new to this site. Have my granddads old 46 Pontiac silver liner. The car has a froze up 6 cyl, flat head. My dad pulled the head in 1967 and decided the condition of the engine wasn't worth the rebuild. The pistons have become one with the cyl, walls. See, this old Pontiac will never be more than a rat rod, just too far gone as far as chrome, interior, and all the cosmetic issues. That being said, I would love to have it original, but, so much cost and so little money, I also have no issues with doing whatever mods required to make it road worthy, except cutting the body or frame. My plan at present is to go through the loss of****le thing, not too bad in Mo,,,,I don't think. Next issue, I have a 69 Pontiac J 400, transmission and rear end out of a grand prix of my brothers that would make a good candidate,,, I think. Now your turn on ideas; I was introduced to this site and seems like a good bunch of car lovers here, so just looking for some guidance on power options, conversion issues, ect. Thank's for an amazing site for the preservation of old rides,,,, oem or not, at least they are on the road
I'll figure it out on my own as I've done most my life with other things anyway, just takes common seance and the rocks to dive in and just do it. Thank you Hobo Jim, at least you acknowledged me.
there is a lot of room under that hood, you can put in just about anything. The front end on the Pontiacs is different from the more common chey style, so that is most likely a rebuild it and get it as good as new, look to Kanter for good quality parts, don't by the junk on eBay, there is a reason it is half the price it dont fit and it dont last. We have a 56 wagon, it is rough but the drivetrain is rebuilt, it is fun and reliable and it appears to be reasonable to get there from what you are describing. Pics will help get more attention, and****le of thread is super important. You will get more looks/help if you start a build thread with a****le like "granddads 46 Poncho resurrection" or "legacy '46 Pontiac build thread"
The 400 pontiac and turbo trans should be pretty simple to install in that car.Crusty chevy is exactly right about rebuilding the front end and brakes while you have the engine out,it makes the job a lot easier.If I were doing this I believe I would remove the front sheetmetal until I got the front end\brakes done and the engine and trans in.It makes life SO much easier.Not sure how easy the 69 GP rear is going to be to install in that car. Can you post some pics of the car? We all love pictures.
Welcome to the Hamb,just concentrate on building a simple car and forget the rr terminology,having a car with family history is pretty cool ,good luck with your project. HRP
Thank you Crusty Chevy, steinauge and Hotrodprimer for advice. My communication skills are very lacking, so, thank you for pointers. Guess I used this thread like an introduction,,,,,sorry guys. New to the social media thing.
I have a 48 Chevy, and am****uming the original Pontiac and Chevy rear ends are the same width. I replaced the rear end with a 57 Chevy unit. 55 and 56 are the same width as well. I also went with a th350 and a newer 6 cylinder.
Lost****le in Missouri is no problem at all if you are the one who lost the****le. if the car belongs to a deceased family member be ready to produce a death certificate and something that shows that the car was given to you. You can however go the bonded****le route using the original registration numbers from the car, seeing as how it is a family car you can keep the bond low because it is not likely that I am going to pop up and say its mine and pay the bond on it to take it from you. LOL I have never owned a rat rod but I have driven more than my share of beaters. Nice thing about a beater is that all it has to do it be clean and take me from point A to point B. I don't do cruise ins but an old Poncho Silver even in rough condition if it runs would be welcome enough most places and if it hauls**** it would be even more welcome.
belair, I love the cross member logo and everything it stands for, and thanks for the advice. arabie777, thanks for the welcome steinauge, yes the car has a manual transmission. porknbeaner, not sure I even want tackle this project, lol, she's rough, but tired of it just rusting away. Going to be a long, long process,,,, time and money, but will try to get some before pics and in process pics. Many thanks to the replies.
Worry about the mechanical part first.Once the car is safe and driving you can start the looong process of body work and feel a lot better about it.
Welcome to HAMB. You can get alot of advise here & everyone loves pictures. lol Good Luck with your Pontiac!
Hello. I'd measure the Grand Prix rear end, flange to flange, and see how it compares to the original rear width. If you're within a couple of inches, use it. I'm not sure if the rear suspension is leaf, or coil like the Oldsmobile, but either way, can adapt to the original suspension. As the six is history, it's length should tell you that the engine compartment is long enough. Pull the front clip, keep the inner fender wells and radiator handy, and hang the engine transmission in the bay. Mock up the inner wells and radiator to see what issues you have for clearance. Nothing wrong with a beater.. Old car with reliable drivetrain.
Crusty Chevy gave some good advice, I am currently working on a 1951 Pontiac and Kanter is where I have found almost everything I have needed also their customer service is top notch even when I have had some technical questions they have been able to answer almost all of it. Like what was said before the front end on mine caused a ton of shaking when driving and poor steering, I've ordered the front end rebuild kit from Kanter but have not started work on that yet. Mine ran when I got it, but decided to try and eek out a few more horses so bored the straight eight .40 over and Andy from Hells Gate Hot Rods built a dual intake manifold for it so now I can run two Stromburgs. Like you I am still not ready to cut on it yet, as I just want to get it running smooth first, but I really am getting the itch to do some channeling on it after seeing some cars here on the HAMB. post some pics when you have a chance I love the old Ponchos
Welcome to the hamb. Build to the best of your abilities and have fun in the process. No one here starts with the intention of building it ratty. Drivable, safe and work in process perhaps, everyone starts somewhere.
Another welcome to the HAMB. Good luck with your project. Post plenty of pictures. You will get better responses with good pictures.
Welcome to the HAMB. You came to the right place... Post up a few interior/exterior pics of that cool car! A family car like yours is extra special...
Thank's to all who have replied, I appreciate the advice, encouragement and a hundred little things I've learned from the archives. I'm self taught in many things, home made engines from scrap, pouring Babbitt for bearings, welding, making a few of my own tools, but, advice from very knowledgeable people here, is priceless. Joeycarpunk, SJ, you are correct in seeing my initial goal, safe driver first and foremost, along with reliability. My interpretation of an old rusted car, fit the bill for the term "RR" and didn't realize that term meant something,,,,,, ""WAY diff"" ,,,,,,,, I get it now, so, Lesson learned and we move on! This is going to be a very long project, but will post pics, beginning and during build, as I get time. Thank you ctl932ford, binger, RuFFDaWG for the welcome's to what seems a good bunch of people who love old cars!
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