It does not make sense that the Olds would use all the car trim including the taillamps when all other sedan deliveries and panels by GM used a non-passenger setup. These were utility vehicles and I think someone or several someones have done a real nice job of adaptation, we used to call them "phantoms" back in the 70s.
Olds Club Of America members might argue with you on that ... one legend has it as many as 6 or 7 were used by the factory when new.
The early 1950 Oldsmobiles used the '49 split windshields till they were gone then went to the one piece.
That would be called, seperate it at the floorpan or beltline and graft the roof to another body. I sold a '58 Chev SD body to a guy who did just that. Car was so bad I don't know how it stayed in one piece to go on and off the trailer.
Some times the factory would make cars that were not for sale. In over 30 years in the Olds club I hav only seen the ones made from Chev. & never in a sales brochur. A 1950 Olds model 76 looks like a 1949 with small changes. Thanks for the input it good to here about Oldsmobile cars.
Are you talking about the Oldsmobile Club of America?? If so then you must get Journey With Olds. Both my Dad's '56 and my '47 are on the cover this month. My Dad is Jim Sheldon, I'm Denise Sheldon. My dad knew Woody, I met him once when he was here for the 100th. Dad and I are both good friends with Bill Ersham. Is your real name your screen name on here?
Hi Denise, Yes both very nice cars.I met Woodie years ago, he was a 50 Olds man. I have a 50 fastback street rod & 53 w/air. Thats my name.
On the 53 Pontiac delivery I'm starting on you can see where the factory radiused the top rear corner of the Pontiac sedan door and welded it to make it fit the Chevy sheel. It also looks like they used a Pontiac cowl and/or firewall. I love the tail lights, special bezals to fit a Pontiac bullit lens in a 53 Chevy opening, hope we never have to find a replacement! Factory or custom built, the Olds SD is killer looking!
Years ago a friend near Kalispell Mt. picked up a 50's? Pontiac Sedan Delivery. At first sighting, he thought it was a Chevy with Pontiac front sheet metal. He was surprised to find the dash and rear door were all Pontiac. Found out they are very rare and thought to be Canadian.
39cent Dave I dont know if you recieved the message. No i did not work there moved here from Mich. Paul
http://www.t3.com/feature/apple-ipad-the-ultimate-guide 1950 Olds Sedan delivery - real or fiction? Photo with EXIF data: http://www.pbase.com/xl1ken/image/122717255 Photo with EXIF data: http://www.pbase.com/xl1ken/image/122717256
Since you guys are talking about Oldsmobile sedan deliveries, i'll mix it up a little & contribute something really different. This is a 1956 Oldsmobile ambulance! It was built by one of 3 coachbuilders in Tennessee: Memphis coach, Comet coach, or Dixie coach. No build tag so it's still a mystery. Since only a handful are still around it's hard to tell. I'm into old hearses & ambulances and saved this one 3 weeks ago for a buddy in Wisconsin...
Some of the early 1950 Old's did have the split windshield glass, I suppose they were using leftover's or whatever. A friend of mine has one, the vin# starts out with the number 50 and the title says 1950.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 <!-- Begin .post --> Delivery Confirmation by Kit Foster Back in February when we explored the world of sedan delivery automobiles, we made mention of a rumored 1950 Oldsmobile delivery, and found a picture of one on the web. Fred Summers, our resourceful St. Louis bureau chief, remembered he had once seen another, and he's just sent some photos. One day he was driving a blue highway through Utah, and came across a building that advertised vehicle storage. Fred being the inquisitive type, he stopped to take a look. Hiding amongst a gaggle of Opels was this 1950 Olds sedan delivery, in process of restoration. Its owner repeated the same story, that it was a prototype built as a feasibility study and was the only one produced, echoing the information we found in the Standard Catalog of American Light Duty Trucks. Apparently it had been stored by a gentleman from "up east," who fell behind in his rent. The landlord eventually took title, in exchange for the back rent plus some cash, and commenced to restore it. Fred notices that its taillight orifices are of the sort used on the Model 76 Olds, rather than the 88 type, and indeed its front fender is devoid of trim, so it's undoubtedly a six-cylinder car. Interestingly, the steering column seems to have the quadrant for a Hydra-Matic transmission. We can't say for sure whether this is the 1950 Olds sedan delivery, but it's more likely that a utilitarian vehicle would have been built in the entry-level 76 series. Or did they actually build an 88 version, too, as a test of speedy delivery? Those taillights, by the way, are a marked contrast from Pontiac's stalk-mounted lamps. The Chevrolet sedan delivery, on the other hand, had only a single taillight, of the rectangular design used on the pickup. It's an uncanny coincidence that we learn GM is reinventing the sedan delivery - after a fashion. The 2007 Chevy HHR Panel, introduced at the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami Beach the week before last, is a throwback to the panel truck and sedan delivery of half a century ago. Basically an HHR with blind rear quarters and no rear seat, it retains the rear side doors for ease of loading (and simplification of manufacture). In that respect it's not a real sedan delivery and is more like the Dodge Caravan Cargo Van, a cargo modification of a vehicle designed for people moving. Still, it seems like a promising market segment. The Europeans have been using small vans, like the Citroën Berlingo and Ford Transit Connect, for decades.
This morning I came across the photo below and remembered this thread and talk about the Canadian Pontiac Sedan Deliveries. Here is a photo of a Canadian 57 that was built with a Chevy body ..... It's great to see these types of unique vehicles, even though they may be phantoms or rare factory built units.
I think someone in kansas or nebraska, or somewhere in the midwest was taking oldsmobile cars and welding on the chevy sedan delivery bodys about 15 years ago. And they looked real. I saw one that had just arrived here in socal back then. It was in the, you finish and paint stage.
There is a maroon 1950 Oldsmobile Sedan Delivery on display at the National Antique Oldsmobile 2010 National Meet in Lansing, Michigan right now (July 9, 2010). Couldn't believe it when I saw it, but there it was. This is an all Oldsmobile event.
This one was at the GSTA show in St Paul on March 27th 2010. It had an unusual fuel fill door at the front of the right rear fender.
I've been into Olds for a long time, I've seen a few and with digging you can find out they are fake, well not GM production if you prefer. We were even told how to do it by one guy in Iowa who had one. Notice how everyone who claims a real one has a differant story on how many was built and how many exist. Still cool cars reguardless. I saw a 56 or 57 Pontiac delivery for sale in Peotone ILL , owner claims it's real . my girl asked why it had a chev rear though
If you read the green card in the interior pic, the info is there. In 1956 Pontiac built 1383 sedan deliveries in Canada, mostly as work vehicles for provincial utility companies. Wow, though, $7100??? Here's another one of the 1383.
Its a Canadian Pontiac Delivery....they had the same wierd tail lights as the US Pontiacs they used the 55 Chevy quarters as well for 55 & 56 , pretty rare car even up here.
Here is the ass end of a 55 Poncho wagon ..... Some 55 Chevy owners would change out their taillights for these units to make their car look different.