Imported from South Africa. Has a 389 cubic-inch engine with Chev rocker covers. Is this the correct engine for this year? Can someone tell me correct tire size, it has 215/70/15 on it but looks seriously under for such a heavy car.
12.12.2010 - Owned by davidrbuckley@hotmail.com in Australia

Thanks for that info and thanks for all the interest in my 59 import -  I tried to get the numbers this morning and as far as I can make out it's engine number is T2117CV46174, and chassis number APV0240880523545 (both from the invoice) but on the petrol (gas) filler pipe (inside the boot trunk) there are 2 sets of numbers (I think) C40C1C70, and AAPV0240880523545 (seems to be the chassis number on the invoice) and the VIN plate on the Left hand (passenger in Australia) has AAPV0240880523545, but it appears to be added later.

At the time, GM of Canada was under the Presidency of Ted Walker and General Sales Manager was Jeff Humphrey. However, we now know that GM Overseas Operations were involved as to the models assembled overseas from GM of Canada (as well as GM in the USA) CKD kits.

Having said above about dates, we know that decisions about L.H.D. and R.H.D.

PART 'B' (i) EXPORTS RIGHT HAND DRIVE

Chevrolet Engineering designed the export equipment and did so in succeeding model years.

However, GM of Canada Engineering handled the supply, for example, oil-bath air cleaners, heavy duty shock absorbers etc., which in Canadian Domestic or S.U.P. Export cars used Canadian sourced parts, as well as U.S. There are, of course, a number of differences between LHD and RHD Chevrolets and the same applies to their Canadian Pontiac sisters too. They include different manifolds, steering boxes, clutch actuation etc., and, of course, Dashboards.

However, whereas the Chevrolet Models had 'Del Ray' ,Biscayne' etc., script in the middle of the Dash, be it LHD or RHD the RHD Canadian Pontiacs used two four-pointed stars with no script.

The export LHD Chevrolet and Canadian Pontiac Dash used either the U.S./Canadian 1-120 MPH speedometer/odometer, or a metric 0-200 KMH speedometer and metric odometer (i.e. in kilometers).

The '59/'60 RHD Chevrolets/Canadian Pontiacs used the 1959 Chevrolet Dashboards with minor differences in the Pontiac versions, i.e. 'Bow-Tie' Hi-beam Indicators (Chevrolet) and round Hi-beam Indicators and clock in the RH round binnacle (Canadian Pontiac).

In practice, only certain models were exported and those from Oshawa are listed.

It should be explained here that US Right Hand Drive cars have 'ACC:E-RHD' on the body tags, because right drive equipment was deemed to be an (Export) 'Accessory', whereas Oshawa-built cars were stamped 'EXP RHD' or 'EXP RD' for 'Export RHD'. To further complicate GM's 'Diplomatic' sales office were based in Oshawa, and so export 'Diplomatic' cars were all, in theory, Oshawa assembled, although there is evidence of US assembled cars being acquired as well for Embassies overseas. (I should mention here that Commonwealth countries have 'High Commissions' in other Commonwealth countries with 'High Commissioners instead of Ambassadors). 'ACC: -E' appeared on 1958 models for the first time.

These Diplomatic cars were, of course, tax-free imports and treated specially. Thus, they acquired separate model numbers from export cars - e.g. model 'XXXXDOM' (for DiplOMomatic LHD) or 'DOM RD' for DiplOMatic Right Hand Drive'. This description is known on a 1968 Right Hand Drive car assembled, and St. Therese, Quebec, so the initials were used for some years. Some Diplomatic cars had flag holders as well, although no doubt some had bullet proofing!

As mentioned before, the Right Drive cars used an adapted 1958 LHD Dash.

Because the RHD Saginaw steering box went where the standard heater went, no standard factory heaters were fitted in RHD cars. However, it is possible that in some cars a factory recirculating heater was fitted as was fitted in later years.

