Posts Tagged pontiac
1957 Pontiac Ambulance
Posted by rariccardi in Featured on December 18, 2009
Brian Earnest and the fine folks over at Old Cars Weekly give us this blast from the past about a 1957 Pontiac Ambulance. Check out their site for a lot more.
1957 Pontiac Ambulance
By Brian Earnest
The “wow” factor is what attracted Dennis Statz to his huge, blue Pontiac ambulance in the first place three decades ago. And it’s that same attention-grabbing quality that makes the big rescue rig such an adventure to drive even today.
“One thing I learned long ago is that, on the highway, you have to drive pretty much as fast as all the other traffic is going, because it is such a curious vehicle,” noted Statz, a resident of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. “So many people tend to gather around it, it gets dangerous, literally. There gets to be a bottleneck.
“It’s just a very unique vehicle.” And it’s our OldCarsReport.com “Car of the Week.”
Certainly, as 1957 Pontiacs go, it would be hard to find one much more unique than this eye-popping rescue rig. Not only is the car big and beautiful, it is a very low-mileage survivor, with a meager 13,500 ticks showing on the speedometer. The car started out life as a Star Chief four-door sedan and was turned into an ambulance by Superior Coachworks. It was ordered by the Detroit Diesel Allison Division to be a company ambulance, but it rarely saw use, and was eventually sold to an Indianapolis man in 1973 with only about 1,800 miles of use.
1957 Pontiac Ambulance-back1
That owner had the car until 1979, when Statz spotted it for sale along the road during one of his frequent work trips between Indianapolis, where he lived at the time, and Louisville. “I saw it out of the corner of my eye sitting in a cul de sac as I was heading to Louisville,” Statz said. “It was this big, blue Pontiac, and I thought, ‘Wow, what’s this thing doing out here?’
“I had some time that day, so I drove around to look at it and saw 6,043 miles when I looked through the window. I was thinking to myself, ‘Why would anybody restore it with 106,043 miles? Somebody really put a lot of work into this car.”
Turns out the car wasn’t restored at all, just underused during its working days. “The way the story was told to me from some folks at the [Detroit Allison] plant at the time is that they needed to buy an ambulance as a backup — they had already had Cadillac at the time, but couldn’t buy another one, because 1957 was sort of the start of a recession, and they had to cut costs… Well, the guy who ordered it wanted a Cadillac, and wasn’t allowed to get one, so he really loaded this one up. It cost almost $7,800 new, which was a boatload of money back then.”
Statz said he wasn’t even shopping for a hobby car when he first spotted the ambulance, but as a Pontiac buff, he couldn’t help himself. “I chatted with the guy who owned it, but I wasn’t interested in buying it at first,” he said. “But I talked to my wife about it and we went and looked at it and decided to buy it, and it’s just been a hoot.”
1957 Pontiac Ambulance-back2
There was a lot to like about 1957 Pontiacs, even without the unique ambulance accouterments. Pontiac introduced new “Star Flight” styling for that model year that included missile-shaped side trim, flatter tailfins, extended rear fenders with V-shaped tips, lower hoods, a more massive bumper grille, longer horizontal taillights and 14-inch wheels.
Star Chiefs were identified by front fender scripts, four stars on the rear fenders, chrome semi-cylindrical trim at the back of missile-shaped inserts and full wheel discs.
Under the hood was a 244-horsepower, 347-cubic inch V-8 fed by a four-barrel Rochester carburetor.
1957 Pontiac Ambulance-window1
To accommodate the ambulance’s size and weight, Superior Coachworks replaced the standard 1957 14-inch wheels with 15-inchers, which had actually been standard up through 1956. The wheel covers are also 1956 issue, which Statz says can confuse people trying to peg the car’s birth year.
Statz’s car got a 30-inch stretch from Superior and was fitted with bigger doors. “It’s really just like a big four-door station wagon,” he said. Above the windshield, the car was fitted with a federal C6-B siren that has a light that revolves, called a Propello Ray Light. The light is controlled by a dash switch and the siren has an interior button with a brake to squelch the sound quickly. There is no radio, but the rest of the cockpit area has standard Star Chief amenities.
In the back are two small jump seats for emergency personnel, and a large flat space for a gurney, which could be held in place by aluminum hardware. Statz noted that the Detroit Diesel factory had to remove both the siren and gurney equipment before the car could be sold, but he has since found replacements.
Throw in the privacy curtains in back, stunning two-tone paint scheme, etched glass in the back side windows, two big spotlights and four huge corner lights on the roof, and you have an impressive and unusual rig that Statz has been able to keep largely intact. He did repaint the roof about 10 years ago when the paint began to deteriorate around the tunnel lights. “The quality of the paint and finish back then just wasn’t that good,” he said. “It was cracking so badly that I just thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’ so I basically took everything off the roof and had it painted and now the top just looks fabulous.
