Been looking at a 54 Pontiac Hardtop, almost no rust, real solid car, it needs a bit of mechanical work but for $1000 a good buy. It has a Flathead straight 8, guy says they had it running a year ago, but the original transmission doesn't change well. I would reckon that another trans would be hard to find, so is there anyone that makes an adaptor to fit a modern box/trans up to the str8ght 8. Also what does anyone know about the inline 8, are they are real fragile engine, as in do you think it is worth messing around with? I don't want a racer just a reliable old boat and I know the 8 would be be pretty cool. Also where in the south(or anywhere really) would be the best source for new brakes, or even a front disc conversion kit and suspension parts. Pontiac and Chevs of this time were very different mechanically if I am correct. Thanks, hope you can help.
is it a standard or automatic trans? the hydra-matic is a nice unit,but they do need to be adjusted right to work properly.
The new issue of car kulture deluxe has an article about a shop that does what you want.they even show a straight eight. web site Transmissionadapters.com
Fatman Fabrications has dropped spindles for the '54 Pontiac. Kanter Auto Products has front-end rebuild kits and individual parts, too. That would make a cool sled!
I am not sure exactly what auto trans is in it, what were they, did have different options? Anything other info is welcome. Thanks
adapting a newer trans to a straight 8 would make it nicer to drive.lower rpms would make it last longer.do the no lead valve seats.disc brakes if possible....i have non power drums on my big boat chyrslers and stoppin isnt a sure thing ha ha .but for now get it running and have fun.
Nope. They had one tranny and it was a 4 speed hydromatic. I have yet to see any Pontiac straight 8 that has enough beans to bust one up. If they're kept in adjustment, they will last forever behind your flatmotor. I had a '48 Pontiac with your combination and the only changes I made was to install a '56 Pontiac 3rd member in the original rear axle housing. The wheezy straight 8 thanked me for the 3.23 gears to replace the 3.63's or therebouts. I think a 3.07 or 3.08 rear gear was also available for the 37-56 Pontiac/olds rear housing. I did see a black 41 Pontiac coupe at Americruise [Madison, Wisconsin, USA] one year with a homemade intake mounting a big holley carby and homemade tube headers on his straight 8. He was also sporting a reground cam in it. I dunno.......their weak point was rod bearings, rods and crankshafts. I was in our 50 [little kid in mommy/dad's car] when ol' Mom laid crank while passing a truck in passing gear. We left it bleedin on the side of the road and called a neighbor for a ride.....got 60 bucks for it at the junk yard.... Keep the r's low, clean out the water distribution tube occasionally and you'll drive it forever..
rocko, it's a 4 speed??? damn thing of mine says NRD1D2 or something like that, i always thought it was a two speed like the powerglides? i actually mouse-proofed the 8 out of my 5 pontiac today. bastards had decided to move in. the water pumps seem to me to be a weak point as well, in that if i remember right, they need to be continuously oiled. the early models like my 50 i think are more of a bitch because ou basically cork a drain hole and fill it with oil then drain the oil out and drive, apparently till it squeaks. by 54 it acutally held oil on its own, no drain hole. at least that's what i read in the manual.as far as suspension goes, i THINK chevy and pontiac are the same. pontiacs are longer, however. factory horsepower will be a ballpark of 110. the 50 had 109, i think by 54 it might have gone up to 112? ebay is a good place for miscelleneous parts of course, and i second kanter as a source. never dealt with them aside from the manual, don't know if they are assholes or cool, but the sheer volume of their parts and etc. they actually sell rebuild kits for that same tranny. i'mm end up geting some stuff from them soon myself.
whoops! let me clarify for chromed RAT.you might have a dynaflow if your car was built in '53-'54 because of the huge fire at the hydra-matic factory in '53.if in fact you have a dynaflow you might (i say might because i don't have personal experience with'em) wanna look into swapping it out,as i have never heard anything good about them.the hydra-matic is a whole different story,they're tough as nails and damn near unbreakable,in modified form they were the trans of choice of most of the gassers of the '60s like stone,woods,and cook behind blown hemis and such-george
Oops! What the Yorga-miester said........ I forgot about the fire in the GM transmission plant, forcing some pontiacs and Olds' to use the famous dynaflow. To be honest, I've never seen one of these 2 speed trannys used in a pontiac but it sounds like you have one. Those things are "power sponges" and I can just imagine how slow an already slow car could feel with one of those boat-anchors in it. I'd have to yank the entire transmission assembly out and substitute all the hydro stuff from a "real" 54. Better yet? Pull the straight 8, e-bay it and go to a pontiac V/8 with 350 turbo to give the old pontiac a new lease on life. How 'bout this?....buy a clapped-out 56 Pontiac and use all the V/8 engine/transmission [4 speed hydro] stuff in your 54. Tell everyone it's a prototype 54 from GM. An experimental model prior to releasing the new 55, V/8 cars. An EXTREMELY rare factory car, a test-bed to assess the new, yet-to-be-released V/8.... You'd need to use the column from a 54 car with a hydro.
