1938 Chassis specifications/dimensions

dnkvette · Member

1938 Chassis specifications/dimensions

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

Welcome I would presume that 38 Chevy specs would be the same

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

dnkvette · Member

Thank you 427 CARL..I have thought the same, that a 1937-38 Chev frame would interchange but when I saw what a fellow was selling as a 1937 2 door coupe frame, I had to second guess, and recall another comment I heard that they are/were different? The frame for sale was two outer rails with a front and rear perpindicular cross member tieing the outer rails together. My 38 Pontiac frame has a X cross member under the passenger seating area, totally different from the Chev. frame. Perhaps he was mistaken on the source of the for sale frame. If I can manipulate the attachemnt you posted and enlarge it, I can make some referance measurements to find out for sure. Do you have a drawing of the 38 Chevrolet frame.

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

It is possible that your body is "sitting" on another frame of "undetermined" origin!!! Like my 52 Torpedo back is on a 84 Cutlass chassis, yours could be sitting on a Ford with the X member?????

67BBSD · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

check with Ken McGee in Goderich-he often has stuff like this available

dnkvette · Member

Thanks for the advice....Ken McGee may have the answer as he has a Sales brochure on E-Bay with a drawing of the 1938 Pontiac frame....without detailed meassurements it looks exactly like what is under my car....an X frame chassis....nothing like the Chevrolet frame of the same year!

davelacourse · Poncho Master!

What seems to be the most definitive article about Canadian Pontiacs says:
"Oshawa [produced] two series for 1938 - the Special and the Deluxe. The former used a Chevrolet body and [chassis] but with Pontiac grille and famous Silver Streak trim. The Deluxe [used] the slightly larger American Pontiac body and chassis."

So it depends if you have a Special or a Deluxe, what frame you have.

Dave

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Good call Dave!!!! The Deluxe [I;ll bet] had the "knee action shocks that the chevy Masters had, w/ independant frt. suspension. I had a 38 Chev. master 2 dr. coach that I "clipped" the frt frame section from a Nova . I'll have to look for frame pics. as I can't remember if frame had a X member [being a Master] might be similar to what the Deluxe Pontiac ran????

dnkvette · Member

Thanks guys.....comments are very much appreciated. I have sourced a 1938 Chev/Pontiac manual that I hope will have both frames and their dimensions. If the drawings don't give me a clue....then perhaps a tape measure will! Davelacourse....may I ask which "article" you are quoting from as I would like to read it and see what other clues may tell me if I have a 2 door coupe "Special" or "Deluxe". My front clip (the original is long gone so it would seem that if the X frame is the only clearly visible differentiater......(that is if the 1938 Chevrolet frame used on the "Special" did not have an X cross member) then I truly do have the back 3/4's of a "Deluxe". Then I can go "a huntin"!

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I found the picture of my 38 Chev Master 2 dr. coach, There is "NO" X member in the frame & this car was all orginal before I "clipped" it!!! I'll try to copy it but not good at doing that.

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Hope this comes thru???

Stephenzone · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

my gm parts books list 3 different wheel bases for pontiac for 38 (112 1/4" - 116 5/8" - 122") for chev it list only 112 1/4" for both models. also it states that in 39 they imported from the US not 38. hope this helps

davelacourse · Poncho Master!

dnkvette wrote:
Davelacourse....may I ask which "article" you are quoting from as I would like to read it ...

Collectible Automobile, Oct. 2008 issue, you can read it here:

http://canadianponcho.activeboard.com/t28945577/article-the-story-of-pontiac-in-canada-1926-65/

Dave

-- Edited by davelacourse on Wednesday 12th of October 2011 08:01:55 AM

-- Edited by davelacourse on Wednesday 12th of October 2011 08:03:21 AM

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

davelacourse

Poncho Master!

Status: Offline

Posts: 1537

Date: Jun 26, 2009

Article: The Story of Pontiac in Canada, 1926-65	Reply Quote

Here is the 12-page article from Collectible Automobile magazine. It has some beautiful photos, and probably includes some bits of history that you did not know before. Enjoy! Dave

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

It would be nice to get the owners of some of those pre-war cars on here.

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

One "mistake' in article or I read it wrong!!! 1958 the 2 dr wagon is gone & only 4 dr wagons available in Canada???

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

I like the article Dave, thanks!

Has anyone been in contact with The Canadian Pontiac Registry in Calgary? Are they aware of this website?

Oracle · Addicted!

My page:

http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/chevytalk/GMhistory/1958MODELNUMBERS.html

gives you the model availability for 1958. You can see that there was a 2-door Pathfinder Safari wagon. There were also Chevrolet 2-door wagons 1191 and 1291.

One slight nit-pick with Perry...the '58 top dog was the Laurentian Parisienne sub-series, with the Parisienne becoming a seperate series in 1959. The wagon was the Laurentian Parisienne Safari, wheeras of course the Chevy was a Nomad...trimmed to Impala standard but with a completely different name.

ASIDE:

Right-hand drive Pontiacs were available ex-Oshawa from 1955. The 1955-56 cars used the '55 lhd transposed, the '57 the '57 lhd tranposed,; the '58 used the '58 lhd Chevy one transposed; the 1959-60 the lhd Chevy dash transposed with extra clock in a pod; the 1961-1964 the '61 Pontiac dash transposed; the '65-68 the '65 Chevy dash tarsnpsoed and the '69 the '69 Chevy dash transposed.