1957 Pontiac Ambulance-people
“There is a spot in the back on the wall that I think was for a medical kit, and I’ve never found one of those,” he added. “Other than that, the only thing that I’ve really ever done to it is replace the exhaust system — it’s a really long exhaust system. And I’ve put correct original tires back on it.”
Statz said he has had a lot of Pontiacs come and go from his garage over the years, but has never been tempted to part with his beautiful blue ambulance. He has a splendid red and black ’56 Pontiac convertible that he also babies, and two restoration candidates — a ’55 two-door station wagon and ’56 Safari — but none of them have stolen any affection for the ambulance.
“I’ve had a number of people over the years ask me about it, and I’ve had some pretty healthy offers on it,” Statz said. “It’s just a real nifty vehicle and a lot of fun. It would be hard to part with … and both my kids, who will be getting out of high school soon, have said, ‘Dad don’t sell that thing!’
“I’m going to do everything I can to hang onto it.”
1957 Pontiac Ambulance-backopen
1956 Pontiac Chieftain & Star Chief
Posted by rariccardi in Featured, Old Cars Weekly on June 21, 2009
From the great folks at Old Cars Weekly have done it again. Take a look at this 1956 Pontiac Chieftain.
1956 Pontiac Cheiftan
With a new engineering group headed by E.M. “Pete” Estes and John Z. Delorian, a new line of cars with true performance potential was developed for Pontiac in 1956. To highlight a move into a competition and factory acing program, and “extra horsepower” engine option with dual four-barrel carburetors, dual exhausts and a full-race camshaft rated at 285 hp was crafted by staff motor engineer Malcom R. “Mac” McKellar. It was released in mid-1956 and became the first in a series of so-called NASCAR and Super-Duty Pontiac V-8s.
New Pontiac styling for 1956 featured combination bumper grilles with enclosed circular parking lights and round, bomb-type bumper guards. All models had reversed, vertically radiused slash accent moldings and “sweepspear” body rub trim. On Chieftains, the slash accents had a constant width. There were reflectorized oval embossments on the rear fenders with gull-wing and circle medallions on the deck lid.
Special level Chieftain 860s lacked upper left moldings, wore small hubcaps and had plain taillight rings. Delux level Chieftain 870 models — except station wagons — had visored taillight rings, full wheel discs and upper beltline trim. The two-door Custom Safari was continued as a Star Chief on the Chieftain chassis, now with the base four-barrel Star Chief engine. An 860 Catalina two-door was new, as were 860 and 870 models except that a slight taper gave thise a fuller appearance. Catalinas and convertibles had wide fluted lower rear fender extensions. The Custom Catalina sedan had stainless steel windo surround moldings and all Custom Star Chiefs used hooded taillight rings.
1956 Star Chief Convertible
Work on a V-8 engine for Pontiac had beun as early as 1949, when Sister marques Oldsmobile and Cadillac dropped their high-compression overhead valve V-8 blockbusters on the automotive world. But it was 1955, in the thick of the V-8 wars, before the new Pontiac engine hit the market and, when it di, sales took an immediate jump to 554,000 vehicles in the model year.
A new era started for Pontiac when Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudson took over the reins as general manager. He proceeded, without fanfair, to make over the rather staid Pontiac image.
1956 Chieftain Wagon
Production of 1956 models started o Oct. 3, 1955 and the cars were introduced on Oct. 21. Calendar year output was 332,268 cars. Model year production totaled 405,730 cars as Pontiac remained the sixth-largest American automaker. On Aug. 3, 1956, the 6 millionth Pontiac was built. The 1956 Star Chief Custom Safari two-door station is recognized as a “Milestone Car” by the Milestone Car Society. The 227-hp 1956 Star Chief four-door sedan was good for 0 to 6-0 mph in 11.4 seconds and 18.1-second quarter-miles.
Both the Star Chiefs and Chieftains came with 316-cid V-8s. The Chieftain carried a Rochester two-barrel carburetor and made 205 hp with the Hydra-Matic transmission. The Star Chiefs had a four-barrel carburetor an made 227 hp with the Hydra-Matic attached. Dual exhausts were standard on everything except the Chieftain 860 wagons.
1956 Star Chief Catalina two-door hardtop
In March 1956, an “extra horsepower” V-8 was released. It also displaced 317 cid, but came with 10.0:1 compression heads, dual four-barrel Rochester carburetors (part no. 7009820) and additional high-performance components. The output of this engine was rated 285 hp at 5100 rpm.
Production figures
Production notes
— 184,232 Chieftain 860s were built.
— 24,117 Chieftain 860s had synchromesh and 160,115 had Hydra-Matic.
— 93,872 Chieftain 870s (or Super Chiefs) were built.
— 3,289 Chieftain 870s had synchromesh and 90,583 had Hydra-Matic.
