Pontiac Starchief American V8 Patina

VERY RARE 1955 PONTIAC STARCHIEF CUSTOM CATALINA

This is an extremely rare chance to own a piece of motoring history, according to google and other sources the Starchief was the first vehicle Pontiac made in 1955 with its newly developed 5.7 ltr V8 Strato Streak engine, this replaced the straight 8 engine used up until 1954, mated to a hydromatic gearbox which was introduced in 1939 and a relatively new concept for production cars,(no park position, you leave it in reverse to park).

A check into the various plates and stamped numbers shows this particular car was built at the Michigan factory in 1955, the body was put together by Fisher, who were a coach building company contracted to GM who originated from building horse-drawn carriages to building top end luxury motor vehicles.

Originally finished in Sequoia Green and Castle Grey with white wall tyres,the interior was trimmed in patterned light green cloth and imitation dark green leather, according to the stamped numbersit came with the option pack of power steering, under-seat heating and demister.

The outside of the car is almost original apart from the addition of the 20 inch alloys with 275 40 r20 tyres all round, the remaining paint looks to be original and is well weathered, the body looks to be rusted but is mostly solid, apart from a couple of small holes and a few minor dents.

It has proper original California Patina and has been dry stored in the UK since import.

The chrome appears to be 99.9% present and again original, the only parts I can see missing are the front bumper over riders and a couple of bolts from the rear bumper, most of the lights work and it starts and drives. Original radio, switches, gauges and dials, fuel, temp and oil pressure gauges work.

I would say the engine and running gear are factory original apart from maybe the carburettor and an electric fuel pump. It also has the original spare wheel and jack in the boot.

All the windows go up and down, with them down it becomes a pillarless 2 door coupe. The doors open and shut smoothly without dropping on the hinges.

It does require work.......

The floor and inner sills need to be repaired or replaced, it has been plated at some point in the USA but needs doing properly, also the boot floor requires some attention as does the boot lid.

The engine needs a complete overhaul, gaskets, oil, filters, carb etc. it does run and sounds strong with no nasty noises although it has not been road tested or run for very long, it does need setting up properly and I would recommend a strip down and rebuild.

The brakes need servicing as although they work they could be better (drum brakes all round), the indicators do not work, possibly the relay and it needs UK headlights, the ones in it are for the USA market, one dip beam works on one side and one high beam on the other, there is power to all head lights so the sealed beam units are more than likely at fault and as such need replacing.

The floor mounted main /dip beam switch, brake lights, tail lights all work.

The wipers need repair as they do not work, I think they run off a vacuum system, for what ever reason this has been disconnected/removed.

Various steering / suspension bushes and links will need a refurb or replacing. One side window is cracked. It needs the interior retrimming and the roof lining replacing as this is missing.

It was registered in the UK in 2019, it has an age related UK number and all relevant paperwork is present, all of which will be given to the new keeper upon completion of sale.

An ideal restoration project that's almost completely original and has all its original parts. It is 66yrs old and is possibly mot and tax exempt, the exemption paperwork will have to be applied for by the new keeper. The log book states year of manufacture as 1955 and UK registered in 2019.

Usually vehicles of 40 yrs of age or more qualify for exemption but again this will need to be looked in to and applied for.

In all its a great basis for restoration to original factory condition or even making a rat rod, possibly that's the look the previous owner was going for with the alloys and patina.

There's not many cars out there with this originality and true age related patina that still start and drive on mostly all of there original factory parts.

Parts are still available for it although they will need importing from the USA or through a UK dealer.

PLEASE NOTE.

Due to the age and condition no warranty will be given to any part of the car or its fittings and it is up to the prospective buyer to ensure it is up to there expectations before buying.

Please make sure you know the amount of work that is needed to put this vehicle back on the road before buying as no warranty is given.

That said this car is in fairly good shape for 66 yrs of age and could soon be on the road with a little know how and some time, in some ways it would be a shame to restore it to new condition as it has so much character as it is.

This vehicle will only rise in value, its the first of the Pontiac V8's, this car was the benchmark the others followed for both power and build quality, a truly historic vehicle.

payment to be made through bank transfer,

If you have any questions please ask and I will try my best to answer.

Collection available - Market Drayton, Shropshire. Delivery can be arranged nationwide £1.20/mile.

Also published at eBay.co.uk

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