I can't remember if it was featured in rod and custom or rod and kulture, but there is a '57 coupe that has a satin red body and gloss red insert/roof that I've always loved, it was featured 3 or 4 years back. I've tried to find it on google for the last 20 minutes but can't find a thing...
How low? You can get a quick 3" or so drop by adding 1-inch square tubing between the lower control arms and the spring plate. Drill, grind, or air-chisel the rivets, slip in the tube with holes drilled, & replace rivets with grade-8 bolts & self-locking nuts. It's basically like cutting coils except the ride does not get stiffer because the spring is still the same length and the shock rides at stock length/position. Lower than that might take spindles to avoid bottoming out all the time.
Hey toast I think you own my old '55 chieftain! Did you buy it near Berkeley? Last I heard it was owned by groucho in Burbank then he sold it to a guy in the bay area. If it's the same car, it was my first car I ever owned and I bought it when I was 14. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Don't think it is the same car. This car spent its whole life in Oklahoma and Texas from what I can find. Plus its a Catalina not a Chieftain.
Oh gotcha...looks EXACTLY like my old one. That's a Chieftain...the Catalina just means it's a two door hardtop without the post. The Star Chief is the next model up with the thicker trim, longer body, and different trunk. Mine was Sequoia Green and White Mist when I bought it, but originally a special order Firemist Bronze and white, which were Star Chief only colors Sent from my SPH-L710 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
I just lowered a friend's '55 2-door sedan. We stepped the lower A arms up front and did a triangulated 4-link + bags in the rear. Sits, well... like a bagged car. So far, all we've done to it in terms of body mods is "de-fin" it and ditch the filler door. Basically I just sectioned the fin down so there is no hump. I cut the pot metal trim pieces down too so if you weren't familiar with Pontiacs, you might not even notice. Sorry, just have crappy cell phone pics.
Hi toast here are some crummy pictures of my old '55...they're twins hahaha Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Green and white seems to be popular color combo. I have a 2dr sedan that was originally green and fugly eggshell green, now green and white. I need to update my photos and post them,
A friend here in San Antonio has his '56 up for sale. Don't think he is a HAMBer. http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/4278884142.html
Catalinas are tough to find. Expensive too if not hacked up. You could probably sell that catalina and buy two chieftains to cut on. I sold my catalina a few years back and still kick myself for it. Mine was custom, but came to me as an unfinished project with missing parts. I couldn't afford to bring it back to original, but always wish I could have. Catalinas came from the factory "customized" compared to their chieftain and star-chief counterparts. Don't cut it up too bad, you may regret it one day. I love those cars. Good luck with it all.
The Catalina just meant two door hardtop, like the Chevy Bel Air, right? How were they customized from the factory? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
You are correct, it was essentially a trim level option similar to Bel-Air v. 210/150, etc. I use "customized" as a relative term in comparison to the relatively vanilla chieftain. They had better trim options and the larger star chief looks on a the shorter 860/870 chassis. The body had slightly different proportions than the chieftain as well, mostly in the trunk area. The whole car looks more elegant than the 2dr post sedan chieftain counterparts in my opinion. That is what I meant. Also the statement was a harken back to a 1956 pontiac brochure that when describing the catalina it starts out "Here is a car that has received the "custom treatment" all the way". http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/pontiac/56tiac.html That's all I meant.
here's a few of my old '56 catalina. Never got it all the way finished, but definitely a lot of "custom". Shaved, decked, lowered, 50 Pontiac and '59 cadillac taillights, '54 olds hood ornament, 1955 grille, SBC/TH350, etc.
A car that really benefits from the "less is more" school of kustoms. Some chrome revisions, wheel covers, frosty colors and the right stance, done.
I know this is an old thread... but would like to get advice on four link for the 55-57 Pontiac. Looking at triangulated 4 link in a 57 and it looks like I would have to do some floor massaging. Anyone have experience with this? If so, please let me know. Pictures would be great also.... Thanks!
Going to keep an eye on this thread for sure! About to get started on this as the family hauler! But I would have to agree, they already are wild looking cars and really don't need much for a mild custom. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I parted out a super rotted '56 Safari years ago and someone had customized the grille center by adding '60 Chevy car rear bumper guards as teeth to it. It's just about a drill the holes and bolt them on modification. They're only a couple of inches tall. I still have a '57 stashed away but it's just an old 4-door waiting for a new lease on life.
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