[The Champ]

My sister-in-law called me the other day. The car that she and my brother had while dating and when they were married has been in storage since he passed away in 1993. She always thought either she or the boys would get it back on the road. But the boys have recently let her know they have no interest in it and she does not have the time or money to do anything either.

My Dad took this one owner Pontiac in trade while working at Mesaba Motors Buick Pontiac GMC back in 1968. The car was originally from California, but the owner had driven it back to Minnesota before deciding to trade it in on a new 1968 Pontiac.

My brother had just thrown a rod in his 1953 Cadillac Eldorado, so he needed another car.

My sister-in-law wanted to know if I have interest in the car...

Went out to her friend's house that has been storing it in his shed for the last 3 or 4 years to see what shape it's in.











This is tempting (even though I don't really want or need another project) as I drove this car when I was 15 years old.

It really is solid and the interior is in amazing condition for a 61 year old car. It's a 6 cylinder with a 3 on the tree. It's all there, but the car hasn't been run since my brother passed away. Don't know if the engine is free. Tried to open the hood, but it didn't want to open (I wouldn't either if I been closed for 30+ years).


Just don't know what to do with it - restore it, modify it or just not take on the project at all...

I'm interested in your thought and opinions of what to do!

[Pontirag]

be very carefull opening the hood. better to get under the car a spray a jet of pbBlaster or wd 40 on the hood hinges. get a flash lite to see with and hose it all down. then very carefully lift the hood and if you feel any risistance: stop! dont close the hood but get back under the car and repeat. open the hood gently and slowly.

on more than half the pontiacs I have seen the hood hinges have been ruined by brute force. when you get the hood all the way open... remove thos ^&)$ hod springs. put them in the glove box or dumster. use a broom handle to prop her open. lube your hood hinge pivot points with break free gun lube.....often. cause hood hinges are real hard to find.

those interiors look nice but even with TLC they go bad at this age

my 50 was a six/3 speed too! slow and plodding. I see your clutch is bad. The disc is the same as a vega but the pressure plate is unique.

I love the visors on thos older cars. they totally change the personality.

if you get a rear end out of a str8 with an automatic you will get highway freindly top speed in her.

its a tough call what to do with it, being a 4 door the value is about 6-800 bucks

the six is more expensive than the 8 to get parts for

otherwise its really only a really nice parts car

however for anybody converting one to a v 8 the six shroud is perfect and a six radiator is capable of cooling a v 8.

but be carefull at speed on the turns. like off ramps. she can get very tippy feeling.

[Stuart]

Looks to be in pretty good shape, although being stored on a dirt floor probably hasn't helped the undersides. A good sign is there's no visible mouse damage, which would indicate no rust holes for them to get in through. Considering the brake pedal is flat against the floor I'll guess the brake system needs a little work.

Since it's a four door, I'd leave it stock - on the other hand if it were a two door fastback, I'd go for a restomod.

[U47]

Brings back memories, I was new then too and came home from the hospital in one. A new house, a new car and a new kid! My dad's was a eight hydramatic but otherwise just the same. Wellington green was also the most popular color. If your looking to sell I would check first with AACA, and they have a chapter called Oakland/Pontiac club dedicated to preserving these cars. This club is not POCI.
IMO this car is not a parts car, I've seen much worse brought back to former glory. There are not that many of these around...Please save it.

D.

[Pontirag]

brought back to former glory.. we're talkin bout a six 4 door. might want to check prices

[The Champ]

I figured PB Blaster on the hood release was the right idea, but hadn't thought about doing the same on the hinges and springs. Thanks for the tip!

The only rust is surface rust - and even that is very light.

I do remember that the handling of this car was much worse than my first car - a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville. And those weren't great handling cars either.... Forever steering with the manual steering...

Still sorting this deal out in my head. Just nervous about getting caught up in the middle of other people's memories and having regrets afterwards.

I do have a sentimental attachment to the car myself.

[stevep]

Is the 53 Eldo still around??

[The Champ]

No, the '53 Eldo ended up with a friend of the family that owned a body shop.

My brother had a lot of 50's cars as my Dad would take them in on trade and get them for nearly nothing. I remember a '55 GMC 5 window, a '56 Olds in addition to the '53 and the '50.

Same deal with my '60 Bonneville - one owner trade in that I drove for 2 years in H.S.

[Pontirag]

yea, in terms of handling its no so much "G's" as Geezus! on the turns

watch out polishing the chrome. Its korean war era chrome and it is thin.

I have also run ito the same problem with the keep it or sell it delema

In the past I, like everybody else, have always sold them off.

now I hold on to them. It cost you nothing if it continues to sit and realistically in this economy you wont get much money for it so..

hold on to it because it has already been in the family this long

what I would do is sharpen up your old school mechanical skills and service it and get it back up and running. It would be fun , it would add emotional value to the memories and even if you do deside to sell it, it would increase its value.

get it up and running gently, enjoy it. You will learn all over again what truely made American cars the greatest

not to obsess too much on the hinges deal but if and...no doubt, when... you get the hood open, remove the springs, lube the pivot points hevily and look carefully at the actual pivot points on each hinge. they look like big rivets, I think 4 in each hinge. they are assembled to the hinge like rivets and they are flattened on one end like rivets. look carefully at each flattened end of the rivet to see if they are starting to fail, that is the flattened end of the rivet is worn or loosening. If that is the case be very careful because that is what causes the hinges to fail and when it happens it bends up all the other parts and ruins the hinge so it cannot be rebuilt.

