ok, the garage is nearly full, but I bought a '51 Pontiac . The plans are lowering it about 4 inch and put some "modern" mill in it and run it on cheap LPG and use it as a daily driver. What I want to know is, is the chassis the same as other GM products like Chevy? Does anyone have lowered such a car and with what. I know of the lowering spindles from Fatman but that is only 2,5 inch. And what about that kit from chassis engineering? I also want to put a matt colour on it, I am thinking of blue. has anyone got some pics of such a big car in a matt colour.
It looks like the paint is pretty good anyway, why bother painting it? Lower it, throw in a 350 & drive it.
Big? Anyways, Pontiac chassis is normally Pontiac only (49-57 is the interchange for most parts). Being in the Netherlands you do have the possibility of it being an export car sourced from Canada - Canadian Pontiacs for the 49-54 years can have a Chevrolet chassis and either the Chevy 216 or Pontiac 239 six. First, if it has an eight, it's a US model. Second, if the wheelbase is 119.5 inches, it's a US model. The US version also has open drive and heavier rear springs; the frame has a big X crossmember through the middle. The pedal pivot is on the frame rail with a long rod to work the master cylinder under the floor. And it will likely have heater cores under the front seat with a small defroster on the firewall someplace. If the wheelbase is 115" and the rearend uses a torque tube drive, then it has a Chevrolet frame. The frame will have a top-hat shape with a K-shaped member at about the cowl area. The pedal pivot will be part of the master cylinder. And the heater will be all one unit under the dash or in an air tube on the right inner fender. That car looks pretty nice the way it is, I'd be tempted to drive it that way before I cut into it.
Lower it,swap the engine if needed and drive it.Looks good how it is.Enjoy it,whatever you decide.No need to do more work than you need to.good luck. Stony
I think in the latest rod & custom newsletter section somebody has the same question -have to look it up again...but he has the US Version of the Pontiac with the 119.5 wheelbase...and the pontiac is to wide fo S-10 etc...so they recommend fatman Mustang II conversion...will look it up for you when I am back in NL next week...
Hey guys, thanks for the input, especially Rustynewyorker, now I know it has a Pontiac frame. And Rikster, I do remember a matt black roadster being build at Lillypad Hotrods a while ago....
Yeah???? but I have no idea how that has anything to do with me or this. My point is that your car looks very nice in a gloss paint job. And a 51 Pontiac in the Netherlands is something really unique.. why do you want to make it less attractive its all personal of coarse by painting it a matt paint. There was a reason actually many why the cars in the 50's where painted with gloss paint... its was to make them look shiny and attractive.
matt colour is going to make the car look cheap ..the only reasen you could paints it matt (primer) is while your in the proces of customizing/cleaning the car mijn mening verlaging heeft hij zeker nodig!
I lowered mine with fatman uprights on the front and it brought it down by 4", I put air bags on the rear. Build up here http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=312843
I have a '50 2 dr sedan very much like the '51, and used an '81 Monte Carlo front clip to get the disc brakes and power steering. It was pretty straight forward, but I ended up moving the (350 chevy) engine back 6 inches 'cause it looked pretty silly sitting in that engine bay in the stock (monte carlo) position. I've got lots of pictures if you decide to do something like that.
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