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Canadian Poncho Homepage -> Canadian Poncho -> General Pre 1958 Canadian Pontiac Discussions -> 1957 Pontiac Safari
Post Info TOPIC: 1957 Pontiac Safari
hotrodhogie


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1957 Pontiac Safari
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I just bought a 1957 Pontiac Safari that's in pretty nice shape.  It was restored in the late 70's/early 80's.  As I was going over it I noticed that none of the interior electrical is working.  No dash lights, no dome, no radio, no blower fan, temp gauge pins to hot when key turns on and no gas gauge.  It appears that the dash was disassembled when the interior was painted and my guess is that the previous owners didn't wire it up properly upon installation.  

Being that this is a Canadian made car, can I safely assume that the wiring is the same a 1957 Chevy and I can use the schematics from that car? 

Thanks

Derek



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poncho62


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Cool car...Not to be confused with the American Safari

1955-1957-pontiac-star-chief-safari-23.jpg

I would think that your car would share the electrical with the Chevy of the day. What engine is in it?

Sounds to me like one of the main power wires hasnt been hooked up...Will the ignition switch start the car?



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hotrodhogie


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The car starts right up and the charging system is functioning. All exterior lighting works too. The car has a 283/powerglide.

I'm hoping its something as simple as a disconnected wire

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Bad57Pontiac


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check your fuses. check the connections with a multimeter or a test light, no power, no go. The wiring from Chevy to Canadian Pontiac is similar but different lol. If the wiring is truely the issue I managed to modify a chevy wiring harness into my Larentian this spring. the only thing I don't have working is the blower switch.

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hotrodhogie


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Thanks Will, I did a quick check of the fuses and everything looked good. After that I got tired of laying on the floor under the dash. That's why I'm hoping the schematics are similar between the chevy and the Poncho. If I'm gonna be contorting my carcass under the dash I'd like to be armed with some knowledge.


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Greaser


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hotrodhogie wrote:

Thanks Will, I did a quick check of the fuses and everything looked good. After that I got tired of laying on the floor under the dash. That's why I'm hoping the schematics are similar between the chevy and the Poncho. If I'm gonna be contorting my carcass under the dash I'd like to be armed with some knowledge.

 I learned my lesson years ago with fuses........after checking  the fuses in place and seeing they were all "good" , I 

carried on to other possibilities for failure....after a number of hours I ended up back at the fuses, this time I pulled each one out and 

did a close visual.....that was when I discovered one fuse while looking okay while in place...wasn't.

The fuse had burned, not in the middle but under one of the cap ends.......now I pull each out and replace them 

with fuses I know are good.



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427carl


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check the grounds as well   biggrin



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hotrodhogie


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I think I'll start looking for bad grounds and focus on the headlight switch for my dash lights. All the fuses looked good.

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Bad57Pontiac


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Look out for places where wires may rub, 60 year old insulation may have cracked away and grounded something out. A good multimeter to check for continuity is a wonderful tool for troubleshooting

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dualquadpete


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Reostat in H/L switch is likely the cause of no dash lights [if hooked up properly] as said above "looking good" doesn't eliminate a "BAD" fuse!!!!! OHm meter across the fuse [Multimeter] will tell you & clean the fuse connections on box & fuse for corrosion. Temp guage sounds like in may be grounded out somewhere [ dark green wire] that goes to sender swich on engine, poss. 'wrong' sender switch too!!!! Pete

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long stroke


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Greaser wrote:
hotrodhogie wrote:

Thanks Will, I did a quick check of the fuses and everything looked good. After that I got tired of laying on the floor under the dash. That's why I'm hoping the schematics are similar between the chevy and the Poncho. If I'm gonna be contorting my carcass under the dash I'd like to be armed with some knowledge.

 I learned my lesson years ago with fuses........after checking  the fuses in place and seeing they were all "good" , I 

carried on to other possibilities for failure....after a number of hours I ended up back at the fuses, this time I pulled each one out and 

did a close visual.....that was when I discovered one fuse while looking okay while in place...wasn't.

The fuse had burned, not in the middle but under one of the cap ends.......now I pull each out and replace them 

with fuses I know are good.

 X2 Very wise words and right on the money.



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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six

1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
long stroke


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Derek, what a beautiful car you got. I am so full of envy for that sweet 57 Pontiac wagon of yours. What a lucky find and please tell us more about your car, with more pictures. Cheers. George.



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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six

1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
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hotrodhogie


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Thanks for all the great info guys. I just got back from a camping trip with the fam and plan on spinning some wrenches this Friday.

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57poncho


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Very nice wagon, with yours that is only 6 I have seen in 7 years.

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1957 Pathfinder deluxe 4 door wagon
1961 Pontiac Parisienne bubble top Traded for a Harley sorry guys.

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hotrodhogie


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Here's a few more pics of the '57 if anyone is interested in looking.....



-- Edited by hotrodhogie on Friday 25th of July 2014 09:20:23 AM

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73SC


A Poncho Legend!

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It is so cool how those hub caps coordinate withe the grille.

P1040242.JPG



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Ray White, Toronto ON

Formerly - The one and only 1973 LeMans 454 "Astro-Jet"

Built March 9, 1973 - Oshawa ON

1993 Corvette Convertible LT 1

Built January 10, 1993 - Bowling Green Kentucky 

 
hotrodhogie


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I noticed that too, and yet they're not the original hubcaps for the car....but either way, cool is cool.

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Bad57Pontiac


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Same hub caps I have ;)


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73SC


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They are 64-71 hub caps, one of the nicer Pontiac designs. They work and look great on the 57's.



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Ray White, Toronto ON

Formerly - The one and only 1973 LeMans 454 "Astro-Jet"

Built March 9, 1973 - Oshawa ON

1993 Corvette Convertible LT 1

Built January 10, 1993 - Bowling Green Kentucky 

 
long stroke


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Derek, i am just awe struck by that beautiful 57 wagon of yours. Any chance of seeing what the engine bay area looks like with that 283. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. 57 Pontiac wagon.......... I LOVE IT. Cheers. George.



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1957 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan restored 261 six

1974 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon low mileage original 400 V-8
hotrodhogie


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long stroke wrote:

Derek, i am just awe struck by that beautiful 57 wagon of yours. Any chance of seeing what the engine bay area looks like with that 283. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. 57 Pontiac wagon.......... I LOVE IT. Cheers. George.

 George, lets just say that the curtains don't match the carpet on this car!!!  The engine bay is all original and untouched...it doesn't look nearly as good as the rest.  I have cleaned it up a lot since this photo was taken but it needs some love, and this winter it'll get it.  I'm hoping to pull the engine over winter, replace all gaskets and seals, new motor mounts and trans mounts on spec, and repaint the engine. 



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davelacourse


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Sorry to be so late chiming in ... I have wiring diagrams for (1) 56 American Pontiac and (2) 56 Chevy, and my 56 Canadian Pontiac is a mixture of both ... so it is likely your car is too, especially under the dash.

Send me a pm if you would like me to email you this information.

Here's an example of my actual headlight switch wiring (the switch itself is a Pontiac item):

Actual Headlight Switch Wiring.jpg

1956 Pontiac Headlight Switch 1a.jpg

Dave



-- Edited by davelacourse on Saturday 16th of August 2014 04:58:43 PM

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56Pontiac  1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod

  1964 Acadian Beaumont SD convert, 283 - factory 195 hp, Powerglide, 3.08 10-bolt - Cruiser

  2012 US-built crew cab truck - Daily Driver and Boat Trailering
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