1955 chieftain 870 four door sedan.. 55's make great boulevard cruisers or excellent rods depending on the model, very versatile body styles!
New to the board! If any pontiac guys out there have the pass side chrome piece hood to fender chrome that sits above the grille, I'm hunting for one after leaving mine at a local auto store someone walked away with it before i got back to get it . Im also looking for a posi for one of my 57 rearends.
Ever since the first Poncho V-8 (287) in '55 the engines are know for strength, dependability and some potential for power production. The '56 317 Special Edition with the dual quads, special heads and cam then started getting some notice from our shops. After 1956 they were so promising that the GMC Truck Div. switched from the Nail Head Buick's for their medium duty truck line to the 347 Pontiac. Then up to the 370, 389 and 455. In my book the premier engine was the late '61 -63 421 SD that just ate up the NASCAR and the quarter mile Drag Strips. The demand for this variant of that engine still exists today. In 1962 450 HP from 421 C.I. was pretty impressive on pump gas. Normbc9
Bringing this one back up. I have a 64 389 that I would like to put a 4 speed behind ans I am a little confused as to witch bell to aquire. I have read that the 61-63 patterns are the same and some say 64 is a one year deal. I have also read that 61-64 will all work. I have read also that some 64's have a block mount starter provision witch mine does not. So set me straight on this issue please. I am a bit fogged up it seems. Thanks Hack
Yes, '64 was a one year deal. All '64 blocks had the provision for a block mount starter - although manual transmission cars the starter mounted to the bell housing. Look to see if the block is drilled and tapped for starter bolts, if not, it's not a '64 and later block. Bolt size and dowel size also changed for '64 as did the actual length of the block. Best call Fabcraft Metalworks in Texas if you need more specific info and parts. Dave
Thanks for the info guys. I will contact both of them and see what they have to say. I am kicking myself for not doing more homework before I bought the engine. Thanks again
Love this thread. Right up my alley. Heres some pictures of my 55 cheiftain I did a year ago. I bought it off a hamber, and it was pretty much bone stock. Then you can see the process that took place over the next 2 years. I wanted to do something different with the paint so I went with a satin black and gloss metallic green combo. The green is actually a stock ford color for 08. I painted the wheel the same green as the top of the cheiftain but added some Roth orange flake to them. In kind of a happy accident, they came out goldish which I think is pretty sweet. The pictures of the car done are taken outside of my church at my wedding. And the last picture is of my wife and I at the Grand Canyon, where we drove the car down Route 66 on our honey moon all the way from Ohio. It was a great trip and the car made it there and back on the stock motor and trans. I have plans to pull the motor this winter. With 120k on it, its time for a rebuild.
If your needing information or historical info I would check out the pontiacoaklandmuseum.org located in Pontiac Illinois. Talk to Tim Dye.
http://www.oldride.com/library/1963_pontiac_bonneville.html bonneville is about 18 feet, and the catalina is 17 ish i had my '63 in my garage with 6 inches at each end to spare lol
Per the appendix in the back of Thomas E. Bonsall's book "Pontiac: The Complete History 1926-1979", the lengths are: 1962 Bonneville- 218.6 inches (wheelbase 123 inches) 1962 Catalina- 211.6 inches (wheelbase 120 inches) 1963 Bonneville- 218.9 inches (wheelbase 123 inches) 1963 Catalina- 211.9 inches (wheelbase 119 inches) 1964 Bonneville- 220 inches (wheelbase 123 inches) 1964 Catalina- 213 inches (wheelbase 120 inches) These are for all bodies except wagons. Bonneville and Catalina wagons were identical in overall length and wheelbase for all three years. I hope this helps! Gary
I thought I'd pop an update on my '63. A shot of the mock up motor with the firewall cut back and all done. The dash installed (temporarily) with the steering wheel and seat relocated back 11 inches. Built the ladder bars. They are in getting the welding completed and safety end clips put on. More to come. Mark L
I started installing the radiator and fan shroud in the trunk. The fan shroud under the floor, and the radiator above. I still have to finish installing everything, a small duct under the radiator to tilt it up slightly so the water fills the radiaotr and the duct to seal it to the floor/fan shroud. This is a shot of the car in the garage with the wheels and tires showing what I propose the ride height to be when done. Not real high but above stock. I ran into a great deal on a pair of turbos versus the single. So with a little cash and my 75MM single I traded for these twin 76MM Turbo netics ball bearing turbos. And I built a rear window shelf tin and back seat firewall tin for the car. That will all be foam padded and covered with a black leather like apholstery material. But now I'm having second thought about the turbos. Since I already have the great set of single turbo headers, I might put the twins up for sale and get a larger single, something around 91-94 MM turbo. I've been setting on a 750 CSU blow thru carburator, but it limit me on horsepower. I could go to a larger carb but then the standard float bowls may limit me because they may not flow enough. Then I would need a pair of special larger size bowls, lots of money. SOOO. I've decided to keep the 750 I have, get a second one from CSU to match my first one, and I've got a Wenzler Tunnel Ram coming too. The 750s will match up with the twins (if I don't sell and end up using them) or the big turbos flow and they will give me the fuel flow capacity and the horsepower potential that I need, and look cool at the same time. I've also got a cool idea for a carb (carbs) hat to worjk with two carbs, but I'll hang onto the that for later. So I've been busy since the last time I posted my car. Mark L
I have a long term project driver '62 Bonneville. 1973 400 .040 over, Th400, soon to get 700R4, mild cam, Q-jet, lowered, dsic brakes, etc. rust repair on quarters is the next step, hopefully get her painted this year.
hello i working on my 62 catalina and i put th700 in this winter i ment to put x pipe allso but trans support was in way and i wanted to finish so i hooked up existing exhaust,found a trans support from a buick 1968 electra.this i going to use ken sweden
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