I have only seen one 55 that had a padded dash cover(it just goes over the top part).This one was a Safari and it had every conceivable option on it.Factory a/c which includes tinted glass,an outside visor,and the overhead stoplight gizmo that mounts on the dash,power windows,and power rear antenna. Also had the wire spoke wheel covers which preclude the use of fender skirts(the centers stick out too far)and the optional 7.60x15 6 ply tires.I,m still trying to figure out how they fit in the rear wheel wells. Leather upholstery was a no cost option on the Safari as well.Windshield washers were an option but for some reason electric wipers weren't(they were on Nomads).Strangely enough an oil filter was an option! I found this out by reading the owner's manual and when tearing an engine apart for the heads there was a plate with the oil pressure line coming out of it in place of the filter. One strange 55 Safari I saw from California had the center grille section(the sheet metal piece between the two bumper sides)chrome plated.The guy who owned it bought it from the original owner and swore that it was original to the car.I have yet to see another.
I'm curious because my Star Chief has one. Done in saddle with white stitching. Original to the car...........but I've never seen another.
Well I'll be... those are at neil fremans yard, he had a TON of cool stuff in a giant shed like the one in the background, and lost it all. I remember seeing that 55 with circled wheelwells when I was a little kid, I always thought it was cool how they raised the lip and hooked it into the original one. too bad it burned, and looks like a nomad guy needed some parts. I saw Quite a few safaris go down when I was younger, as parts cars for nomads. I type too slow, see brandys fire photos above^
I just asked because I wasn't famaliar enough with the Safari's. Mine's just a little 2dr sedan. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. Btw the wheelbases are both supposed to be 122", at least the info i'm looking at.
Thanks for the info and I don't know why I even thought that? I have no feathers man! hell, I hardly have any hair. But I accept the resemblance I was more confused as to who you were asking.
we had a few 55-6 pontiacs in the yard that had padded dashes. If they were like chevrolet, the pad was not avalible until 56, but you could have a dealer "factory" install them into your 55. brandy if you haven't seen it , try the POCI- pontiac oakland club international-(just google poci) lots of info there.
I moto thru that site all the time.....but I haven't got much time lately to cruise and enjoy. More like search and destroy.
ok i have a few questions now 1] the 58 pontiac arms - is it any 58 pontiac and will other years interchange? 2] 59 and 60 389 was said to be a direct fit -what else will fit and why 389? 3] will all 59-67 8-hole spindles and drums fit the 58 A-arms? I found all the parts today in the junkyard but i have to act quick the uncles are hauling everything to the chrusher. thanks mark
Any 58 lower arm will bolt right up, than the mount has to be made for the upper if your talking about the ball joint conversion. Starting in 59 with the "Widetrack" it wont work. The 58 works because it's the same track width as the 55-57 and the first year for ball joints for Pontiac. They will also work on 56 and 57 but the 58 lower shafts may have a differant bolt pattern and the shaft for the car may need to be put in the 58 arms. It evan works for a 41 Pontiac I helped a guy out with. On the spindles, 58-70 are all pretty much the same basic design. I chose 63 for mine because I wanted tapered wheel bearings and got the Scarebird disc conversion kit. 8-hole spindles, your talking 8 lugs right? Answered above. Any 55-60 would work best because of the bolt pattern for that era of transmission and also the front mount from 55-58. But the earlier timing cover will work on the 389. The 59 would be more correct because of the reverse cooling than a 60. Don't forget the 370 also, another very good engine, my uncle has a 58 4dr with factory tri-power and hydromatic, very quick car for the day.
I agree with asidrown you I to know the same Pontiac freak and his car is is Bitchen and I have heard that they are rare for several diffrent reasons they use to cut the tops off because they fit on Nomads so people didnt mind cutting them up to restore Chevys.
If you found some 8 lug wheels at the yard, pick them up even if you aren't going to use them - they're worth some money. Note that they only came from factory with 14 inch rims, so the tire selection is pretty poor nowadays; there are new 15 and 16 inch repop rims available from BOP Engineering.
I don't think any other complete frame will work, unless your talking clippping it. I had a 70's Camaro subframe I got for free I was going to use. By the time I starting measuring, the gearbox was going to end up in the radiator area. Others have used it and moved the radiator out front of the support. BTW in the ball joint conversion article, they used 8 lugs, I went with a regular 5 lug set up instead on mine.
there is a ugly weld in the gearbox area of the frame that im sure i can fix better but was just woundering if a chiefton or starchief frame was the same. i decided not to clip it or put a s10 frame under it. i think the idea of keeping it all pontiac is a good one. i read the article and thought the 8 lug would be different but then i will have to change the rearend. i have not had to think this much in a long time. thanks agin for all the help. xxxlmark
8 lug drums will work on cars back to 1959. but offhand I don't know the diameter or width of the brake shoes on 1955-1957 cars - if they are different you maybe could swap in the whole brake assembly including the backing plate, but that's just guessing. Fatman Fabrications builds a dropped spindle for Pontiac through 1957 that may be worth investigating.
If you can get a 57 rear end, it will bolt right in and have a 9.3" ring gear, 49-64 have the same axle end bolt pattern so i'm sure a 8-lug set could be made to work. Than you could use any center carrier but would need 31 spline axles starting with 59 and would be shorter also.
I have an extra frame thats good in that area if you need a section let me now. The rh of the frame was all bent in and no good. Also as I mentioned earlier a 2dr 860 wagon has the same wheelbase as yours and would probably work as a doner also. Your not really stuck on a 55-60 just alot easier to install and more period correct. I built side mounts for a 66 389 for mine, for the same work you could put a 455 in there as well.
the safaris are far more valuable than the nomads. ive owned all three years. there were only 1225 of the 57's built, i had number 1175. ther were some \where around 2000 nomads in 57. if your restoring to sell, go original. ypu won't be sorry
I could be wrong but I think the 2 door wagon is as rare or rarer that the Safari. Also alot of the parts from the Nomad , such as glass will work on the Safari.
Production figures are as follows (source: Encyclopedia of American Cars) 1955 Custom Safari 3,760 1956 Custom Safari 4,042 1957 Custom Safari 1,292 1955 Nomad 8,386 1956 Nomad 7,886 1957 Nomad 6,103 The regular two door Pontiac wagon was more common than the Safari 1955 8,620 1956 6,099 1957 2,934 Safaris have increased in value lately, but they're still behind Nomad values. I'll give an example using the Old Cars Price Guide values, which are based upon actual sales at auctions, on the internet, and in classifieds around the country. OCPG values for a #1 '56 Nomad (since I own one), December '07, April '08 and June '08 issues: Dec. '07 $46,000 April '08 $54,500 June '08 $59,500 OCPG values for a #1 '56 Safari from the same issues: Dec. '07 $40,000 April '08 $40,000 June '08 $40,000 There have been some recent spectacular prices for Safaris, which is a good thing considering their rarity, but if you compares Nomad prices overall to Safari prices overall, the Safaris still lag. It's unfortunate, and hopefully that will change sometime in the near future, but I've been following Nomad and Safari prices for 35 years, and the Pontiacs have always been behind the Nomads.
u did good. Put a built 389 with dual range hydramatic (which was in the car originally) in it and gooooo! Sure will be a nice wagon!
I am sorry to say there are no updates to be made. I have not had the extra money to do anything with it so I parked it in the barn hoping someone will find it when i die. xxxlmark
any thing you want to know about these cars call me i have had 18 55 and 56 safaris my name is vern 530-304-2622
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