Our July Feature car is only the second Pontiac from 1953 we've featured (the first was back in May 2015). This 1953 Pontiac Pathfinder belongs to long time Poncho member Tim (and his wife Becky) Lang. Tim rescued this Pathfinder from a life of total neglect in 2015 and transformed it into the cruiser you see here. It's always great to see these cars back on the road. Tim gives us the scoop:
This car was found about 2km down the road from my house by a friend who told me about it. It had sat in a large wood shed from 1989 until 2015. When I purchased it there were pieces everywhere and the grill was missing. I loaded it on the trailer and home she came.
We stripped it down to metal and the hands of time were exposed including rust, bondo, and all the good stuff. We took our time and began gathering parts for this unicorn.
I repaired a ton of rust and started putting it back together.
There was a "puzzle" of chrome that came with the car (it came with 4 chev parts cars).
The motor had a bent valve which was straightened out.
I installed a new head gasket and she ran! All the work was done in our shop ourselves including the body work, paint, and mechanical. After finally finding a grill (which took 7 years) she was together! A special thanks to my wife, and to the guys on this forum who helped me along.
So cool! Those Pontiacs were made of thick steel back then. It is no surprise that 239 sprang back into life. Congrats on gracing the top of the page for the month.
4SPEED427 said
Jun 30, 2023
Way to go Timbuk! Nice work on the car, and talk about being persistent.
No A/C? You're gonna have to put in air when it's always +30 and sunny.
LandShark68_2+2 said
Jun 30, 2023
Very COOL car ! Worthy !!
Regards, Scott (LandShark ...)
68 427 said
Jun 30, 2023
SLICK LOOKING CRUISER TIM .
VERY NICE!!!
DonSSDD said
Jul 1, 2023
Great work and very inspiring. It is classic and a rare vehicle of any make, a pre 1955 2 door hardtop. Not many built Id guess.
timbuk said
Jul 2, 2023
thanks guys its not perfect but its fun to drive as long as your in no hurry ac consists of fly windows!
silver steak said
Jul 2, 2023
Very , very nice cruiser, I can appreciate the perseverance it took , 7 Years to get your front grille, the worry of completion, Wowww.
Lots to be proud of, mechanically and esthetically, I'd love to have a conversation about your power train and steering, but that's another tread.
Congrats on the top of the page.
Enjoy your ride.
4SPEED427 said
Jul 2, 2023
timbuk wrote:
thanks guys its not perfect but its fun to drive
And that's the secret to having fun in the old car hobby (my opinion). Way more fun than having a perfect car you're scared to drive because it might get a stone chip or somebody might put a fingerprint smudge on the window when they look inside.
cdnpont said
Jul 2, 2023
Finally! Says this picture...
Congrats! Great car. Like them more and more all the time.
Our July Feature car is only the second Pontiac from 1953 we've featured (the first was back in May 2015). This 1953 Pontiac Pathfinder belongs to long time Poncho member Tim (and his wife Becky) Lang. Tim rescued this Pathfinder from a life of total neglect in 2015 and transformed it into the cruiser you see here. It's always great to see these cars back on the road. Tim gives us the scoop:
This car was found about 2km down the road from my house by a friend who told me about it. It had sat in a large wood shed from 1989 until 2015. When I purchased it there were pieces everywhere and the grill was missing. I loaded it on the trailer and home she came.
We stripped it down to metal and the hands of time were exposed including rust, bondo, and all the good stuff. We took our time and began gathering parts for this unicorn.
I repaired a ton of rust and started putting it back together.
There was a "puzzle" of chrome that came with the car (it came with 4 chev parts cars).
The motor had a bent valve which was straightened out.
I installed a new head gasket and she ran! All the work was done in our shop ourselves including the body work, paint, and mechanical. After finally finding a grill (which took 7 years) she was together! A special thanks to my wife, and to the guys on this forum who helped me along.
I hope you all enjoy.
Tim and Becky
No A/C? You're gonna have to put in air when it's always +30 and sunny.
Very COOL car ! Worthy !!
Regards, Scott (LandShark ...)
SLICK LOOKING CRUISER TIM
.
VERY NICE!!!
Very , very nice cruiser, I can appreciate the perseverance it took , 7 Years to get your front grille, the worry of completion, Wowww.
Lots to be proud of, mechanically and esthetically, I'd love to have a conversation about your power train and steering, but that's another tread.
Congrats on the top of the page.
Enjoy your ride.
And that's the secret to having fun in the old car hobby (my opinion). Way more fun than having a perfect car you're scared to drive because it might get a stone chip or somebody might put a fingerprint smudge on the window when they look inside.
Finally! Says this picture...
Congrats! Great car. Like them more and more all the time.