Attn: Pontiac people... 1954 coupe? Let's talk!

So I just got back from this guy's shop and he was telling me he was buying some welders from a body shop that was going out of business. While he was there, he saw a 1954 Pontiac that they were working on and he asked what they wanted for it. He bought the thing for $200!!!! The body work was mostly done, has and extra hood, deck lid and another set of bumbers and all the chrome for the doors and hood. Judging by the parts, it must have been in pretty good condition. It has the original RUNNING straight 8 flatty in it and it's a 2-door coupe.

Here's what I'm wondering, the guy isn't attached to it and it's crossed my mind to see what he would take for it. He hasn't even unloaded it from the trailer yet. I just want to know what I'm looking at when i go see this thing. From the pictures I've seen they look pretty awesome. With the straight 8 in it would this be a Starchief or a Chiefton? What would the transmission be (dash just has "drive" and "low" according to him)? Powerglide?

Anything you could share with me about '54 Pontiacs would be cool. Some pics of some taildraggers or customs would be cool too.

Man this hobby is like a disease!

 

Judging by the hood and door he had at his shop, I think it must look like this (without the rust):

Although the trim I saw laying around looked more like the trim on this Starchief.

 

Just trade him the Murray for it!! tee-hee...

 

it's funny... I bought my Murray from the SAME GUY!! I've got to stop visiting this guy!

I just found out that the straight-8 was only offered in the Starchief model and is 251 CI.. So it must be a '54 Starchief Coupe. The door that was in his storage shed was a full door, so that means it's not a Catalina model.

So, assuming a straight body with no paint (primed), original running gear and drive train, mediochre interior, what the hell is something like this worth? Are there plenty of parts for this?

Thinkin this car would look cool stock, but lowered or bagged. Leave everything else alone.

 

Without seeing it, I'm guessing in the $1,000-1,500 range. That may be my skewed cheap-ass talking. What's the demand for Ponchos of this vintage?

If the car has all the little doo-dads with it if may be a gold mine in parts alone. I just dunno. If you want to use it as a driver, figure what you wnat your total investment to be, subtract what you'll spend to get it on the road and offer the difference.

 

Since he has zero time into it, he seemed interested in just getting rid of it. I was thinking of maybe offering him $800.

 

I'd say the rusty one in the picture is worth at least $1500.00. assuming it has floors and stuff like that. if it was a running -stopping car I'd ad another grand MINIMUM.

as a matter of fact. I'd try for 3500 for the rusty field car pictured, running or not. but I'm near San Francisco CA, which is second only to the Los Angeles area for the amount of crazy car people who are looking for a project.

 

Ask him what he wants for it. He may shoot you a real lowball price and then wouldn't your $800 offer look silly. Ask first, offer second. You never know what the price they ask for will be.

 

this is VERY true and since I would be a repeat customer and a pretty good aquantance maybe he wouldn't care AT ALL and would just make me an even better deal... (a guy can dream, right?)

In the mean time...

Let's see some Pontiac customs from the mid 50's! I wonder what it would take to bag that thing...

 

Nobody has pics of a 53 or 54-ish Pontiac all done up?

 

the grille is worth $500 alone!

 

Here are a couple quickies of mine. Not great pics but I have had the car for about 7 years. I have driven it twice to Road Agents and have a blast with it...Larry

 

All i got is my 48 Streamline. Body changed in 49, not sure of the fastback.
I paid 1700 for this as abone stock solid non runner but it came with an 68 Poncho 400 as extra with a Trans Am clip and a Nova rear. The seller had all the pieces i just needed to put it together.

 

I like that!! Very cool!

What's under the hood Larry? What have you done suspension wise?

 

3" blocks in back. I am putting posie springs on it this winter and changing the rear for a lower gear. The front is cut coils. The car is slammed. Under the hood is still the straight 8. Sounds great. I may end up changing to another pontiac motor but we'll see. I hate to take it out but it would give me more performance. Larry

 

Do you have problems finding parts for that straight-8?

