CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

57 Pontiac "Zero Fox"

tRustyK5

Elbows up!
 Premium
GMOTM Winner
Author
Joined
Jul 23, 2000
Posts
41,546
Reaction score
13,346
Location
In my garage
I bought this 57 in January and the seller was kind enough to store it for me til today. It's a 57 Pontiac Pathfinder, built on the same line as the 57 Chevy here in Canada back in the day. This car is the equivalent to the 57 Chevy 150 2 door sedan. Mechanically almost identical except the Pontiacs got the 261 6 instead of the 235. My neighbor across the street just picked up a 57 Chevy 150 right around the same time. You could put em side by each and see all the sameness, except for the little bit of Pontiac lipstick front and rear.

The car was in an accident in Jan 1967, and had been parked in a garage for 47 years until the owner passed away. At that time his family paid to have the property cleaned up so it could be sold. The front end took a good hit, frame looks mostly OK except for in front of the suspension where the bumper bolts up is a little munged up. I'll have a better idea when I get the sheet metal removed.

Anyways, I hope you guys like pics. :D



001_zps27wwcedk.jpg




002_zpsbqxjqrtb.jpg




The ugly part of the car...



009_zpsx25xko63.jpg




261, 3 on the tree.



011_zpsw7hyyjp0.jpg




012_zpsivuzgwwa.jpg




Cowl tags...not many options on this one.



013_zpsszw6ijvw.jpg




First order of business was to clean the junk and debris out of it and see exactly what I had to work with.

Trunk looks remarkably good!



017_zpsof6bo7be.jpg




018_zpscj26pw6i.jpg




019_zpser0k2lly.jpg




Front seat looks decent, probably clean up a bit better yet but no rips.



020_zps7mkgkfhb.jpg




Rear floor area, also very solid. The is a bit of rust at the front of the rear wheelwell area...but nothing horrible.



021_zpsovgv47ov.jpg




Seeing as the car was only on the road for 10 years I believe this is the correct mileage.



007_zpsbxkpylwr.jpg




Radio delete...



008_zpstdesa6mi.jpg




So, after having a much better look at the car I noticed a few small things. The generator has been robbed, as has the starter. The generator I don't care about as I recently bought a beautifully restored generator from a member on "Canadian Pontiac" a while back. In the accident the rad support pushed back hard enough to hit the air cleaner...which then broke the base of the carb. There are a few plug wires missing. I won't be able to check if the motor is seized or not til I remove some of the front end.



With this car I also picked up a 57 4 door Laurentian (same trim level as the Bel Air) as a parts car. It has the 283 power pack and a 'glide...but more importantly it has all the front end sheet metal I need. That'll show up in another month or so. Gotta get my Blazer running first so I have room in the garage for it.
 
Last edited:
Cool beans, havent been on Canadian Poncho to see if you had started doing anything with it yet :thumb:
 
I've actually been holding off on having it delivered so I could focus on the Blazer...but the seller was getting a bit anxious. Glad it's here, now I have to ignore it and keep working on the Blazer. It's vac'd out, which is about all i'm gonna do to it for now.
 
Excellent Rene
Anxious to see this rebirth!
 
You know I fully expect you to roll up to my house in that sometime :D

Looks very cool man one of my favorites
 
That's sweet, I don't believe I've ever seen anything quite like it. Of course, even the 150 is a rare bird to find around here, seems to be far easier to find 210 and Belaire models, especially in 4 door version. Can't wait to see you get started, but I hope you "finish" the Blazer first.:haha:
 
We had two '57 Pontiacs very similar to yours at the junkyard--alsp a '56 Buick that looked very much like them,and a '57 Chevy,they must have used the same body shell and chassis..the Pontiacs we had were both V8 models,one had a 337 V8 and the other had a later 400 from a GTO in it,it originally had a 370 going by the numbers...we also had a '58 GMC truck with a 337 and a 4 speed hydra-matic,which is supposedly very rare..GM used 322 nailhead Buick engines in some of those GMC's also..

The 261 six is a torque monster,my '56 Chevy truck had the 235 and a friend had a similar truck with the 261 and I drove it a few times,and could feel the difference...are you going to keep the Pontiac original with the 261 if it turns out it'll run ok?..

A friend of my brother was nuts about '58 Bonnevilles--at one point he had 11 of them in his yard,in various condition ranging from "parts only" to nice running,unmolested originals..he moved to TN in the 90's after tiring of having constant harassment from the town about his "hobby" getting out of hand ,he had a neighbor that complained he was running a body shop illegally,etc..after he moved he said he regretted not moving 20 years sooner,he loves TN..
 
The US Pontiac in 57 is longer and larger than the Canuck version. Built on a Buick frame, the front end is 11 inches longer. All came with the 347 V8 too...
 
I'm pretty tickled, but now the garage is pretty full. Nick was over last night helping me try to remove the mangled front bumper. About 15 minutes under the car he says to me "So this is what the 50's smell like..."

I about spit my beer through my nose. :haha:
 
Well, spent a little time on this and finally managed to pry the mangled front bumper off. Dynamite was my next option. It was so folded and pinched on the splash shield it was ridiculous.

While working on that my wife Deb came into the garage for a smoke and started poking around. She pulls this old paper bag out from the rear seat back that is leaning against my toolbox. I go over and take a look...definitely old.

009_zpskcu8xu6t.jpg


Then she says there is something in it...so she pulled this out of the bag.

010_zpsqxalrdex.jpg


Guess the dude didn't get lucky... :haha:
 
I think the car should be named Ramses!
Holy **** that is epic Rene'!
 
  • Like
Reactions: CK5
Top Bottom