I'm thinking of buying this 57 Safari and it has rotten floors, is it true that the floor pans will be the same as a 57 Chevy and if so are the sedans, coupes and wagons all the same? where is the best place to get them? i also understand the windscreen is the same. (it's not lowered, i photoshopped it)
Tim,this is NOT a Safari...Safaris had slanted B pillars and in 57 are the rarest of 55/57 Nomads /Safari made...only 1292. Cool car btw...sled
Pontiac did indeed call this a safari, found one on an old farm, the only thing shared with a chevy is from the belt line up !
Floors are not the same as a Chevy. Doors and gl*** will interchange as will all the weatherstrips. You might be able to use Chevy replacement parts and fab them in though. Here is one I have......
Talkin about beltline the REAL Safari wagon has a hump downwards just after the B pillar...can't post a pic now but check it out...this Chieftain beltline is plain straight...can't say if the floors are interchangable thru..
In 57 the "nomad" pontiac was a safari, the regular wagons were labeled "safari" as well.... there was also the transcontinental safari, a 4 door wagon with custom trim...less than 2K on that one I think.... **** the car pictured is an american 57 pontiac 2 door(safari) wagon. As stated above the floors on the american wagon do not interchange with the chevy, you will have to fab them up. ****** the windshield is 57 ONLY, you will be able to use the winshield out of any 57 chev or pontiac sedan, or wagon, with exception of the safari"nomad" wagon. 55,or 56 chevand pontiac w/s will not fit.
Yes it's a little bit because of sloppy description over the years, but in '55 and '56 all "Nomad" style 2-door Pontiac wagons were known officially as Star Chief Custom Safari. Regular wagons were not called Safari models, 2 or 4 door. So then in '57 the division changed this and called all models of station wagons, 2-door, 4-door, traditional and "Nomad" style, "Safari" models and the Nomad version was still the "Star Chief Custom Nomad," so of the three years this is the only year that a regular wagon could be called that and it get mixed up.
All pontiac wagons in 57 were sold as "Safari" 55 and 56 only the 2 door nomads were called Safaris. That car is lower production than a 57 2 door safari like the nomads only 1200 or so were made. The 2 door wagon you are looking at was like 700 or so. That one is US built as the canadian ones had a shorter front fender and sat on chevy frames. The floors in that wagon as most of the car from the beltline up is pontiac only. Greens or someone makes pans but I have never seen repop pans that actually fit a car or looked correct as they never seem to get the lines in them to line up. I think you can buy front pans and turn them backwards in the rear and they pretty much work I have never tried it but I was told that and it kinda lookes like it would work. Get that thing its bad ***! I have a 55 safari a 57 2 door safari and a 57 4 door safari also owned a transcontintal for a bit they are killer cars. LTR Dave
I happened on an older mag the other day and guys were modifying Chevy pans to work in a '55 Pontiac. The article made it seem easier than it probably is. A Rodder's Digest I think it was from around 1993. I know the 55-56 version of this wagon shared the entire rear quarter with the Chevrolet, so I would try and find some pictures and see how far off the rear pans are. Those stand a better chance of working than the front ones do. Have never heard anyone say before the gl*** is '57 only, 55-57 are the same body shell, it's hard to believe GM changed it that much for the last year. The one bright spot is this car's windshield should interchange with all wagons and post sedans.
I think the gl*** is different where they changed the cowl vent , 55-6 had the cowl vent in the cowl, and 57 had it through the headlights, I will double check a hollander to make sure for you..
Wow thanks for all the feedback guys, i kind of more know more than i did about the car but at the same time am more confused!
My Hollander shows 2 dr sedan,S.W.Chieftan,4 dr sedan,S.W. Chieftan and Super Chief as all the same windshield.#W 513 Also for Chevy 57 p*** and S.D. of similar description.
I take it the other one, the nomad? looks like this... I imagine it's probably the more desireable of the two but to be honest i much prefer the square doortops on the one i'm looking at. By the way i already own this Star Chief but am selling it
Tidbit for trivia buffs, Nomad-Safari used the doors from the two door sedan, not hardtop doors, with the window frames cut off at the belt line to accommodate the frameless window hardware. Made it a little easier to find a replacement when you were out looking for a door to include two door sedans and wagons as donors in your search, and knowing Pontiac and Chevrolet 55 through 57 doors interchange if you allowed for year to year trim differences by filling and redrilling holes. You just had to chop off the window frames at the bottom of the posts like the factory did and bolt in/on your original window hardware and ventipane frames. Of course, with that wagon not being one of 1292 57 Custom Safari 2drs, you wouldn't have that problem. Should have kept one of mine, probably the Silver Beige, Charcoal Gray one, but sad to say, about the only thing I have left buried around here from my Nomad Safari days is an extra luggage rack for the Transcontinental I had to buy as a package deal from a guy in Seattle just to get my hands on the factory Fuel Injection he wouldn't sell without the car.
Imagine my amazement after googling Nomad windshield and getting listing for a Kawasaki MOTORCYCLE. Seller on ebay has a windshield listed as fitting hardtop, convertible, and Nomad.
Here's a page from the '57 brochure showing a few of the models-- It is confusing that they call them all "Safari's" in '57, but they did. Its just a Chieftain, Super Chief or Star Chief Safari!
My 4 door Saloon is in the same greens but the other way round so the light(seacrest) green is the main body colour and the dark(limefire) green is on the roof and side infills... it's a nice combo either way i think Lovely looking car Jive, what car setup is it running?
The 2 dr Chieftain Safari is rare, also, with only 2,934 made. '57 Pontiac and Chevrolet windshields are taller than '55-'56 because the cowl on the '57s was lower. The shape around the bottom is different as well.
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