Larry and Julia in
front of Pontiac.Our1956
Purchased
All original, I think, except (1) paint (originally nimbus grey over catalina blue) (2) upholstery on front seat bottom - the part you sit on, (3) carpet, (4)custom dual exhaust, (5) exterior mirrors, and (6) rubber material over carpet in cargo area. Later found that it had a 57 engine with a cracked block.
Click on pictures for expanded views.
Larry and Julia in
front of Pontiac.
Restoration
Serious restoration began in December 2003 when the car was stripped of interior, glass, engine and transmission. Car was taken in for body work and engine taken in for rebuild on Jan 8. Click on link below to see restoration pictures. I expect to update the pictures as restoration continues.
Worst rust visible so far, left front floorboard.
April 2, 2004. Car went to body shop in January. They media blasted it which removed all the paint and bondo. It took the body shop two months to get the car back from media blasting! These pictures are of the car after media blasting -- what you see is bare metal. Several patches were uncovered that had been hidden with bondo. Previous body work was done by a bozo!
The watch kitty has class, likes the Safari!!
Patches on front of right wheel well.
Patch on front fender, rust holes in rocker panel.
Patches in front or right wheel well.
Looks like some bad rust but the body shop guy thinks the car is "solid". About decided to paint the car Red/White (in original Pontiac colors).
The engine, a 1960 389 CI, is now getting balanced. Most of the chrome is in the chrome shop. I bought a buffer and intend to buff some of the stainless myself.
July 30, 2004.
Decided against Red/White, going with Nimbus Gray over Avalon Blue. These are stock Safari colors but not the original colors for this particular car (Nimbus Gray over Catalina Blue). The Avalon blue is a bit lighter with a little more greenish tint than the original Catalina blue.
Engine is done (overhauled and balanced) and I'm reassembling it. I'm using the '57 heads on the '60 engine. The '60 heads had cracks and it would have cost more to repair them. The '57 heads appear to be exactly the same except for slight differences in water port sizes - plus the 60 heads don't use the internal stainless water distribution tube. I discovered that the '60 engine circulates water in the opposite direction from '59 and earlier Pontiac engines. The earlier engines circulated water into the heads first and then around the cylinders. The 1960 and later Pontiac engines circulate water around the cylinders first and then through the heads. The water pump housings are quite different but the rest of the engines are quite similar. I read that Pontiac did this switch in water routing because of warranty problems (don't know any more than that).
Here are some pics of the car on July 30. They are making progress and expect to paint in a week or so (I'll believe it when I see it).
Click on image to enlarge it.
Left floor panel replaced where there was bad rust.
Panel replaced in front of rear wheels where it was rusted out. Red is
reflection from a car setting next to the Safari..
Here they have begun smoothing out the side with bondo.
Hood sanded.
Oct 2004.
Progress is slow but it is getting done. I'm not ready for it anyway, still getting other stuff ready. I have most of the chrome done and it is beautiful!
I ran into some "challenges" with the engine. I'm installing a 1960 engine and water circulation is different than earlier engines. This means I can't use the earlier intake manifold without some modifications. If I use the 1960 intake manifold, then I'll have to mount the generator with 1960 brackets. Doing this places the generator off to the side of the engine rather than on top of the intake manifold like the 1956 engine. I had hoped to make the engine look like the stock 1956 engine (you old hot rodders know what a "sleeper" is). For now, I plan to go ahead and use the 1960 configuration. The later generator is better (higher amperage).
The different water circulation in the engine also affects water circulation to the transmission. The transmission gets intake water from the rear of a head and with the different circulation, the water will be hotter when it reaches the rear of the head. Haven't quite figured out what to do about that yet. I need to find out where the 1960 transmission gets its intake cooling water from.
Here are latest pictures.
Nov 4, 2004
Yahoo, we have paint on the car! Colors are Avalon Blue / Nimbus Grey. These are not original colors for this particular car (originally Catalina Blue / Nimbus Grey) but are original colors for this model. I liked the Avalon Blue better than the darker Catalina Blue. Safaris in these colors are rare because the Avalon Blue was not offered until the spring of 1956. The paint is yet to be buffed out. I like it!
I'm supposed to pick up the car next week. Then the long journey of reassembly begins. I expect it will take about a year - which probably means two years. Upholstery is yet to be done.
Stay tuned...