 

No. Granted I am not goign to Pep Boys every day bubt I haven't had a problem. If that thing runs, you will not have a problem with it. Wish it was closer and I would score it. Can't have enough Ponchos in the stable. I will have a post coming soon on a new one to my dad's herd soon...Larry

 

I picked up a 54 2 door hardtop, Straight 8, in Mississippi 3 years ago for $1000, and shipped it back to Australia. Im not clever enuf to post pics though.

 

You're sure its a coupe? short roofline, long trunk,small quarter window? with the straight eight innit thats a pretty rare car..buy it, and as cheaply as possible. Get it running, put it in a coat of primer and have fun..thats the name of the game.....

 

Almost all '54 Pontiacs are 8 cylinder - the 6 didn't sell well. The '54 28 series Star Chief Custom coupe looks 20 feet long, is built like a tank, and already has a dual range Hydro which accepts a 331 Cad as is. The 6 cylinder Pontiac mount holes line up to the Cad front mount, making the 12 volt changeover the hardest part of the swap. If the stock front seat is still there, check it out - it's probably a 6 way manually adjustable ... most of the coupes were leather inside, too.

 

The first pic (the rusty one) is a 53.

We had a 54 Pontiac convertible when I was a kid.

 

I've got the 53 which is nearly identical to the 54. Sweet cars, I like the styling. Straight 8 with a 2 speed dynaglide tranny. Mine is rust free, interior in great shape except door panels, and I paid $2200. It was supposed to be a running driving car, but i've got my motor out now at the rebuilders...never would crank and only had 30 psi at each cylinder.

You can get one in reasonable shape for about $1500 and real good quality for less than $5k. These would be drivers.

 

this is my dad's 53, when i got it for him, it had been sitting under a piine tree for 20+ years with no hood. We cleaned it up and got it running. he drove it with the flathead for about five years. it now has a 66 425 oldsmobile.

 

I owned a straight-8 1954 Pontiac Chieftan Deluxe. Really liked that car, although the motor was a DOG. "Coupe" means 2 door sedan; there were no short-roof Pontiac coupes in 1954. It's almost certainly a Chieftan. They are cool cars, with the same basic body as a Chevy (same windshield/rear window/side glass) but a totally different frame, suspension, and drivetrain. I put a 350 Olds V-8 into mine and we hooked it up to the original wiring, rear end, and exhaust. Plenty of room in the engine compartment.
If the grille is complete and decent and it's a '54 (not '53, like your first photo) then it's worth as much as the rest of the car.

 

if there were no 54 chevy coupes (which i agree) than it stands to reason there were no 54 pont coupes since they share the same roof and glass,right?

 

Here's a pic of my 53.
ran it with the straight 8 for about a year before fitting a SBC.


The old engine was a heavy old lump but ran well

 

You are correct; there are no 1954 Pontiac coupes. However, a LOT of people refer to the 2-door sedans as "coupes" which is fine, I suppose, except that it makes a common car sound ultra-rare. When I took my '53 Chevy 2-door sedan to get the front end aligned the goof insisted on writing "coupe" on the paperwork because it only has two doors!
The guy who started this thread is talking about a 1954 Chieftan or Chieftan Deluxe 2-door sedan. Sharp cars, and I'd like to find one, but they're not a true "coupe." They share the side glass, rear glass, and windshield with the 1953-54 Chevy 2-door sedans. Even the doors are interchangeable. Interior, too, if you wanted to go that route. But nothing mechanical interchanges at all, and the front fenders and hood are longer on the Pontiac.

 

Sorry and thank you for the lingo correction! I agree, it's just a "2-door".

Good info about the parts interchangability. Thanks!

 

I just got back from CarQuest a bit ago, and for some reason they didn't have a listing for a Chieftain in any of there books. Was the guy looking it up wrong, or is there another model I should be referencing. Strange! I think I should be looking for a parts book soon!