However, Smiths Industries heaters were installed, either by importers or on assembly of CKD units. Smiths were (and are) a UK Company with subsidiaries in South Africa and Australia, etc., whose locally produced heaters were installed by GM overseas plants. These heaters are available new again, or can be refurbished, by a company called Clayton in the UK. They were installed with ducting along the frame rails to demist the rear screen.

The attachment of the steering box in RHD cars was not as efficient as in LHD cars, and cracking of frames and boxes are not unknown. Further, the 1958 models were renowned for rusting, and research indicates that more 1959 and later models have survived overseas. However, there are still 1958 models to be found in scrapyards in Australia and possibly South Africa.

Why were Canadian cars exported in such large numbers relative to us exports? And why RHD?

The reason lies in history and seems to be that as the British horse vehicle drivers sat on the right of the cart or coach, and drove on the left, keeping a position relative to the centre of the road, British Empire countries most (British) Commonwealth countries adopted the same practices. I gather that the U.S. and European drivers sat on the left, hence LHD cars. However, various countries including Italy, Canada (up to 1947 in one Newfoundland province) and Sweden (6 September 1967) switched from driving on the left to the right.

Assembly Plants

Canadian export models were coded internally 'X1', 'X4', 'X5' and 'X9'for cars which were S.U.P. (fully assembled), CKD for Australia, New Zealand, and the Rest of the World respectively. However, all RHD CKD V8 Chevrolet Parkwood Wagons, Model 1693 were assembled in South Africa, as were all Canadian Pontiac Strato-Chief 4-Door Sedans, Model 7549 (equivalent to Chevrolet Biscayne '6' 1549). A known Parkwood Wagon in Australia has the following description:

STYLE 58-1693 X 9: VIN: SA K 142658V.

which indicates the use of the 'X' coding by not only GM of Canada but also assembly plants.

AUSTRALIA : General Motors Holden's Property Limited.

All '58 model Chevrolets assembled by Holden, were Canadian CKD Model 1549 4-Door '6' cylinder Biscaynes with manual transmission and steering.

All bodies were assembled at Woodville plant near Adelaide, South Australia and apart from cars assembled at Elizabeth, near Adelaide, South Australia ('A' code) were shipped by rail to be assembled with the chassis at Dandenong, near Melbourne, Victoria ('M'), Pagewood, near Sydney, NSW ('S'), Acica Ridge, near Brisbane, Queensland ('B') and Perth, Western Australia ('P). There was also a manufacturing plant/test facility at Dandenong, near Melbourne.

All Australian Pontiacs were Model 7549 4-Door Strato-Chiefs, again manual gearbox and transmission.

As will be mentioned below, all cars were exported CKD with windscreens, but not other glass which was locally supplied, plus tyres, two colours of leather seating, hoses, carpets, door panels, headlights, and of course, the paint schemes were locally designed, using Holden 'Special' colours, some two-tone.

The Australian VIN numbers used the Canadian VIN of the CKD kit with an added suffix on the end or prefix in front or possibly an abbreviation of the model except for known Brisbane cars:

e.g. 8 1569815M is from the Melbourne plant

8 154970436B is from the Brisbane plant

S 81570768 is from the Sydney plant.

Body numbers began with '1' for each plant. Australian VIN numbers were hard-stamped into the chassis next to the left-hand suspension let except for Sydney where it was stamped into the chassis under the front passenger door.

For production numbers see the attached schedule.

Some cars were imported S.U.P. privately or for Diplomats in Canberra, ACT, or even by Dealers.

TOTAL OSHAWA C.K.D. CHEVROLET MODEL 1549X4 for Australia: 1,152 and PONTIAC MODEL 7549X4 for Australia: 192

SOUTH AFRICA : General Motors South African Property Limited, Port Elizabeth.

General Motors South Africa Property Ltd., in Port Elizabeth assembled all South African-assembled CKD Chevrolets and US/Canadian Pontiacs on South Africa's southern coast, the plant also building Frigidaire domestic appliances and locomotives.

