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Home for Christmas: The resurrection of a family treasure

1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible restored to former glory in honour and memory of owner's uncle and aunt

Alyn Edwards
Dec 23, 2020  •  April 21, 2021  •  4 minute read  •  Join the conversation
The freshly restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible will be home for Christmas.
The freshly restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible will be home for Christmas. Photo by Alyn Edwards

Uncle Jim Read would always tell his niece Susie Lauro that his treasured 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible would be hers one day.

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Jim and Lillian, Susie’s father’s sister, would often attend family events in the convertible they bought new 62 years ago, three months before Susie was born. The special car was also used for Susie’s sister’s wedding. Four-year old Susie was the flower girl.

Jim Read was a car guy through and through and did his homework while shopping for a convertible in the 1958 model year. He was a fleet manager for Tilden Rent-A-Car in Vancouver and knew all the dealers. That led him to place the order for the Pontiac at Bowell-McLean Motors on what was then Vancouver’s downtown auto dealership row centered around Burrard and Georgia Streets. He kept every scrap of paper pertaining to the order including interior colour swatches, the sales brochure, the tag that hung from the in-dash electric clock, the sales invoice showing he paid a whopping $4,200 for the convertible and a letter from General Motors of Canada inviting wholesale buyers to pick their car up from the Oshawa factory for a $50 fee.

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Styling for the 1958 Pontiac represented a one-year-only model based on the Chevrolet Impala but with much fancier dashboards and interiors. There were only 759 Pontiac Parisienne convertibles built by General Motors of Canada and very few still exist. Top line U.S. Pontiacs were Bonneville models and had larger bodies than the Chevrolet-based Canadian products.

“Aunt Lil would drive the convertible to her job at BC Tel in downtown Vancouver with people following her and always trying to buy the car,” Susie’s husband Pat recalled. “It was always garaged and kept covered. Jim and Lil loved that car.”

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Family photos show Jim in the car with the top down and with his beloved big white dog. A special car for special drives and occasions.

After Jim passed away in his late-Eighties, the car went into storage at Susie and Pat’s New Westminster home. The couple drove the car to Lil’s independent living home for an outing with her and Pat’s mother to the White Spot drive in restaurant to enjoy Triple O hamburgers.

But the years had taken their toll on the Pontiac, which was built in an era where there was minimal rust protection in the manufacturing process. The car was very rusty and in poor shape. With Lil’s passing, a long-standing promise made by Jim and Lil Read was honoured with Susie Lauro inheriting her aunt and uncle’s prized convertible.

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“I have the feeling that Uncle Jim kept the car all these years for me,” Susie said.

  1. Susie and Pat Lauro with son Colton and the Jellybean Autocrafters crew — and, of course, the beautifully restored '58 convertible.
    Susie and Pat Lauro with son Colton and the Jellybean Autocrafters crew — and, of course, the beautifully restored '58 convertible. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  2. Susie and Pat Lauro raise a Christmas toast to the restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible with restorers Ewald and Kurt Penner.
    Susie and Pat Lauro raise a Christmas toast to the restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible with restorers Ewald and Kurt Penner. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  3. Susie and Pat Lauro in the freshly restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne bought new by Susie’s uncle.
    Susie and Pat Lauro in the freshly restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne bought new by Susie’s uncle. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  4. The Pontiac Parisienne had the same engine as the Chevrolet in 1958.
    The Pontiac Parisienne had the same engine as the Chevrolet in 1958. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  5. The restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible ready for Christmas delivery.
    The restored 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible ready for Christmas delivery. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  6. Chrome was king in 1958 with the splashy dashboard of the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne.
    Chrome was king in 1958 with the splashy dashboard of the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  7. The beautiful interior by master upholster Don Whitfield.
    The beautiful interior by master upholster Don Whitfield. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  8. The beautiful interior of the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne which will make Christmas 2020 for Pat and Susie Lauro.
    The beautiful interior of the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne which will make Christmas 2020 for Pat and Susie Lauro. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  9. The door panels are a work of art.
    The door panels are a work of art. Photo by Alyn Edwards
  10. The Parisienne nameplate marked Pontiac’s top model offered by General Motors of Canada.
    The Parisienne nameplate marked Pontiac’s top model offered by General Motors of Canada. Photo by Alyn Edwards

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Because the car had been in the family since new and the special bond between Susie and her aunt and uncle, Pat and Susie Lauro made the decision to commit the car to a complete restoration. They chose Jellybean Autocrafters operated by brothers Kurt and Ewald Penner to do the full ‘nut and bolt’ renovation which would take more than one year.

“The car was very rusty under the chrome line,” Kurt Penner said. “If we had known how bad it was, we would have recommended not proceeding with the restoration.”

But proceed they did with Kurt doing much of the metal work and other skilled workers making every part of the car like new before reassembly. The car was completed two weeks before Christmas. Susie Lauro hadn’t seen the car since it left her garage in very sad shape.

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All the people who worked on the car including master upholsterer Don Whitfield were on hand for the big reveal in the Jellybean shop. A buffet meal was laid out with wine for toasting when Pat and Susie arrived at the shop. When the drape was pulled back, the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible looked showroom new. Susie gasped and covered her face with her hands, as she was overwhelmed with emotion. The car that had been so important to Uncle Jim and Aunt Lil was new again. The restoration was an expression of the love they had for each other and their niece.

  1. Jim Read with his treasured 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible at the seaside
    Jim Read with his treasured 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible at the seaside Photo by Submitted
  2. Susie Lauro’s uncle Jim Read promised she would own his 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible from when she was a little girl.
    Susie Lauro’s uncle Jim Read promised she would own his 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible from when she was a little girl.
  3. The original folding top instruction manual is with the 1958 Pontiac paperwork.
    The original folding top instruction manual is with the 1958 Pontiac paperwork. Photo by Submitted
  4. The back order form was for the convertible top tonneau cover which was supplied after the car was delivered.
    The back order form was for the convertible top tonneau cover which was supplied after the car was delivered. Photo by Submitted
  5. Original owner Jim Read and friend in the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible he purchased new in Vancouver.
    Original owner Jim Read and friend in the 1958 Pontiac Parisienne convertible he purchased new in Vancouver. Photo by Submitted
  6. Striking a distinctive West Coast pose back in the day.
    Striking a distinctive West Coast pose back in the day. Photo by Submitted

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Susie had suggested a lighter blue for the main colour than the original dark Fathom Blue and softer interior colours to match. The results took her breath away.

“This car will never leave our family,” Pat Lauro said. “It’s a very special Christmas gift for our family.”

Uncle Jim and Aunt Lil would be very pleased

He will do the driving. “I can’t reach the pedals or see over the dash. I’m only four feet, eleven inches tall,” the diminutive Susie said with a smile.

She is anxious for her family to see the car over the holiday season although she is conscious that public health restrictions must prevail.

“It was my sister’s wedding car. We will send photos,” she says. “I know when she sees it, there will be tears.

“Uncle Jim and Aunt Lil would be very pleased.”

Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@peakco.com

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