as some of you know I purchased a 1953 pontiac chieftain sedan,,, gotta say i LOVE the car. the most annoying thing about it though is the lack of information on the internet about these two years. I have found "daves" 1952 pontiac . com but it specializes in mostly 49 to 52 models. he does have some information pertaining to 53 and 54 but it is scattered for instance I took a hood off of a 54 to put onto my 53. it was not until I got it to the shop that I found that the center stainless trim does not go as far down on the 54. the hoods are not the same. they could be interchanged, but you would need to use the trim accessories off of the 54 or modify the 54 hood. that is just one example of things that I have found. SO,, before I forget my newly aquired knowledge, I am going to start assembling data on these two specific years of pontiac, any information that you have pertaining to them would be greatly appreciated, what parts interchange with other years, tune up specs, fluid capacities, parts numbers, tire size,, companies that sell factory, NOS or aftermarket parts for these cars. NICE CLEAN PICTURES Anything. I will add a section to my website directly devoted to this information to make it "hopefully" easier for others that have these cars to find the info... thanks in advance, and if you have any suggestions as I get going, feel free to drop me a PM.
Hey good luck with your new project car and the information website. You may watch ebay for old manuals and other information books. That's where I got my shop manuals, hydramatic manual and others that I have. I've scanned a lot of pages and it takes a lot of time doing these page by page... Especially the 1956 Pontiac manual I have up that is over 500 pages. I had intentions on expanding my website to cover more years, but it's a lot of work. The more time I spend on it, the less I'm spending on the car... so usually at night I'll work on it a little here and there. If there's anything I could help with... just send me a PM or email me. Dave
thanks, your page has been super helpful, I hope I didn't imply that it wasn't. I am just hoping to get more information in one place for these specific two years. I am also hoping to gather info on as many MODELS of 53 and 54 I can. I found another good page on 53 with alot of info, but he specializes in the catalina... (hard top) even though alot of the info is the same is misses 54 which would also be nice. thanks again for doing all the work on your page dave,, it really has been a life saver, and a good motivator...
I just purchased a 1954 Pontiac Star Chief and I have been feeling the same way. Info on these years are rare. I look forward to any info you get. Also, if you need any help or measurements let me know and I will contribute.
Well, there is the Standard Catalog Of Pontiac that Krause puts out. Through '54 all you had was a six or an eight for models, although some of the body styles had model-type names (a hardtop was known as a Catalina, for instance).
I think you'll love this website it is chock full of DIY on a '54 Pontiac,click on this:www.cadvision.com/blanchas/54pontiac I used the tech parts for making door panels on my '54 Ford, total material cost $120
Eugene's site is full of interesting tips and details, but take his insistence that his car is a '54 "Tempest" with a grain of salt. As far as I can tell, the Tempest name was not used till the early 60's on Pontiac's little econobox.
I also have just purchased a 53 Pontiac Chieftain. While the material is limited (especially with the dual range Hydramatic). I have been able to find parts through a couple web sites. Rockauto.com and Kanter.com. also ebay has alot of little stuff that you can pick up. I'm getting ready to redo the brakes from the master to wheel cylinder. I'm getting parts from everywhere. Here's a picture of her as she sits now.
I'll see what resources I've got for mine (I have a '53 Chieftain Deluxe 4 dr.). I've been gathering info. as I ran across it for 16 years. The transmission issue is a nightmare. There was a fire at the plant that made the automatics that throws a wrench in the works for a '53. Instead of the "Auto or Manual" you have to figure out which automatic you have. If it's the replacement, it probably doesn't work. Do you just want scanned info sent to you? As far as interchangability, good luck. There are a lot of parts that do interchange between '53 and '54. Even more if you're willing to modify a bit. Unfortunately though, there aren't a whole lot of parts on the car that share use with anything else.
How about the P O C I (Pontiac Oakland Club International). Surely some of their members have that model. Link to their site: http://www.poci.org/
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