—10 Custom Safaris had synchromesh and 4,032 had Hydra-Matic.
— 123,584 Series 28 Star Chiefs were built.
— 440 had synchromesh and 123,144 had Hydra-Matic.
— 301 vehicles converted into professional vehicles.
Popular options
Power brakes ($38). Power windows ($97). Power steering ($108). Six-Way power seat ($93). Radios ($90 or $118). Seat belts ($11 per passenger). Air-conditioning ($431). Hydra-Matic attachments were now considered “standard,” but cost extra. The D-56 Dual-Range type ($188) was used in Chieftains in both the 860 and 870 sub-series. A new Strato-Flight Hydra-Matic ($205) was employed in two-door Star Chief Custom Safaris and all Series 28 models. A three-speed synchromesh gearbox with column-mounted shift was the base price transmission. Standard rear axle gear ratios were as follows: (synchromesh) 3.64:1; (Hydra-Matic) 3.23:1. Additional ratios were also available. Dual exhausts were optional on all Pontiacs except the Chieftain 860 three-seat station wagon (not available) and cars with “extra hp” V-8s (standard). Four-barrel carburetion was optional for Chieftain 860 and 870 models
Engines
Chieftain synchromesh: V-8: Overhead valves. Cast-iron block. Displacement: 316.6 cid. Bore & stroke: 3.94 x 3.25 in. Compression Ratio: 7.9:1. Brake horsepower: 192 at 4400 rpm. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Rochester 2GC two-barrel with black tag number 8696. The two-door Custom Safari came standard with a Star Chief four-barrel V-8.
Chieftain Hydra-Matic: V-8: Overhead valves. Cast-iron block. Displacement: 316.6 cid. Bore & stroke: 3.94 x 3.25 in. Compression Ratio: 8.9:1. Brake horsepower: 205 at 4800 rpm. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Rochester 2GC two-barrel with brass tag number 8695. The two-door Custom Safari came standard with a Star Chief four-barrel V-8.
Star Chief synchromesh: V-8: Overhead valve. Cast-iron block. Displacement: 316.6 cid. Bore & stroke: 3.94 x 3.25 in. Compression ratio: 7.9:1. Brake horsepower: 216 at 4800 rpm. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Rochester 4GC four-barrel with black tag number 7900. Some cars were also equipped with Carter WCFB model 2364S four-barrels.
Star Chief: Hydra-Matic V-8. Overhead valve. Cast-iron block. Displacement: 316.6 cid. Bore & stroke: 3.94 x 3.25 in. Compression ratio: 8.9:1. Brake horsepower: 227 at 4800 rpm. Five main bearings. Hydraulic valve lifters. Carburetor: Rochester 4GC four-barrel with brass tag number 8697. Some cars were also equipped with Carter WCFB model 2364S four-barrels.
Pontiac Ad 1956
Collector values
1956 Chieftain 860
Four-door sedan
No. 1 condition 16,000
No. 2 11,200
No. 3 7,200
No. 4 3,200
Four-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 17,000
No. 2: 11,900
No. 3: 7,650
No. 4: 3,400
Two-door sedan
No. 1 condition: 16,100
No. 2 11,270
No. 3: 7,250
No. 4: 3,220
Two-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 26,000
No. 2: 18,200
No. 3: 11,700
No. 4: 5,200
Two-door station wagon
No. 1 condition: 20,000
No. 2: 14,000
No. 3: 9,000
No. 4: 4,000
Four-door station wagon
No. 1 condition: 19,500
No. 2: 13,650
No. 3: 8,780
No. 4: 3,900
1956 Chieftain 870
Four-door sedan
No. 1 condition: 16,300
No. 2: 11,410
No. 3: 7,340
No. 4: 3,260
Four-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 18,000
No. 2: 12,600
No. 3: 8,100
No. 4: 3,600
Two-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 27,000
No. 2: 18,900
No. 3: 12,150
No. 4: 5,400
Four-door station wagon
No. 1 condition: 28,000
No. 2: 19,600
No. 3: 12,600
No. 4: 5,600
Star Chief Custom Safari
Two-door station wagon
No. 1 condition: 58,000
No. 2: 40,600
No. 3: 26,100
No. 4: 11,600
Star Chief
Four-door sedan
No. 1 condition: 17,000
No. 2: 11,900
No. 3: 7,650
No. 4: 3,400
Two-door convertible
No. 1 condition: 72,500
No. 2: 50,750
No. 3 32,630
No. 4: 14,500
Star Chief Custom Catalina
Four-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 20,000
No. 2: 14,000
No. 3: 9,000
No. 4: 4,000
Two-door hardtop
No. 1 condition: 30,000
No. 2: 21,000
No. 3: 13,500
No. 4: 6,000
Pontiac Ad 1956