4 state trip to get my 56 Pontiac

Just a brief recap of today. I bought a 56 Pontiac Chieftain off Indy88 today. Wv to Ohio to Kentucky to Indiana and back. Gary has a really cool shop out in the middle of nowhere. The area is really beautiful though.

I don't know how many saw the for sale ad but here is the car.



Was hit in the front end. Other than that it needs alot of little bit of this and that but the car is very solid. Excellent trunk and floors.



Yes, I know the white letter tires have to go but I'm not sure what way I want to go from there. I've not found many pics of anything other than dead stock cars. I'm not a fan of the original bumper and grill. (It needs replaced). I do like the 55 better but anyone have any pics of something different? Any fairly easy swaps? I dunno.

I still don't know if I want to go lower or bring the front end up with cheaters on the back. Who has pics of cars that aren't stock? I'm completely ignorant as to the 316. Is this a derivitive of something else or a thing all to it's own?

Here we are back at home.



I'm going to try and find some local but I also need some headliner bows (I need them all) and clips if anyone has some laying around in the way.

 

The 316 is the same basic design Pontiac used from 55-79. Any other 55-60 engine is a bolt in being the bolt pattern for trans is the same for these years only. There is a real good Pontiac engine tech here somewhere if you search for it.
Myself personally think the 56 needs a 56 front end. I've seen them with 55 clips and don't care for the look. This 56 is for sale locally around my area. Kinda gives you the look anyway if you go with the 55 front end.

 

Thanks, I'll look for the tech. Still looking for ideas for something different though.

 

Nice Pontiac! But damn, nice Dodge too!

Haha. Just a thought, look into the articles about grinding your own whitewalls. Usually the raised white letter tires work out pretty well for that. Figure if you are going to s**** the tires, it cant hurt! Real nice lookin car tho man.

 

The tires will work fine on my beater work truck.

 

Since there seems to be no ideas or pics let me ask this. How difficult is it to adapt a Chevy bumper of the same year? I really just don't like that huge 56 Pontiac bumper.

 

Make a g***er out of it and dont run the bumper!!!

 

nice score looks like a solid car to work on good luck with your build

 

Well, I'll ramble on my journey here to myself. LOL At least I'll have a record. More of the front end came off today.



Frame is tweaked in the front and needs repaired on one side. (sort of hard to tell in these pics)




I have a line on a hood with 145 holes in it.

 

Pictures of my vintage AHRA F/SA F-3 drag car "old Injun"
1956 2dr post
316ci
modified hydromatic transmission
Type 1 91/4 rear end with 456 gears and posi trac






55 Chieftain has the upper half of the 56 front bumper

Tad

 

I'm getting ready to strip off the front end an old front section of frame I have from a 55 I had. It was wrecked bad on the side , but that area of the frame is good, if you can't repair that or don't want let me know.

Here's Hambers petritl 's 56, no front bumper either.

Dang Tad, you beat me to it!

 

I love that 56. Maybe it's just me but I think post cars look better set up like that than hardtops. I'm thinking I'll go low.

I'll let you know on the frame. I appreciate it. My buddy seemed to believe it will all pull out O.K.

 

Here's a pic of my 55. The previous owner modified the front end using 66 Impala bumper extensions.

 

looks like a great start on a project

 

Ohhh.... more pics please!

 

here's an idea for the front bumper. smooth and mold the huge lower bumper to the body, and paint it body color. run the stock 55 or 56 bumperettes that wrap around the front fenders and stick a moon tank in the center.

 

It might be possible to adapt a 57 Chev bumper and dagmars and have it look decent, but WHY would you want to when the 55 Pontiac split bumpers look so good even the guys customizing 55-6-7 Chevs wanted them.

 

This might be the pontiac thread you were thinking of. Great info here.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224124&highlight=pontiac+tech

 

Getting there. It's straight now at least. A week and a half to get it fully back together until the Cinematic. I'm going after a bumper and grill (55, I like it better) tomorrow.

O.K. so far for a mostly novice. It still needs far more work than readily appears in the picture.

 

Isn't that always the case? Good to see you've gotton that far.

 

Looks good. I'll be home tomorrow after 3:30. Give me a call and we'll dig out some bumpers and grille parts for that beast.

 

love those pontiacs but hate their suspensions. scarebird can set you up with a disk conversion. mark is a hamber.

 

Ditto. When I was a kid the guy at our neighborhood gas station had a black '56 Pontiac that he raced in modified production. It had no front bumper and looked bad-***ed.

 

It's back under it's own power. The bumper is just sitting there in this pic.

 

I love tri year GM's nice find.

 

Mostly just keeping track of the progress. Hook up the lights, adjust the brakes and fix an exhaust leak and it should make the Cinematic. (as long as I don't run into ***le headaches)