If you catch this problem befor it occures PM Me and I can post on how to fix it. but catch it before they fail. easy fix.

I bet that if you got it up and running and let the kids drive it around they would fight over it. when was the last time anybody drove a three on the tree

[U47]

You don't have to worry about the plating on a 50. In June of 52 is when the thin chrome plating begins and this chrome was protected by clear lacquer coating. At least the factory didn't paint the pieces that would have been chromed like they did with the 42 Pontiac!

Don

[Cartman TD]

If I was able to get my hands on something that clean I would definately keep it. I would pull the old chassis out from under it and put one from a (depending on what fits best) g-body or a box or bubble caprice throw a 400 or whatever motor I could get my hands on in it and have a hell of a cruiser with out a ton of money wrapped up in it. It keeps pretty much all the memories intact and gives you a more driver friendly car.

[Pontirag]

Didn't the Korean war start in 50?

the chrome on the 50 is kind of thin and pits easily Mine actualy had some sort of thin enamel clearcoat over the headlite rings. The owners manual is pretty specific on polishing it and to be careful and to avoid abreasives. I pulled my grill off and disassembled it and detail cleaned it thoroughly. I also painted the back side of the chrome to reduce corrosion as well. I actualy painted the back side with chrome bumper paint and it brightened up the area behind the grill giving it a much brighter look.

watch out for pitting/corrosion/and rust under that big wide piece of chrome on the hood

the origional drivetrain is driver friendly too and theres no cost involved in replacing it

[U47]

[QUOTE=Pontirag;4402201]Didn't the Korean war start in 50?
__________________________________________________ __________________________

Correct, June 25, 1950, but the Pontiac bulletin warning about chrome says starting June, 1951.

D.

[68lemansman]

Get it drive it and enjoy it!

[Ron of Chicago]

Clean it up and get it driving the way it is. NO MODIFICATIONS........
It will need some work I am sure, brakes, lines? wheel cylinders, master cylinder, hoses, fuel lines and any rubber lines, gas tank cleaned (maybe sealed), Fuel pump and carb rebuild, radiator? flush the block, tires, and who knows what else. In the condition it appears to be in though, I feel it is worth keeping it the way it is.
If you are not all that interested in the work it will involve, let me know if you want to sell it. I may be interested.
oldcarmechanic@yahoo.com
Ron

[The Champ]

I've talked to my S-I-L and the plan is for me to take it home and clean it up and start checking it out. That takes care of her storage problem on the short term and let's me assess how big a project it is.

If I keep it, I'm just going to do the mechanicals to make it roadworthy and wash/polish/clean the car up and keep it stock.

If it goes on the market - I will post it in the for sale section with new photos and an update of the good and bad that I've found.

[The Champ]

Well, I got the car trailered home a couple of weeks ago and have had it in the spare bay at my buddies shop. Did a very basic wash job as shown below:





Lubed up the hood release and let it sit overnight - but it still wouldn't release. Then discovered that this car did in fact have an inside hood release. Had to lube that up, but eventually got the hood opened up.

The engine turned! Got a new long skinny 6 volt battery, changed the oil, 6 spark plugs and a new fan belt and it runs. Checked out the brakes - rebuilt the master cylinder. After that we blew 2 brake lines, but kind of expected that. We now know that it runs and stops.

But there were valves sticking... Ran some ATF through it hoping to free them up, but that wasn't getting the job done. Pulled the head and got the valves freed up, new fuel line, fuel filter, upper radiator hose, fresh antifreeze, changed the oil again.

Drove the car home, stopping at the gas station to get some gas (we actually ran out about 200 feet short). I live 1 mile from town out in the country, so did get a little speed going (still have the ancient tires on it). Brakes pull to the right - but still haven't pulled the drums, probably will rebuild the wheel cylinders next weekend.

Project for this weekend is to do a real good exterior/interior clean up and see how the paint comes around. I also found some 2 year old used 215/70/15 whitewall radials at one of my tire dealers that I can have for free. Lots of tread left and at this time I don't want to go to the expense of wide whitewalls until I'm sure what I'm going to do with it. Will have to put the car on jackstands so I can pull all 4 wheels to take in and have the tires mounted sometime next week.

[Stuart]

Excellent! I think the paint will shine up nice. How was the underside after all those years parked on a dirt floor?

[The Champ]

I haven't actually been underneath the car yet. My buddy did the brakes while I was working the other day.

The paint does have a few issues that I couldn't see in the shed. There is a little rust through on the rockers right in front of the rear wheelwells and a spot just below the C pillar on the drivers side that has flaked off. Nothing serious, but until we got the first layer of dirt off you couldn't tell.

[Pontirag]

glad to see you chose to get it up and running. neat ol girl. get a correct 1950 service manual for it. many repro manuals cover 49-54 but avoid them. get the correct one. you wil find them an absolute joy to drive and very reliable.

If you find that you have trouble getting it to idle properly or hold a proper tune up, remember that they had vacuum wipers and the leather seal will deteriorate and cause a pretty big vacuum leak. you can plug the line to the wipers.

I dis assembled mine and put grease inside the vacuum pump. it worked for a brief moment then began to leak again. I live in AZ so wipers are not a priority. several vendors in Hemmings rebuild them.

but just a heads up on the wiper vacuum pump leaking. it will drive you crazy tunning it up if you did not know to look there.