Michael Kirkland (left) and Peter Fawcett.
The newest addition to the Canadian Automotive Museum is a car steeped in Canadiana. The car is the one that Lester Pearson had built for him as a limousine in 1963 in his first year as Prime Minister of Canada.
The restored, gleaming black Buick took a circuitous 60-plus years journey home, because it was built in 1963 in Oshawa where the museum is located. Coincidentally, 1963 is the year the museum opened. The car had its unveiling last week. The vehicle was donated by Michael Kirkland, a car collector in London, and restored by Whitby-based Fawcett Motor Carriage Co.
“I can’t express how grateful I am to the museum for taking on this beautiful automobile, which means so much to any number of Canadians, and now it’s finally in a place where everyone can look at it, so enjoy the car,” said Kirkland in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
Co-owner Peter Fawcett is one of the Museum’s Board Members. General Motors donated $100,000 for the restoration.
Dumaresq de Pencier, the museum’s Exhibit and Project Coordinator, said the car is special because of Canadian history. “We’ve never had a car associated this much with a really fundamental, important Canadian like Lester Pearson,” said de Pencier.
Pearson paid GM to build the car, combining the chassis of a Buick LeSabre, the engine of a Buick Wildcat, components from the Buick Electra and interior elements from a Cadillac. Aside from the word Buick on the grill, there are no badges on the car because of its uniqueness. Inside the rear doors above the ashtrays is the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada.
“It’s a humble car for a humble Canadian Prime Minister and has all kinds of fascinating stories,” said de Pencier.
Pierre Trudeau chose not to keep the car after he became Prime Minister in 1968. It was sold to a private owner in 1968, and changed hands several times after that.
In 1998, the owner of the car was moving and Kirkland became aware of it. A friend told him about the car and indicated it had been owned by Pearson. As a “big fan” of Pearson and a “car guy,” Kirkland said he had to see it. He said it was rusty and sitting in a field sinking in mud.
“As soon as I saw the car, I said somebody has to save this piece of Canadian history or it’s going to be gone,” said Kirkland. He bought it for $1,000 and had it towed home and kept it in a garage where he worked. With a new battery, the car started. He began a painstaking process to prove it was Pearson’s car.
He contacted several Canadian automotive-related museums seeking to donate the car, but found no takers because it was too big. He was told by the Canadian Automotive Museum’s former curator it was not in a position to take the car because of its condition.
Three years ago he called the curator again and was told the museum’s focus was to make it more Canadian. Kirkland said what would be more Canadian-focused than the last Canadian-built and owned car of a Canadian Prime Minister.
The car was picked up, and Fawcett and his team began the restoration process that took more than a year and above the $100,000 seed money. He felt a need to do the project because of its history and original owner. “It’s a pretty significant car to me, so I’m pretty proud to say I did it,” said Fawcett.
Historian Dimitry Anastakis, who is one of the museum’s board members, and a team of his researchers, put together information panels to tell the car’s story.
