New to the forum with a 1952 Pontiac Chieftain

[none95944]

Hello everyone. I am excited to be a part of the forum and share my project with you as it goes along as well as read about all of your own. My name is Joel and I manage an auto repair shop in Florida. My wife and I just recently bought our first classic car project to build together as I am turning 50 early next year. We currently live in Florida and have attended a lot of car shows and have been dying to bring one of our own. After months of searching we finally decided on this:

1952 Pontiac Chieftain 2 door sedan
Black w/ Flame job

Previous owner said it is on its 3rd engine, the stock 4.4 liter straight 8.

I am considering doing a turbo'd GM 4.8 V8 swap along with a 700R4 trans. Or maybe going with its larger 6.0 liter cousin.

The paintjob is nice but not what we initially had in mind so later on it might get changed, maybe reverting back to just plain black but I don't know, it could grow on me. What are your guys opinion? The wheels are okay but will be changed for something more vintage style with chrome hubcaps and some nice white walls.

But for now the first job I have in mind is to do a disc brake conversion and some sort of power brake upgrade immediately. During the same time period I am also going to rebuild the king pins, and replace all the control arm and leaf spring bushings and inspect the rest and do the alignment. Then sometime next year I will do a power steering conversion.

Here are a couple of pictures (girl is my wife's daughter)

Edited September 25, 2019 by none95944

[Ringo64]

 and the craziness that is Pontiac! 

Are those photos taken at Universal? Where in Florida are you located? I'm in Naples.

The paint job is not what I would own as I like a more subtle paint. However, it does indeed grow on you the more I look at it. 

Look forward to hearing more from your build!

[JUSTA6]

Welcome.  Personal choice, but you can't go wrong with classic Cragers.  Noticed 2 different sets of tires in your pic's.  Paint's a LIL loud, but in good shape N well done.  Thats a project for waaay down the road.   Enjoy it and have fun.

[Frosty]

Welcome to FP.

I've done my share of airbrushing. I am a fan of both traditional flame jobs like yours, and the modern true flame. My opinion would be to keep the flame job unless the paint itself has a problem. You don't see that many Pontiacs with custom flames period. This is a period correct, old skool paint job. I'd keep it.

Your upgrades sound like a solid idea. Powerplant swaps are plentiful and you can take your time deciding that you can afford and what looks good under the hood. I think keeping a 200 4R or a 700R4 is the right idea - depending on what engine you decide to go with. Having overdrive is just plain smart these days.

[Last Indian]

9 hours ago, none95944 said:

Hello everyone. I am excited to be a part of the forum and share my project with you as it goes along as well as read about all of your own. My name is Joel and I manage an auto repair shop in Florida. My wife and I just recently bought our first classic car project to build together as I am turning 50 early next year. We currently live in Florida and have attended a lot of car shows and have been dying to bring one of our own. After months of searching we finally decided on this:

1952 Pontiac Chieftain 2 door sedan
Black w/ Flame job

Previous owner said it is on its 3rd engine, the stock 4.4 liter straight 8.

I am considering doing a turbo'd GM 4.8 V8 swap along with a 700R4 trans. Or maybe going with its larger 6.0 liter cousin.

The paintjob is nice but not what we initially had in mind so later on it might get changed, maybe reverting back to just plain black but I don't know, it could grow on me. What are your guys opinion? The wheels are okay but will be changed for something more vintage style with chrome hubcaps and some nice white walls.

But for now the first job I have in mind is to do a disc brake conversion and some sort of power brake upgrade immediately. During the same time period I am also going to rebuild the king pins, and replace all the control arm and leaf spring bushings and inspect the rest and do the alignment. Then sometime next year I will do a power steering conversion.

Here are a couple of pictures (girl is my wife's daughter)

Welcome! That’s a pretty nice find! Was it a Florida car? I don’t think I would change a thing! Like Frosty, said it is really kind of period correct, Old Skool! Good luck with it!

Edited September 25, 2019 by Last Indian

[TWO LANE BLACK TOP]

Welcome....

Dig the flames...

[JUSTA6]

Do you have any pic's of the back of the car?   Curious to see how your exhaust was routed.  What kind of muffers are you using?

[none95944]

On 9/25/2019 at 3:12 PM, Ringo64 said:

 and the craziness that is Pontiac! 

Are those photos taken at Universal? Where in Florida are you located? I'm in Naples.

The paint job is not what I would own as I like a more subtle paint. However, it does indeed grow on you the more I look at it. 

Look forward to hearing more from your build!

