Classic car collection featuring a 1936 Oldsmobile
A car enthusiast in New Port Richey, Florida, shared photos of his classic car collection despite selling some of his cars due to illness.
Fox – 13 News
Where did all the vintage Pontiacs go?
I wondered about this after last week’s column featuring Jim Biddle’s beautiful 1951 Pontiac Chieftain.
I’m sure that the blue 1968 Catalina station wagon I drove when I first got my driver’s license will slowly turn into a rusting mass and return to earth, where it will remain parked forever, perhaps behind my dad’s cousin’s house, or somewhere in a field or barn.
The steel framework may still exist, but I won’t go looking for it.
If you walk around the rows of classic cars at cruise-ins or shows, you won’t see too many 1950s Pontiacs. Lots of Chevrolets, Fords, and even old Dodges. But what about Pontiac? Aside from the fast muscle cars of the late 1960s and 1970s, such as the GTO and Trans Am, this General Motors vehicle seems to be underrated.
Why?
In the early 1900s, Edward Murphy, founder of the Oakland Automobile Company, embarked on a plan to build a car to compete with the Ford Model T.
He named the car after a 1700s Native American leader called Chief Pontiac. In 1926, General Motors purchased the company and formed the Pontiac Motor Company.
Pontiac made a splash in the late 1950s when it stepped into Chevrolet and Ford territory with the Bonneville full-size luxury car. After nearly a century, Pontiac production ended in 2009.
Looking back 10 years ago, I realized that I’ve written about more vintage Pontiacs than I thought, including models from the 1940s and 1950s.
That’s good for me. We’ve put together an online photo gallery featuring My Favorite Ride Pontiacs of all ages from the past few years.
While serving as a judge at the Currie Auto Center Car Show in 2015, my Best of Show selection surprised the other judges when I was faced with a sea of cars.
Rob Riley’s 1955 Pontiac Chieftain, with all the peeling paint and everything else, was in the top 20, but it was my number one choice. “Did you see that original crackling acrylic hood ornament,” I wrote in an email to my friend and automotive expert Tim Lloyd at the time? “How on earth would anyone take me seriously?”
In 2016, Steve Stancombe spoke to me about buying his dream car. Ten years ago, he bought a one-way ticket to Florida and drove home in an all-original burgundy and white 1952 Pontiac Chieftain.
I drove out to look at cars and fell in love. “The car was parked there on its side, the chrome reflecting the sun,” I wrote, describing my favorite thing about the car: the chrome fuel inlet cover. I described it as “understated and wonderful” chrome art.
Now, this is kind of an explanation of the Pontiac ratings of a certain era.
“Stancom appreciates unconventional old cars. ‘This is an odd duck, and certainly parts are hard to come by,’ he said. ‘Everyone likes old Chevrolets, old standards, classic cars. But I wanted something different.’
That same year, I wrote about the 1954 Pontiac Star Chief. Mark Wickliffe had seen the old brown car for sale in Spencer’s parking lot.
This well-worn classic reminded him of the 1950 Pontiac his parents owned when he was a child. He had the spacious back seat all to himself.
He paid $3,000 for the rust bucket, invested $400 in wide whitewall tires, and polished the chrome. However, restoring the car was more than he could invest. “I think I’ve gone a little crazy,” he told me 10 years ago. “It costs a lot of money to restore a car.
Wondering what happened to that classic Pontiac?
In 2017, I drooled over the 1949 Pontiac Streamliner that Larry Sanburn purchased years ago from an Atlanta man who couldn’t bring himself to restore his car.
“The underside was coated with good old red Georgia clay,” Sunburn said at the time. “I wasn’t running much.”
However, the bonnet ornament, depicting the head of an Indian chief, was lit at night.
Does anyone have a 1940’s or 1950’s Pontiac? Send me a photo.
Want to talk about cars and trucks? Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