Some cars were imported S.U.P. at great cost including Impalas -rumours suggest the import duty was 100%.

Example VIN numbers were: STYLE 58-1149, SAK 30128 where 'K' is the year code for '58 ('M' was 1959 model year)

Another is STYLE '58-1693X9, SAK 14268 V. Where '14268' is the engine number 'V' indicates a V8 engine.

The Chevrolets ex-Tarrytown were the last U.S. RHD Chevrolets until possibly late 1967 and 1968 Model Chevy II models which were only assembled in Willow Run plant from June 1967 (switched from Oshawa No.2 plant).

Canadian Chevrolet CKD kits were:

4-Door Biscayne Sedan Model 1649 - V8 cylinder 283 in3 manual transmission/steering

4-Door Brookwood Wagons Model 1693 - V8-Cylinder 283 in³ Engine, Manual Transmission/steering

TOTAL OSHAWA C.K.D. CHEVROLET MODEL 1693X9 for South Africa: 504

Canadian Pontiac CKD kits were:

4-Door Sedan Strato-Chief Model 7549 - with 6-cylinder engine, manual transmission and steering.

4-Door Hardtop Laurentian LHD Model 7739 with 6-cylinder engine, Powerglide transmission, Power brakes and power steering.

TOTAL OSHAWA C.K.D.PONTIAC MODEL 7549X9: 1,680

U.S. Pontiac CKD kits were:

4-Door Sedan Super Chief LHD Model 1849D with 370in³ V8 164 BHP engine, Stratoflight, Hydra-matic transmission, power steering and power brakes.

The Super Chiefs were assembled from kits, ex-Pontiac, MI plant. This was the final year for U.S. Pontiacs assembled in South Africa.

South African cars were also exported throughout Southern Africa, e.g. Southern and Northern Rhodesia, Kenya, etc., all RHD, and some were definitely exported to Australia and New Zealand in small numbers. This may have been 'officially' or by servicemen, tourists and re-settlers taking their cars with them, or by Dealers importing cars. It is impossible to say yet if there was official importation - certainly GM Holden's exported cars to South Africa, and as a result of strict Exchange Control regulations, it is feasible that cars were imported in reverse in lieu of 'cash'.

Subsequently, cars came back to South Africa from adjoining countries as the political systems changed.

PART B (ii) EXPORTS - LEFT HAND DRIVE

As mentioned above, Diplomatic LHD cars ex-Oshawa had Model '1XXX' or '7XXX' then 'DOM'. LHD export cars ex-Oshawa had Model '1XXX EXP' or '7XXX EXP'. U.S. Export S.U.P. cars had 'ACC:E' on the cowl tag, indicating 'Export' equipment as an 'Accessory'.

U.S. Chevrolets ex Tarrytown are believed to have had 'ACC:E' on the body place, for Accessory: Export equipment. As a matter of interest, 1957 RHD U.S. Chevrolets and Pontiacs had 'RHD' after 'ACC'. These cars had, e.g., oil bath, air cleaners, Heavy Duty Shock-Absorbers etc., land sometimes 'E-2-Eye' tinted windows.

There was a total of 118 l.h.d. SUP and CKD Chevrolets exported from Oshawa, and 2,379 r.h.d. There were in addition 3,203 l.h.d. Pontiacs exported SUP or CKD and 2,047 r.h.d.

LHD U.S. and Canadian Chevrolets and Pontiacs were assembled at various plants overseas such as:

General Motors Continental N.V. Antwerpen/Anvers,(Antwerp) Belgium,

U.S. Chevrolets and US/Canadian Pontiacs!

"6" is for 6-cylinder 235 in³ engine

"8" is for V-8 cylinder 283³ engine

'S' is for Synchromesh 3-speed gearbox

'A' is for Powerglide Automatic gearbox

'PS' is for Power Steering

Antwerp VIN codes were the U.S. or Canadian VIN plus 'CA': prefix and a separate plate with the Company name.