Nice! I'm up over in Jacksonville. And yeah the paint really does grow on you 😁

On 9/25/2019 at 4:14 PM, JUSTA6 said:

Welcome.  Personal choice, but you can't go wrong with classic Cragers.  Noticed 2 different sets of tires in your pic's.  Paint's a LIL loud, but in good shape N well done.  Thats a project for waaay down the road.   Enjoy it and have fun.

Classic Cragers are nice too! I think they'd look good with white walls. And thanks!

23 hours ago, Frosty said:

Welcome to FP.

I've done my share of airbrushing. I am a fan of both traditional flame jobs like yours, and the modern true flame. My opinion would be to keep the flame job unless the paint itself has a problem. You don't see that many Pontiacs with custom flames period. This is a period correct, old skool paint job. I'd keep it.

Your upgrades sound like a solid idea. Powerplant swaps are plentiful and you can take your time deciding that you can afford and what looks good under the hood. I think keeping a 200 4R or a 700R4 is the right idea - depending on what engine you decide to go with. Having overdrive is just plain smart these days.

Thats true, it is old skool and would stand out in a car show. And yeah theres plenty of choices regarding the powerplant, im yet to fully decide what i want.

16 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Welcome! That’s a pretty nice find! Was it a Florida car? I don’t think I would change a thing! Like Frosty, said it is really kind of period correct, Old Skool! Good luck with it!

Yes it was. And thank you! 😁

[none95944]

15 hours ago, TWO LANE BLACK TOP said:

Welcome....

Dig the flames...

Thanks! 👍🏻

1 hour ago, JUSTA6 said:

Do you have any pic's of the back of the car?   Curious to see how your exhaust was routed.  What kind of muffers are you using?

The exhuast is just a single-exit  There's just one muffler is placed in the middle, i believe it was custom-made. From there its just a straight pipe that routes through and exits at the back. 

[Frosty]

On 9/25/2019 at 9:54 AM, none95944 said:

 

Pretty cool photo location. Where were these photos taken? I have been to Jacksonville once to visit a buddy of mine, so I am not too familiar with all the local land marks. I doesn't look like the zoo or Regency Plaza downtown, which I've been to.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Frosty

[Last Indian]

9 hours ago, none95944 said:

Thanks! 👍🏻

The exhuast is just a single-exit  There's just one muffler is placed in the middle, i believe it was custom-made. From there its just a straight pipe that routes through and exits at the back. 

Ok! Wow I am really confused! That’s a Chevy bumper, Chevy tail lights and backup lights, but a Chieftain deck lid and the rear fenders have no round Pontiac emblem on them! Yet your second picture clearly shows a Chieftain bumper and Pontiac emblems on the rear fenders! What gives?

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Last Indian

[none95944]

8 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Ok! Wow I am really confused! That’s a Chevy bumper, Chevy tail lights and backup lights, but a Chieftain deck lid and the rear fenders have no round Pontiac emblem on them! Yet your second picture clearly shows a Chieftain bumper and Pontiac emblems on the rear fenders! What gives?

 

 

 

 

Damn, I didn't even notice that! Like I said before, I am new to this game. That 2nd pic was one I was sent during the buying process. I was told it was a very old pic, so going from that, the pics are atleast 10 years apart, hence the different sets of tires, different color wheels, and now different rear end. Now another job has come up! And that's restoring the rear end back to original! Thank you pointing this out, you have a great eye. 👏🏻

Edited September 27, 2019 by none95944

[Last Indian]

On 9/27/2019 at 5:20 AM, none95944 said:

Damn, I didn't even notice that! Like I said before, I am new to this game. That 2nd pic was one I was sent during the buying process. I was told it was a very old pic, so going from that, the pics are atleast 10 years apart, hence the different sets of tires, different color wheels, and now different rear end. Now another job has come up! And that's restoring the rear end back to original! Thank you pointing this out, you have a great eye. 👏🏻

Hey Joel, how about some interior pictures? We’d love to see how it’s laid out!

[JUSTA6]

Straight 8 is pretty rare as well, would love to see some shots.  Is that a 12 or 6 volt system?

Edited September 28, 2019 by JUSTA6

[notallthere]

Nice ride.  I dig it front to back.  If you have the straight 8 keep it clean it and use it for garage art.  Those are great looking engines.  As for the LS conversion.  Get an entire vehicle if you can to do the conversion.  The time you take to remove it will help you in the long run.  I can pick up entire 2004 Silverado 2500s here for 1000.00 with a good drivetrain.  Pull the engine trans and the wiring harness out and anything else that might fit.  Scrapping the rest of the truck I net back 500-600 to recoupe some of my costs.  The 200r4 is better than that of the 700r4 but stepping to the 4l60 or 4l80 will get you a transmission that will communicate with your engine control module.

 

Just food for thought.  Great car enjoy the ride.