Hey guys! Heres the start of my newest project. Picked up an all original and complete 1950 Pontiac Silverstreak with the flathead inline 8. Pick it up for $600 and it even came with the skirts, tissue box holder & under seat heater! The plan is to hopefully get the flathead running, clean it all up, clear coat the patina & bag it so it lays frame. Heres a couple pictures.
Someone had shot out both passenger door windows, right windwhield & rear window. So it was time to find some used glass. Man it wasnt cheap!! I'm located in California and could only find a few pieces back east. The glass I got was from a Chevy which are the same. I'm still looking for the right windshield so please let me know if you know of any for sale.
It was time to tear into the interior and gut it. Found a tissue box from the 60's which was pretty cool. Also found a rat nest which wasnt cool.
I removed all the wiring so I could start fresh. I also charged up the 6v battery and tried to crank it over. It turns over great! I checked for spark and no spark . I planned on converting to 12v anyway so I wasnt too worried. I started on the 12v conversion. I also removed the old points system and installed an electronic pertronixs pickup. I'm not sure if I installed it correctly. Anyone have pictures of theirs installed? It wouldnt have mounted right if I had followed the instructions. So I mounted it the only way it seemed to work. I also tried to turn the engine over with the starter on 12v. I guess the starter decided to take a crap on me. The drive system pops out but the starter doesnt turn over. Tried hitting with a hammer and still nothing. Do you think the 12v was too much for the 6v starter? It turned over great last week on 6v. Where can I pickup a rebuilt starter for it? Or maybe I'll just have this one rebuilt.
I decided to rip out the heater system under the front seat since it was leaking anyways when I filled up the cooling system with water. After removing the heater core it left a huge square hole in the floor. I decided that was a perfect spot to hide the 12v battery. I fabbed up a battery box for its new location.
nice project, but , first off thats not patina its rust good luck with it my gf has a 50 pontiac 4 door fleetline hers has a .040 over chevy 350/350 trans on a nova subframe it was afactory straight 8
I don't suppose you'd be impressed to know I smashed my left thumb big time in the passenger door of a car just like this in about 1960, when it was just a decent used car. I was 8 at the time, and my thumb still bears the scars. I'm looking forward to seeing how you do this job!
Cool car keep the pics coming. Are you replacing the fuse box ? Or just replacing the 6 volt stuff with 12v?
Ya I removed all of the factory wiring and will be installing a universal 8 circuit wiring harness & fuse box. Keeping it clean and simple.
That's sweet the old straight 8 is still in it.. A friend brought around a '36 Buick a couple years back that had the straight 8... Talk about a SMOOTH running engine! Coolest part was, that Buick had run the Great American Road Race a number of times. What a car!
...how you gonna service/remove the battery without takin the seat out? ...does it drop out from the bottom?
Not sure yet. I'm still looking into it. If I swap over to a 12v starter do I also have to change the ring gear or does it still use the same drive gear assembly?
I'll have to remove the seat which isn't too bad. Most New Mercedes have the battery hidden under the passenger front seat. I own a Mercedes shop and thats where I got the idea from. You shouldn't have to service the battery for a couple years so it wont be too bad. I just like how it frees up room under the hood and also hides it. It would look funny to have a brand new 12v battery sitting right next to an old rusty flathead.
Welcome to the club. Looking forward to reading along as you progress. Here's a photo of my '52 Chieftain one owner barn find. Solid as a rock, and 99% original and intact down to the Pontiac visor mirror. Haven't decided what I'm going to do with her yet. I've already got two projects I'm working on.
A 6 volt starter will be fine with 12 volt system, as long as you hit the starter only in short bursts. Sustained cranking the engine will (eventually) kill the starter.
For the glass in mine i went here, got a tip from a fellow HAMB'er.. great pricing in my opinion.. http://www.autocityclassic.com/inde...&category_id=353&Itemid=41&vmcchk=1&Itemid=41
I like the project you've got going. I;d hinge that seat to make it easy, won't take much as long as you will probably be recovering it anyway. It'll pay off the first time the battery dies and needs a simple jump. I'm working on a similar project, keeping it simple and not spending much time on the body. In the middle of the wiring nightmare now also, its tough nights with all that thinking instead of just the easy grind/ weld nights.
Well I haven't posted in a while but the poncho made it to its first car show (Billetproof). It was its first time hitting the road. Roundtrip of 60 miles. Here are a few pictures.