Gross vehicle weight (G.V.W.) etc.

c

1959 Production: 3030 Chevrolet 448 Pontiac

GM INTERNATIONAL KØBENHAVEN (COPENHAGEN) DENMARK

4-Door Hardtop Pontiac (Canadian CKD)

Laurentian Model 7739 6-cylinder engine

A known Copenhagen VIN is:

TYPE C 58 1549

IC 1898

Also, the known Laurentian has larger four-point stars on the rear fenders than Canadian-assembled cars. The Sedan Delivery was advertised in the Chevrolet Truck advertisements. Only one model 1171 was exported by GM of Canada and the photo of an Onyx black car in the advertisement has a one-piece (Canadian) Bumper!

GENERAL MOTORS SUISSE SA, BIEL/BIENNE, SWITZERLAND

US/Canadian Chevrolets and Pontiacs

1958 production (Calendar year) 48 Pontiac [CANADIAN-SOURCED MODEL 7549X9?]

1959 production " " 48 Pontiac (last year for Pontiac assembly) [CANADIAN-SOURCED?]

VIN Codes were 'SS' for 'SUISSE' and were probably prefixing US/Canadian V/N numbers as was the case with Swiss-assembled Vauxhalls and 1960's Chevrolets.

CANADIAN S.U.P. CARS

Canadian cars used V8 engines from McKinnon Industries, St. Catherines, Ontario ('prefixed "K"? for l.h.d. and "R" prefix for RHD). 6-cylinder engines were produced by Windsor Transmission Plant in Windsor, Ontario. It appears that both right-hand drive and left-hand drive Pontiac Astro-Six 261 engines had "W" prefixes for "Windsor Transmission Plant". However, Tonawanda, N.Y.-built engines ('T' prefix) have been noted in CKD Export cars as well as SUP cars. Flint-built engines had an 'F' prefix, and again, such an engine has turned up in a South African car. Various Canadian parts were ostensibly the same as U.S. cars, but known differences were radiators, Framm Oil Filters, Oil-bath air cleaners etc.

The V.I.N. numbers on Canadian cars are different to U.S. cars, because only Oshawa, Ontario plant was operating at the time in question. A typical example is a 4-Door Bel Air exported RHD to Singapore, then imported to Australia by an Australian serviceman,. The VIN is 8174921248, engine R304483. . What should also be noted is that firstly Pontiac Sales were much higher in Canada than in the USA i.e. in 1958 model a year of 72,358 (Chevrolet) and 53,072 (Pontiac) to which should be added some higher priced U.S. built cars. Also, the 1958 recession did not hit Canada as much as the USA and was over by the Fall of 1958 so car sales did not 'dip' as much as in the United States.

PART D ENGINES

All RHD cars had identical engine specifications to North American engines, be they Chevrolet or Pontiac. It is believed that all LHD cars exported were either 6-cylinder or (in the case of Chevrolets) V8-283 in3.

Known engine codes were:

F - Flint

T - Tonawanda

R - McKinnon Industries, St.Catherine's, Ontario

M - Mexico City

Engines

Chevrolet (a) 235-5 in³ six cylinder 'Blue Flame Six' 14.5 BHP @ 4200 rpm; 3.56 bore; 3.94 in stroke.

(b) 283 in³V8 cylinder 'Turbo-Fire' 185 BHP @ 4600 rpm; 3.875 bore; 3 in stroke. 8.5:1 Compression Ratio

Pontiac (a) 261 in³ six cylinder 'Strato-six' 148 BHP @ 4800 r.p.m.; bore 3.94 in stroke 8.5:1 Compression Ratio

(b) 283 in³ V8 cylinder 'Strato-Flash' as with Chevrolet Chevrolet Truck 261 in³ 'Jobmaster' six-cylinder, 142 BHP @ 4000 rpm; bore/stroke as per Pontiac; 7.3:1 Compression Ratio.

427carl wrote:

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Regardlees of the numbers, its a sweetie  

here in Canada, 1959 Pontiacs were rotted out by 1970

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