The straight eight Poncho will pretty much run forever. It's way down on POWER like Rocky said...but Pontiac built 'em to be dead-nuts reliable and virtually trouble free. I've worked on a few, and they run smooth and sweet with attention to the basics. You won't win any races...but the "Cool Factor" is up there and it should keep on keepin' on for a long time to come! I'm not a tranny guy, so I can't tell ya much about those...but the engine won't let ya down!
What size is the straight 8 in these things? I checked out the site for transmission adapters, they were $700 to suit a T/H350/400. Rocky, thats a great idea, do you have clapped out 56 to sell me? I have 80's malibu rear end, I believe they are a good fit for 49-54 chevs, it should fit a Pontiac???? I haven't had a chance to measure anything up yet. Anyone done or seen this? Thanks
Chevros..yes, I do have an old parts 56 poncho. Unfortunately, I've scabbed every moving part off it already and used them on my own pontiac projects. It is a fine example of a 4 door hardtop that was "ate up" with rust. The motor was pretty good and the tranny and rear end got stolen from where it sat...bummer.
the 8 oughta be a 268, i think that's what mine is. as far as rear ends go, i used the whole rear coil suspension and frame section from a 93 roadmaster in mine. requires "trimming" and a bit of coercion, but it oughta work niiiice. if you decide to go SBC, i've got my motor mounts almost done, i'll hook you up with patterns for them and the crossover i made for the TH 350.
Well that was pretty selfish of you Rocky. Chromedrodent, do you have any pics of yours. I know there was a post up a few weeks ago looking for 54 poncho pics. Did you ever drive yours with the str 8. If I do get it I would like to keep the str8 and put a modern trans with it, with the 10 bolt from the malibu. I have been pricing front suspension stuff and brakes etc.. I think I will go back and buy it. Thanks
back to the brakes for a second, does anyone know if there is a drum to disk conversion for the 54 poncho?
I have seen cars adapt later discs to these cars. If you are a POCI member, there are a few that have 70's bonnie's, cats, gp disc conversions. I just rebuilt mine in my 54 to complete stock adn they work great. I got my stuff from Todd's Auto Parts in Glassboro, NJ. he will send to you and he is one of the people who sells to Kanter...so he is a lot cheaper. I'll get the number for you tonight. My Straight 8 is a tank and they are a blast to drive. Just slow. I have a 3 spd manual that dumps gear oil everywhere. They are a beautiful car though. I am a Pontiac guy though. And the word is that a v-8 will drop in with no problem because they actually tested the motor for 54 but held it until 55. Larry
Man, I thought this post was dead and buried, but here is an update if anyone cares, I bought the car, its now on a big boat on its way here to Australia. It is a two speed and the trans is no good, it doesn't change into 2nd. I will try to hunt down another so that I can keep the str8, other wise I have a 283 and powerslide out of a 59 chevy that could go in, this should be an easy swap if I decide to go this way, anyone done it? any problems I need to know? Keep the info coming, its all good stuff. Thanks Chevy.....
Its a dynaflow, they dont have 2 gears, its all about the tourqe converter. You have drive and low. You dont shift between the two under normal driving. People always comment when driving in my buick that it doest shift.
Man, $1000 for a hardtop doesn't sound too bad. I've seen those '54 Pontiac grilles go for stupid money before. That alone should be worth at least a couple hundred if it's in decent shape. -r
As far as brakes go, nobody has yet to come up with a kit. Pontiacs have kingpins up to '58 and then went to ball joints up front. You can get dropped spindles for it (from Fatman) but you still have the same brakes and suspension. Master Power will take "your" spindles and machine them to accept Chevelle stuff. You'll get them back complete to bolt in with new hose. The down side (aside from cost) is that you'll have great brakes with ancient suspension. Now fab up a dual master because nobody does a kit for that either (as far as I know). I researched this stuff for my '57 for years. I went the way of the subframe from an '80 Trans Am. Chevy guys have it sooo easy. 1-800-everything. Us Pontiac guy don't have it that good, but then... if it were easy everyone would own one. Good Luck! Bil
Hey Randy, it was a pretty good deal for $1000 but the grill and most of the chrome isn real good, the stainless on the side trim is good though. I will try and get some pics up later this week. Did the standard brakes work very well at all even when new? The good thing was that NAPA had some brake parts, like wheel cylinders and a master cyl rebuild kit as well kingpins.
Chevy.....the 80's malibu rear axle will go in ok but it's about 2-3 inches narrower. I used on in my 50 chevy and compensated for the narrow track by using wheels with an inch and a half positive offset. Worked great and looked better with the deep wheels on it. Be aware the malibu wheel bolt pattern is different from pontiac. Chevy is 5 on 4.75" vs poncho 5 on 5"....
just saw this post again. in the last 6 months or so sinc ei've been messing with my car, i've found out that more or less all chevy and pontiac suspension parts are totally different, as are 49-52 ponchos and 53-54 ponchos. brakes might be the same within 49-52. i just bought some shoes for the rear end (93 buick roadmaster) and it looks like the shoes for it might match the front shoes. you might want to go to a parts store and compare the poncho units with new roadmaster stuff. it'd be a good bit cheaper than kanters. they, by the way, were pretty good to me. they had my pontiac shoes out and fed exed within like 3 days, and so far as i know, charged me for regular shipping, as i didn;t ask for that and i don't think it was extra.