Featured Projects New to me ‘49 Pontiac Coupe

Saw this car on marketplace for a couple months. Not very good pics or info so p***ed it by. Couple price drops got me looking at it again. I didn’t know much at all about Pontiac’s of this era. I ***umed it had a flathead straight 6, ****py 2 speed or dynaflow-esque automatic and a torque tube. Something that would require a ton of work should any major component take a dump.

Then I did some research. A Flathead straight 8…that’s pretty cool. A 4 speed Hydramatic…what?! Open drive…now I’m listening.

Super nice guy on the phone, real car guy, great description. So I asked if he could send me some more pics. He did, a bunch, underside and all. And man did it look good. I called back and said I’d be there the next day.

Walked in the garage and it looked even better than the photos. Please take my money sir



The car belonged to the sellers brother who p***ed away. So he didn’t know much about it. He was into Camaros and ‘60’s Chevy trucks. He said he did have a turn signal switch I could have for the car. I ***umed it was one of those $20 Napa add-ons. Instead he pulled this out…





In the shop for a good once over…



Found some paper work in the trunk that points to a frame off resto in the late 1980’s, early 1990’s. It’s got some paint chips where I can see it only has one coat of paint. So I guess they stripped it to bare metal at the time. It looks a little too good to be original paint. But there’s not a single bit of overspray, tape line, painted bolt head etc. I can see two little spots that have some body filler. Maybe just those spots/panels resprayed? I believe the mileage to be correct.



Anywho, did the usual age related stuff. Full brake job, changed all the fluids, fuel system flush and tune up.









That was enough to get it back on the road.



Cooling system looked a little rusty and cruddy. So I plumbed a ball valve into the under seat heater lines (lowest point), for easier flushing.





I did a few plain water flushes until it ran clear. Then ran some radiator flush for a few miles. Then a few more flushes until it ran clear again. Got a lot of crud out of it and it’s cooling great. Nice to be able to keep the original radiator.

I pulled the thermostat out for the coolant flush. This is new to me. Had to sandblast it clean to see what was going on. The thermostat mounts up inside the water neck. And is held in place by a slightly springy sheetmetal retainer.



Still a handful of things to be done. But nothing to stop me from driving it. Have a couple tanks of gas through it at this point and it’s only getting better the more miles I put on it.

 

Very Nice!

 

Stunning

 

Man!! You didn't mention how the hydramatic is working.

 

Dang that thing is kool.

 

I’d drive it

the visor is awesome

 

I like it !

 

It’s been great. Shifts super smooth. The pedal/kickdown linkage was sticky. But a little spray lube got it working right again. I was going to drop the pan and clean it out/inspect. But when I drained the fluid it looked good. And the pan doesn’t leak so gonna let it be for now.

 

What a wonderful car!
There’s just something about 49-52 GM Coupes, and a Chief Pontiac to boot!
Pontiacs and Olds 88s were “extra special”.

 

Wow! Great find! Congrats!

 

Here’s something to consider and research.
If the Hydro is working well I don’t know how far I would go into it, like dropping the pan.

Those transmissions used a fluid that contained whale oil. They worked best off that fluid. There are modern synthetic subs***utes but from my understanding, it’s not quite the same.

What I’m getting at is, it may have that old type fluid in it and if it is working well, it may be best to leave it be.

Research it.

 

What a deal! I've picked up a few things cheap on eBay because of bad descriptions, but this takes the cake!

 

WOW! Great score, Dan. Love the car, love the Seafoam Green color. You did good.

 

Beautiful car!

 

@PhilA look at this beauty! What a find!

 

Yes, what they said.

 

My Uncle Al had a '53 Pontiac convertible in a pale yellow, that was a Sweet car. Your new Coupe is a Real Beauty especially with that Straight 8! Any plans other than enjoying it?

 

The best looking GM in those years I’ve ever seen. What a beauty!

 

Great car!!

 

Seldom seen beauty, you did good.

 

My wife can not comprehend why cars are referred to by “she”
but
the jewelry and accessories on this beuty proves the point

 

I would put a cap or plug at end of ball drain if your going to leave valve just in case
Nice car

 

great score!

 

That would look really nice sitting in my garage. Great find.

 

Nice car. Is the 8 cylinder an optional motor?

 

I have found a trans additive called lubeguard to be the best subs***ute for the no longer available whale oil

 

PhilA has a big long discussion about his '51 Chieftain, if you haven't already seen it. There's a lot of commonality between the two model years. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/mild-custom-51-pontiac-chieftain.1171852/

Yes, a flathead 6 was the base model and the flathead 8 cost extra.

 

That is a nice find! Enjoy. Cheers to the seller for being honest!

 

...Such a great point, Mark. I look at a lot of cars for sale ads and the "marketing" skills or lack thereof just amazes me. McDonalds wrappers on the floor, dirty towels on the back seat, so much dirt of the carpet (doesn't anyone own a vacuum?!) and tires that look like they just drove down a muddy road! C'mon people, it's not that hard to clean it up to help sell it!