Technical 1955 to 1956 pontiac panel fit and interchange

Ok.. Might be a stupid question but I have a 1956 pontiac 2 door hardtop. I have access to a 1955 4 door sedan parts car. The fenders and hood seem to be the same as far as being able to bolt on but what about the trunk lid? I can't tell from pics of it is shorter than the hardtop version or not..

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Do you have access to a tape measure at the same time you have access to the parts car?

Chevy used the same deck lid for all of their cars...but Pontiacs are not the same as Chevys.

 

Unfortunately not.. The parts car is a pretty good trip away and just wanted to make sure that it would be fully worth the time and money to get.

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There is a difference between star chiefs and chieftans etc.not sure what all the differences are, just remember lookin at a star chief once and its longer or something.

 

I guess it's time to get out the Hollanders manual.

Hollanders says no interchange between 55 and 56 model years, nor between Star Chief and Chieftain models. Looking at pictures on the internet, I don't see what the difference would be. But I tend to believe the book.

 

Thank you squirrel!!! That's what I needed to know. From pics also I couldn't see a difference. I know people have put 55 clips on 56s without any problems but the trunk was my only question.

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I still wouldnt be surprised if they would still interchange as long as they were both chieftans or both star chiefs with only the trim holes being different. I can see that the star chief is longer and more laid down at a slaint in the back.
the first one was a star chief this one is a chieftain.....dont think it matters about 2 or 4 door or hard top as long as they have the same star chief or chieftain bodystyle,
(I think catalina may be the same as chieftain also.)

 

What model is your 2 dr. hdtp.?
The Star Chief has a longer trunk lid than the lower two models.
KK

 

Then youve got your canadian pontiacs with the closer to chevy front ends etc............

 

Mine is a Catalina.

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At least I should be able to use hood, rear bumper and some extras. My car came from Michigan so is a little rough around the edges but the parts car is a solid Texas rust free car

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Whats the parts car?

 

The book says hoods do not interchange between 55-56, but rear bumpers do.

Take a look at pics of the hood, the lower front edge is a bit different.

 

According to Hollander, all the 55 and 56 front fenders interchange.

 

I'm not sure on the 4 door model. I've only seen a front pic and was told the price. Haven't got any numbers from it.

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The star chief trunk looks too long. Mine is short like the chieftain.

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Is yours a Starchief or Chieftain 2dr HT? If you haven't found it already this website has alot of tri-five Pontiac related information that is helpful for understanding the different models:

http://www.pontiacsafari.com/

 

It's the Catalina Coupe 870. Yes. That website has helped a lot. I'm getting ready to do the 605 steering box swap that is on the site.

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I'm not a Pontiac authority by any means...but I seem to recall the Catalina name was used for any hardtop model, no matter the series .....i.e., Star Chief, Chieftain, etc.

Ray

 

I think you're right about that....