Found A Rare One In The Pasture

Here's my latest catch, a '57 Chieftain Safari two-door station wagon, one of only 2,934 produced that year.

I found it sitting flat on the ground, no tires or wheels, at the edge of a pasture south of Fort Worth. Vandals had used the glass for BB gun practice, and the elements had been unkind to the interior.

However, I was immediately drawn to the sight of apparently sound fenders, doors, rocker panels, quarters, roof and tailgate, despite the significant rust hole in the driver floorpan. After about a half-hour of negotiation, I became the new owner.

Always prepared, I had four mounted tires ready in the back of my truck, along with six left-hand-thread lugnuts from a parts car to allow me to attach the wheels to the left side of the Safari. My brother-in-law and I had the car up on tires and on the trailer in 45 minutes, thanks in great part to the 8,000-lb. winch on my trailer, which didn't surrender to the left front and right rear wheels, neither of which rotate at present.

The original color scheme, still discernible, is one of those great '50s combinations - Sheffield Grey roof, Carib Coral (dark pink) body, and Sheffield Grey side insert. The interior was light grey/dark grey, clearly displayed on the rear seat, still in fair condition due to being folded down for many years.

The original engine, bearing the last four digits of the VIN, is in the bay, but it's missing a head, obviously gone for a long time. The steering box is manual, but brakes are power-assisted. The transmission is a Hydramatic.

I've already had the car eight feet in the air and examined the underside. Rust damage appears confined to the four footwells.

I decoded the VIN and cowl tag through the excellent reference material available at pontiacsafari.com and learned this station wagon is of very early production. It was the 180th Hydramatic car off the assembly line at Framingham, MA, for the 1957 model year.

I've just begun cleaning out the inside of the car, removing first several lengths of 2 X 4s and some coils of barbed wire. One pleasant surprise, one of the missing body color headlight bezels, was underneath the rear seat. I'm hoping for at least a couple more.

I'll start the title hearing process early next week, and the state will grant me a clear, regular title to the wagon two weeks later.

 

very cool

 

Very cool, a friend of mine has one. PM me your ph # if you want to contact him.

 

Surf's up!!!

 

Texas kicks ass!! If that car would have sat for as long here in PA it would be nothing but a rust colored stain on the ground. Great find.
CHAZ

 

GREAT SCORE!

You never see two door post Safari wagons-- Super rare. Glad you found pontiacsafari.com- Larry's website is a great source. I'm in the middle of fixing up a 57 Safari wagon right now, and will probably have parts left over-- Let me know if you need anything (like that back bumper!)

jay

 

I've seen one - a '55 rotting in a small private junkyard here. Extremely rare cars. That's a good save - I have a '57 4dr myself I originally intended to build, they're good looking cars.

 

Man, that is too cool. I can't wait to watch this come back together. Great score! Do her proud.

 

AWESOME!!!!! glad to see this shit "rescued". love it love it love it that it is NOT going to the scrapper!. this stuff NEEDS to be saved. even if it sits in some (dry) location until someone who loves it enough comes along and saves it!.... so damn happy you saved another one... now cut that bitch up and have FUN with it!!

 

WOW, do I hate you a lot!!

1-Nice ride, that thing is beautiful.

2- NO SNOW on the ground!

MIKE

 

There is a 55 0r 56 wagon in about the same shape in the Ftw dallas area that a guy bagged and got it running. He left the paint as is and drives it everywhere I guess. I've seen it around alot. Nice score and in good shape even for Texas. TP

 

CONGRATS!!! Another member of the "damned rare" car club.
I have a pair of hdlt bezels that you can have for shipping costs & a beer. They're not show quality, but might help you.

 

Nice find !! I always wanted one of those. I have a 57 starchief 2dr hardtop and a 55 chieftain 4dr wagon.

 

I thought that all safaris were based on a starchief yours says safari on the quarter and chieftain on the fender, interesting.

 

And it's even my favorite 50's colors. Good find!

 

Nice save,beautiful wagon. The fact that you had 4 wheels/tires and a
half dozen LH thread lugnuts in your truck proves that your boy scout
training has served you well. Look foward to some updates on this
build.

 

blah blah blah .. nice car ...even has the cool vent shade on the door.. but i can almost see some other stuff in the background what else was there.. hmm 60's chev pickup maybe?
come on now fess up.

i had a 55 poncho 2 door wagon it was a car i wish i still had

so ya know
the way they did it was to weld the tailgate to the back window frame to make it a sedan delivery door.. like a modern suburban

 

Excellent Score!!!!Keep us updated

TEXAS RULES!

 

Nice find. And in Texas ..

 

Pontiac sold 5 different wagons in 57. There was a 4-dr & a 2-dr off the Chieftan, one off the Super Chief, the Safari Trancontinental & the Custom Safari were off the Star Chief.
The Custom Safari shared the roof & tailgate with the Nomad, which is the one most people remember.
I seem to remember the Rodders Journal having a write up on a Trancontinental from the east coast a couple of years ago.

 

Nice!- But I'm biased since I rescued an Edsel wagon last year.

What are your plans for it?

 

Nice Score!

 

was that the one that was listed on craigslist in the Dallas section?

 

Pontiac Wagons are sweet...especially 2 doors! Are you going to get on this one right away? Sounds like the sheetmetal work is minimal- looks good!

 

That is absolutely great! What a find. I remember there was a time when I wouldn't be caught dead in a station wagon, but I'd be more than happy to be seen in that one! Yes, keep your eyes out for a long surfboard...even they aren't cheap these days. Congrats! (Now open your wallet!).

P

 

Nice, I am building a 57 safari wagon for a customer right now...He gave it to me in pieces... It now has 4 wheel disk brakes and a 389 v8.....I still have a huge pile of trim and chrome to put on it....You don't see these cars too often.. Jason.

 

Actually, Pontiac called ALL of its stationwagons Safaris from 1957. In 1957, in the Chieftain series, there were 11,536 4 dr Safari wagons and 2,934 2 dr Safari wagons. In the Super Chief series, there were 14,095 4 dr wagons, and 1,292 Custom Safari 2 dr wagons (the Pontiac "Nomad"). In the Star Chief series, there were 1,894 4 dr Custom Safari wagons.

 

Looks like it's got ventshades on it too. Nice find.

 

Damnation! Way to hunt fer the tin, mister.

 

Bill Morgan
Great find..
FYI: The Framingham GM site, Our company bought it and is now an ADESA Auto Auction...way cool car...keep us posted...
Bill j.