Ok I get differing stories,,what can and can't swap ?? I'm told the chevy front end will fit the pontiac ,but you need to use the chevy doors,others say nothing swapa,and a few have even said that Buick will fit..Any help would be great ...
55 chevy parts may not fit due to thr wheelbase doors are the same as chevy contour wise, i had a 55 pontiac wagon and it was essentially a 55 chev 4 door wagon from the doors back even the tailamp cutouts in the 1/4s were the same as 55 chev but if i remember the distance from the cowl foreward was longer this may be true of the buick also Jerry
Glass and doors and deck lids and roofs interchange between Chevy and Pontiac in some instances. Front clips do not. Buick is a whole different animal. A Hollander Interchange Manual would be a good place to see what fits where. I've got a Hollander that covers the years you're inquiring about and if I have time tomorrow I'll look up some of it and let you know what I found.
You have probably heard about Canadian Pontiacs and chevys interchanging because our Pontiacs were for the most part chevys with pontiac clothing. Pontiac in Canada used a chevy frame and drivetrain. The front fenders were shorter than the American version. That is why you can change a pontiac up here into a chevy by changing the quarters, dash and front end sheet metal. Pat.
I would have figured that like the Olds and Buick its pretty much the center section that will interchange ie doors/glass and roof on the same body style the lines in the doors may be different but I think they fit the same hole.......
Doors, glass and roof depending on body style - consensus is the Safari roof does not interchange with a Nomad. Why that would be I don't know, until I have both side by side (not too likely) I have no way to be sure. Convertible tops and things interchange, there's more than a few Chevy convertibles out there that started out as who knows what and someone used a Pontiac to convert them over. (what they did for a frame, who knows, given the Pontiac frame is entirely different). The better '57 Pontiacs have longer quarters and the deck probably doesn't interchange for that year, but 55-56 may swap.
There are certain items that will interchange between Chevrolet and Pontiac.The chassis are completely different as is the wheelbase;the Chevy having a 115" wheelbase and the short Pontiacs a 122" wheelbase.The Safari is on the short wheelbase and the other Star Chief models on a 124" wheelbase. I don't recall ever hearing that a Safari roof is different than a Nomad;the glass and interior moldings(at least around the glass)are interchangeable. There is considerable difference in the floor sections.The Nomad has it's spare tire well centrally located and the gas tank is horseshoe shaped above and slightly behind the rear axle also centrally located.The Safari's spare wheel well is offset to the right and the rectangular gas tank is located to the left of the spare wheel well.As I remember the difference in wheelbase is realized by the rear wheels being located 2" further to the back and the front wheels located 5" further forward. There is also a difference in 55 and 57 Safari floors in that the 57 apparently uses the regular wagon floor and has a provision for a third rear seat;something the 55 does not have.It is covered over with a piece of plywood and looks to be original in my 57. Doors are supposed to be physically similar to hardtop and convertible Chevy doors but are shaped slightly different outside along the bottom edge of the door glass.The Safaris also use hardtop/convertible windshields whereas the regular wagons use sedan glass. Heater systems are completely different as are pedal assemblies.The Pontiac used brake and clutch pedals that came from under the floor where the Chevys used swing pedals.My 57 Safari has Chevy pedals in it so they can be used but I don't know what the swap entails.The guy who built my 57 used them because he couldn't locate a standard shift Pontiac in the boneyard.
I don't know any specifics about wagons, but on hardtop models the roof, glass, greenhouse trim, and doors are the same. The rear seatback will swap, the rear seat bottom has a different contour at the lower front edge, needs to be trimmed to fit a Chevy. I have one poncho door on my 55 chevy, had to weld up the outside trim holes and it matches the other side perfect. Chassis, floor, firewall, etc is different.
The Canadian built Pontaic front end is the same length as a Chevy, and it is shorter than the American built pontiac front end.
back from the dead here but what about front suspention parts like spindles and what not. say i wanted to do a disk brake swap would the bits for a chev go on a pontiac?
They're nothing alike; '55-7 Pontiacs still used kingpins, while corresponding Chevrolets had a ball joint front end.
For 55-7 and also 40 up Pontiac disc brakes there is a kit from scarebird, for the 55-7 Pontiac it also converts over to tapered bearings. Bearings coversions for 40-54 are a real easy deal.
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