled in either US or Canadian plants. It was almost random which engine was in any particular car.
Canadians with Pontiacs of those years when purchasing engine parts that are different between Pontiac and Chevy often had to have the auto parts store clerk walk out into the parking lot and look under the hood to verify the engine.
The US Pontiac line was always available in Canada, even prior to the Auto Pact. Most of the time, dealers would only special order them for a customer who insisted on one. (My great-aunt was one of those customers.) The price-point for US Pontiacs would have made them the same price as an Oshawa-assembled Buick sitting in the same showroom when import duties were added on.
Yes, American Pontiacs were few and far between before the Auto Pact. I remember seeing a used Bonneville convertible which had some kind of plaque on the grille indicating the owner was a medical doctor.
Perhaps an MD who moved to Edmonton and traded in his Bonneville for something newer? Always a fan of American Pontiacs and their “Wide Track” stance. I had relatives who owned Strato Chiefs in the late fifties into the sixties but by the seventies moved up into Parisiennes.
I saw my first US Pontiac in 1967 at the age of 6, in a funeral procession. It was a 1966 Bonneville 4-door sedan stretched by Superior Coach ( this I found out many years later). Identical to the attached pic.
For a long time, I thought all “Bonvils” (how I pronounced it, until corrected by my father) looked like this.
It was a long time before ever seeing another US model.
I was especially taken by the super-wide tail lights (at least compared to a Parisienne).
The owner of the Texaco station in our neighborhood bought a new 1970 Catalina and I never thought anything of it, other than it must be a new model from Pontiac. Again. it wasn’t until years later I realized how rare that car was in Canada.
Later, when I was 19, my first car was a 1972 LeMans with the Chevy 350. Someone else I knew thru a friend had purchased a 1971 LeMans Sport convertible with the 350 US engine. I had to endure his bragging about he had the “blue engine”, which much so better than the “orange engine”. Of course , we all know today that Pontiac guys regard the sub-400 CID engines (389 really) as boat anchor material.
Oh well, his had an engine fire and went up in flames and mind didn’t. Neah, neah neah!
I learned to drive on a ‘65 Strato Chief much like the one featured except it was a four door in light blue rather light green and with dog dish hubcaps and blackwall tires so it wasn’t as “cool”. My Dad had no emotional attachment to his cars so they were merely an appliance to get from point A to point B. The only option was Powerglide automatic. I have not so fond memories of practicing parallel parking over and over and over again on that heavy car without power steering.
Didn’t notice at first; no outside mirror on the “65”. True, basic!