My buddy just drug home what I think is a 1947 Pontiac 4dr Sedan. It might be a '46.. It's farm fresh and mostly complete with about half the glass and not many bullet holes. It's super cool but the sedan roofline doesn't speak to me. Last weekend, we were out getting parts for something else and found a 46-48 2dr Olds fastback shell, no frame. 40's GM fastback slay me, especially when they're low. I know there were a couple different wheelbases on these cars. Is the difference in the body or nose? Was the fastback available with both wheelbases? The Pontiac "seems" long, but I haven't measured anything. How different are the shells? I know you can make anything fit, but how custom will this be? I know the trim, dash and rear fenders are different, but how about the floors and body mounts? There's not a ton about these cars on the internet and I'm too young to remember when they were on the road. School me. These aren't my cars on my land, so I'm going to be a little stingy with pics, but I'll post a couple in off my phone in a minute.
There's "A" bodies & "B" bodies in both makes. Obviously parts seldom interchange ... And, GM was pretty stingy about division interchange in that period.
Lewk, Your 4dr. is a '47. The front sheet metal MIGHT fit the cowl. Yes they had the A & B bodies. There were many differences on various models. Quite often the extra length was taken up in the front sheet metal. Olds verses Pontiac I'm not so sure and they may/probably have a completely different chassis even though they shared many mechanical parts (bearings, brakes, even trans & rear ends. The Pontiac Oakland Club International Club and Oldsmobile Club of America would be two great sources of info. Hope that helps. DoUg
Thanks for the info guys. Can you tell if these are A or B body cars? I’m glad I was right about it being a 47. I don’t think we’re talking about a restoration here. Just a sympathetic combination of the two cars into a low patina bomb thing. That may involve a subframe and a C notch, but who knows. Right now, the Pontiac is yard art. Is the difference between A and B roof line or size? I really don’t know much about this 40’s stuff.
Thanks! I’ll keep it in mind. I’m still deciding if this is a viable project and not parts collecting quite yet!
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/help-decoding-1948-body-tag.1051201/ Check this out for pontiac ID info. Although the core Olds/Pontiac body structures are the same, Almost everything else is unique to that Brand.......there are good GM interchange books on Ebay for those years, they will help you with some pieces.
Just about everything is slightly bigger on the "B", glass openings slightly changed. Both car you show are "A" bodies & share glass with Chev ... Check out "Old Car Manual Project" for brochures & advertising on these cars.
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