Projects My '48 Pontiac Build

I doubt it'd be interesting if I posted pictures of every dent I hammered out so I haven't posted any progress in a while. It's coming along though. In the meantime, I've been studying and learning and looking for something special to go in here:



I know I said I wanted to keep it all Pontiac but the local selection is dismal. When I found this for $900, with a 472 that runs like a champ, I couldn't resist.



Don't let the shine fool you, the car was wet in this picture. The paint is faded, the vinyl top is all but gone, all the plastic **** is dry rotted, cracked peeling etc, none of the creature features work, and it rides like its about to fall apart.

It's off topic but at least it's not an SBC. If I find a good Pontiac for the car before I get it in, I'll just put the 472 in my OT truck.

 

You could do worse than the big Caddy motor. Make sure it fits though, a 472 is wide and may get in the way of your steering.

 

We had 472 in our 51 Pontiac!! Good luck, will be watching your build

 

Nice project, keep it up!

 

I love it! I just started on mine. Im keeping the straight eight as it runs pretty good. Im waiting to get my tank back because it was badly varnished. Keep up the good work.

 

Wow..... almost like looking in the mirror! Heres my 46.

 

Subcribed,I like the car. I have not read all your detailed plans yet.A Pontiac V-8 has a soft spot in my heart. I ran 56 and 59 engine back in the day.The 56 was in my 1940 Hudson Coupe coupled to a 39 Packard trany . I was a great torker with an AFB carb.A 40 Hudson Coupe looks like a 40 Ford Coupe with the hood from your Pontiac.I also ran a 59 ,389 in a stock car , 2 years a local short track.The picture below(green) is a 41 but was near that color an minus the big parking lites atop the fenders.I put 5 gallon mix of black hand rubbed laquer on it and showed it 2 years at the winter show,winning a trophy both times. Body mods were ,running boards removed and rear fenders full radius. It was a daily driver with the V-8 for 9 years.

 

Thanks for all the inspiration everyone. It's been slow going lately with that pesky job taking up so much of my time. I did get the engine to the machine shop to begin the process of completely going through it. It was in pretty great shape on the inside. I also got the rest of the Caddie sold so I've got some funds to keep going.

 

I ran a 472 Caddy in my '48 convert for years, it was FUN. Now it's LT1 motorvated, and the 472 ended up in my, now gone, '36 Fordillac. Nice project.

 

Keep us up to date. Here's a photo or 2 of my old 48. I'm sure the re-pop gl*** 50 tailight lenses will fit your angled 48 tailights. You can even get 'em with blue dots.
I kept my old original straight 8 with the hydro transmission and swapped in a later [1955] third member. It's a straight-across, bolt-in swap and will give you 3.23 gears [from an automatic car] that helps the car on the freeways. I drove mine on long trips, keeping up with traffic.
BTW...check the photo of the convertible. It appears you're missing the top grille bar from your grille. If it's not with the car, a bar may be found on ebay.

 

The top bar that says Pontiac? I was worried about it too, but I found it in the pile of parts in the trunk. ...

Will the rear end out of the 55 handle the torque of the big block engine? That would be the ideal swap if it can. I'll start looking.

 

^^^^^ I would think the answer to that question depends on how judicial the driver is with the throttle. Early Ford banjo rears take surprising amounts of horsepower, if they are in good shape to begin with.
I'm betting a tri-five rear would be a close fit.

 

Well, the 37-56 Pontiac rear axle will hold up to a big block if you don't do neutral-drops, 30 second one-wheel burnouts or bolt up a pair of M&H racemasters. There are no positrack units available for these old rear axles either. If you cruise the car like most customs cruise, you'll be fine. These rear ends are a little bit stronger than the 55-57 chevy rears but lighter than the 57-64 Pontiac/Olds axles.
Hmmmmmmmm...come to think about it, I usta do neutral-drops in my folks' 55 olds [same axle] and never broke the rear end. Transmissions? Yeah....U-joints? Occasionally
Even smoked a wheel bearing but never broke a third member.
Good new is, you can just re-use your old axle housing. Simply remove your low geared third member and replace it with one from a 50s Pontiac with 3.23 gears.
You can also use one from an olds but you'll have to swap out the spider gears for Pontiac spiders because of different axle shaft splines...a 5 minute job.
I've done this swap many times on my old Pontiacs...really helps when taking long trips.