It's always nice to find an early (Pre 1960) Pontiac to feature as there are so few of them out there. Our August 2020 Feature car belongs to Dale Petrie. When Dale found this 1950 Pontiac Silver Streak it was in pretty sad shape. Dale spent 3 years restoring the Pontiac and the results are stunning! Dale fills us in on the extensive details:

It was September 2016 in conversation with some old car enthusiasts when I learned about this 1950 Pontiac. I learned that the owner had refused selling the car because he didn’t want the car to be chopped, modified or re-powered.   I was intrigued to say the least because I was told the owner, or so-called owner, inherited the car from his father who had passed away.  I made telephone contact and diligently managed to arranged a viewing.  Complete and in bad shape she was, but I liked the lines and I saw potential for a nice project.  A second viewing of the car with my wife and she wanted it for herself. I did not get completely under the car to check the under carriage; I only saw what I could see from the side of the low riding rockers. So, I asked if he had the registration, he wasn’t sure, he said it was in his office, when indeed I found it laying on the front floor in the remnants of the glove box which had fallen. The registration was still in his dad’s name. So, we came to an agreement, he took care of the transfer to his name, we purchased it with the registration signed over and we pulled the car home.  

My wife’s primary objective was to keep the car looking as original as possible to preserve its original appearance which was also a promise to the previous owner, my agenda was to make a safe car for her to drive and enjoy.  

Oh, but the car looked lonely, tired and forgotten. What I found in the car was incredible, even a skeleton of a raccoon or fox, not really sure.    So, the tear down began and within a short period the frame was bare. During the tear down I learned several things that I did not know when I bought the car, the first was that the car had a Torque Tube Drive, in short this meant it had a propeller shaft, not a typical drive shaft. The tube was fixed to the differential housing and the only universal joint was directly behind the transmission enclosed in a spherical union.  This was something that had to go.  The frame was media blasted; air and water were used because air alone did not seem to be purging the particles through the tubular frame members.  

Before 

After

In order to accommodate a more modern style of differential, the transmission required modifications to convert it from a closed to open style. The modification required a 3/4" thick aluminum plate along with the original slip yoke which was altered to so as to fit the original spline, it was machined and then welded to a flange in the center. Then the complete spline / flange unit was pressed into a sealed bearing. The bearing OD was machined to fit and be pressed into the aluminum plate which was held in place with a C clip. This reinforced the transmission output shaft as compared to old system of a bushing that had little support and had shown signs of wear.  

Before

After

The engine was checked with a simple blow test and the only cylinder that any positive pressure at dead top center was number one.  The remaining five cylinders either had blow by through the carburetor or the exhaust manifold indicating valve issues and every one had some minor losses through the Crank Case Ventilation tube, which meant rings or cylinder issues. So , in short the engine had to be rebuilt and I decided to use Sussex Engine Builders for a complete rebuild.  The engine was completed with a slight honing of cylinder walls, new rings and bearings, valves seats and seals.  I also added electronic ignition from Pertronics and the electrical system was upgraded to 12 volts.  The wiring harness that I choose was the American Auto Wire Highway 22 Kit, I call it the wiring kit for dummies, even I could do It. If you can read, you can wire a car.  No more voltage Regulator 

Before

After

The clutch was overhauled, friction disc was re-faced at Friction Plus in Dieppe NB the flywheel was resurfaced at a local machine shop, the pressure plate was cleaned and a new throw out bearing was installed, works fine with no chatter at all.  I then ran the engine in a test stand before installing it into the frame, I was impressed, so quiet and fantastic oil pressure, below is a picture of the engine in the stand 

Some of the hidden items that took a lot of creativity were items like the thermostat.  Well if other readers can remember the thermostat of the day was of the bellows type, and I could not find or source a new one, so we converted the old thermostat housing by machining two groves. Using C clips, I installed the first c clip then we installed a modern style 185-degree thermostat and then a second c clip, voila, problem solved and no one would ever know it was not original.  The starter solenoid had to be sourced from 6 to 12 volt. The starter was serviced no issues, and it still has the same stator and amateur.  During the tear down of the motor I noticed both rear side motor mounts were broken, they were nothing more than two threaded nut like fasteners welded to the center of two small steel plates inverted and held together by what looked like the beginning of vulcanized rubber technology. In short, they were torn apart.  I have a before photo and a photo of the remanufactured bushing style motor mount that I made.  

Before

After

The photo above shows the U type bracket over a 1 ¼ “   diameter bushing with a ½” diameter sleve, each opposing unit has this same threaded nut like fastener welded to it.  The reason this became important was the twisting of the heavy engine was tearing the solder off the top radiator hose connector.

 The photo below shows the extensive amount of repairs that had been done from 1950 to 1974, the last year the car was registered for the highway.   

During the short time of the car being back on the road, no leaks, another problem solved and no one would ever look to see that the motor mounts are not original.   

The braking system was converted from a single master cylinder to a dual master complete with a portioning valve and four corner disc brakes.  Three residual pressure valves had to be used in the final bleeding process. The issue here was the master cylinder was lower than the calipers and would not hold pressure, hence the necessity for the residual valves that held 2 psi on the line, another problem solved. 

Before

After

Enough about the mechanical aspects, now we’ll  talk about the coach. Items that required replacing were both left and right side inner and out rocker panels, both front and back seat left and right floor pans, all three-floor brace cross members.  The rear ¼ panels from the door pillars to the back of the rear wheel, both left and right sides, along with both gas tank braces. 

Before

After

Side view showing x bracing of the coach so as to maintain the square and integrity of the body while sheet metal work was in progress 

Marrying the coach back onto the frame 

Finishing the coach, I used Dynamat for heat and sound insulation on the floors.

Rewired the instrument cluster to 12V gauges and dash panel lights.  This car originally did not have turn signal lights, so the dash board was equipped with LED turn signal indicators.  Push button start concept was maintained. Please excuse the dirty hand prints on the shift lever and column. 

Rear LED tail light assemblies (Rectangular Canadian Style Park, Signal and Brake) along with the third LED brake light strip were sourced. If you look at the bottom center of the rear window, you will notice the third LED brake light strip. Not quite hidden but almost.

Some before and after pictures showing the Chrome work that was done by Cambridge Custom Chrome 

Front view before

After:

Rear view before:

After:

Some before and after shots of the interior:

The car was put on the road last August 2019, we drove it locally at low speeds and up to 85-90 kilometers / hour. and to say the least it drives like a tight 1950 Sedan.  I am really impressed with regards to how much torque that flat head has. I thought by changing the differential out which had 3.9 :1 gear and with the 3.23:1 gear in the replacement differential I would be forever shifting, but not the case.  It climbs up most hills with ease.  I can’t say what the rpm drops to , there is no tachometer in the car.  In short, that part of the project worked out very nice, after all it’s my lady’s cruiser.   

I have yet to have the front end properly aligned by a Technician. When I rebuilt the front end, I merely counted the revolutions to    remove the left tie rod ends, and threaded the new tie rod ends the same amount of revolutions, not very exact. The car tracks ok, does not wander or pull to either side, regardless an alignment is in order. 

In closing, the most important thing to mention is the satisfaction I had to acquire this car, the ability to finish the project, the conversations and experiences along the way with so many different and talented people make this car priceless. The joy I get when I see my wife drive the car down the street, that is what it’s all about, she is happy.  My wife’s history and love of old cars, she was fortunate enough to be around her Uncle who had 21 antiques ranging from 1899 to 1940 and he was one of the key founders of the New Brunswick Antique Auto Club in New Brunswick. Together we make a great team.

Dale and Helen Petrie