Hi, we're importing a 59 Pontiac as a project vehicle for our Festival in New Zealand next April. The car will be given away to someone after it gets a bit of a "make over" - candy paint, chrome wheels etc. Should make a good prize! Quick question - are the front spindles the same as 59 Chev? We want to install dropped spindles - have checked out Fatmans website and it only lists Pontiac up to 57. Have emailed them but not had a reply back....... Any advice appreciated! Noddy P.S Here it is in LA when we brought it.
Just tell me where to sign up to win it....... Oh, and you can just leave it as is, I'll do the mods. Somebody's gonna a very lucky and happy bastard!
Man, I wouldn't change a thing. But that's my abseloute favorite car of any stripe. Anyhow, '59-'60 Pontiac are on their own. Nothing on the chassis is related to a Chevy in any way - the only things that interchange are the glass and related trim. My suggestion to lower one of these in a safe manner is to either use airbags, or since that's rather expensive you could try having a spring shop make springs for it that are shorter by a coule of inches. I don't know how your roads are, but I drove a '60 daily for a couple of years and even with big tires on the back actually raising it up off the ground a bit I was dragging the bumper going in and out of driveways and things. Lowering this car may make it difficult to manuver because of the huge rear overhang. Just so there's no confusion, you may have been better off with an export/Canada Pontiac. Those cars did get built with a Chevy chassis and driveline. If you're not 100% sure which yours is (and it appears to be a US model to me), the US models had the Pontiac 389 motor, and the Canadian models have a 115" wheelbase rather than the 121" of the US Catalina.
Thanks for the advice! We can certainly get lowered springs custom made - we have a couple of great businesses down here who do them for a pretty reasonable price. To win the car it is simple - buy a Festival Programme for just NZ$5, complete the entry form and place in the barrell during the festival. We'll draw someone's name out and they take the car home. The catch is they have to be there or we'll keep re-drawing until we find a winner The car is a USA model - original Arizona title. Has factory 389 and Tri-power. I drove the car around LA 2 weeks ago..... it is sweet. Here's the engine.... Have fun! Noddy www.beachhop.co.nz
Wow - we've just had a 15 year old kid send us these Photochopped pictures he did off his own back! His parents must be stoked that he is on the right track drawing cars like this instead of modern stuff.... Oh, and that is Buddy Baxter from Beach Hop TV in the pic. How did the kid do that? The car is currently inside a container in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!!!!
Well, my only suggestion for change is some plain chrome or ribbed aluminum valve covers instead of those Edelbrock covers - they look out of place.
Just to confirm what others stated, I looked up the spindles (steering knuckles) in the Hollander Interchange and the '59-'64 Pontiacs spindles are all interchangable with each other, but with nothing else. I also agree with changing the valve covers........
Thanks for the info - looks like new lowered springs will be the only option to lower it safely - airbags aren't in the budget.... And I agree about the alloy rocker coves - might be a bit hard to find in New Zealand. Any clues on a good place to find them? Noddy
Time for an update. The Poncho is now in New Zealand and fully legal for our roads. Nothing major - just seat belt mounts, headlights changed for RHD and eye level stop light. We then had to get it inspected and a certification plate added. We found this For Sale notice under the seat... so it is a 428 engine! Everything on this piece of paper checks out... Next up is a lowering job - any advice? Does anyone know of aftermarket lowered coils for this model? Noddy
I have the same car. Lowering parts are hard to find.. I am bagging all four corners. I have heard of guys changing the suspension parts as a whole to use chevy dropped spindles. You need to change out upper and lower arms and spindles.. I have not personally tried it though.I have a few manufacturers on board to supply parts for the build. It will be on display at SEMA next year...I can't say what booth it will be at yet..but it will be inside.. Jason.
Thanks for the info Jason... The new parts sound very interesting - PM with details if you can and photos of your car. What air bag kit are you using? Is it a bolt in? Noddy
Thanks Jason - I look forward to seeing the pics. We're going to rip the coil springs out today and get a new set made up to sit the car on its ass. On another thread I was asked about the headlight/seatbelt/third brake light issues. In New Zealand we drive on the LH side of the road and most of our cars are right hand drive. We can import and drive LH vehicles on our roads - they can stay LHD if older than 20 years and you can only import 1 car per year and must keep it for 6 months. Newer cars can be imported but must be converted to RH drive unless it is owned in the USA for a min of 90 days and must be owned in NZ for 5 years by the importer before being able to sell. The cost to convert a LHD car to RHD is about NZ $20,000 (USD$15,000). As we drive in the LH side of the road, a USA car with USA headlights will dip to the right (or centre) of the road in NZ on low beam. They therefore need to be changed so they dip to the left. Pretty easy task - the headlights for the Poncho only cost NZ$13 each x4. If the seatbelts are factory fitted and use the original mounts then they are okay. If they weren't fitted by the factory then we have some pretty clear laws - 38 pages of information on how to mount a seat belt. Requirements for mounting plates, rivets, location etc. However cars made before 54 don't need belts. Third brake light - there are some pretty small aftermarket units available now. I think many "fall off" the car once it is legal..... When the car arrives in NZ it is first inspected by our quarantinne agents who look for snakes, spiders, plant life etc. If they find anything then this can cost up to $1000. They are also trained to look for rust/accident damage repair. This is logged into the national vehicle computer system. The car can then be uplifted by the importer. Before the vehicle can be legally driven on the road it must be inspected at a Compliance Centre. They spend about 4 hours going over the vehicle checking the seat belts, headlights, rust and even strip the brakes down to measure shoes, drums, discs and pads. Seats, carpets, sill plates are removed for the inspection. If any modifications are found then they must be inspected by a registered certifier and a compliance plate fitted. After this the vehicle is given a NZ VIN number, registered (tags) and given a Warrant of Fitness (WOF) decal. The entire process, without any hiccups, can cost about NZ$1500. From here on the car is just treated like any other car and only requires a 6 month roadworthy (WOF) inspection. We've filmed to entire process of purchasing the Poncho in the USA, shipping, quarantinne, compliance, certification etc for a documentary that will screen on TV next year to help educate people of what is invovled. Hope this is interesting! Noddy
We're about to do a wheel alignment on the Project Pontiac. Anyone have the factory settings for a 59 Catalina? Camber, caster and toe-in. Appreciate any help of advice.... Noddy
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