S, I have a rodded 1938 Canadian built 2 door coupei. One of the previous builders did some poor work and placed a 1980 Camaro front clip on the original chassis! I have no serial numbers/VIN information to go by and desperately need detailed measurements, factory drawings and specifications for the original Chassis? Can anyone point me in the right direction as to where I can source this data?
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.
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?????
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Some times I wake up GRUMPY, but today I let her sleep in !!!!!!!!BLACKSTOCK Ont.
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!
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
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1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
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????
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Some times I wake up GRUMPY, but today I let her sleep in !!!!!!!!BLACKSTOCK Ont.
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"!
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.
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Some times I wake up GRUMPY, but today I let her sleep in !!!!!!!!BLACKSTOCK Ont.
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
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.
Has anyone been in contact with The Canadian Pontiac Registry in Calgary? Are they aware of this website?
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
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.
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Automotive Historian, Author and Journalist Deputy Editor, VINTAGE ROADSCENE Southampton, England
1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
