KiwiStarChief

Jerry, mine was on the cowl the same as the pics above, but it leaked when I got it despite sealing it up. When I had the car painted I also had the hole filled, and fitted a marine under dash hidden antenna. Not as good as having an outside one, but in my opinion gives the car a much cleaner look.

Chris, I hope you used a digger to dig out the footings, and not a spade!

Classic car values look to have risen dramatically here in New Zealand due to the Covid lockdowns, as people have spare cash they can't spend on overseas trips. I plan to reassess my insured value next renewal, so long may it continue! Chris, you don't see any US classics' here in Auckland for sale at a car yard.

I'd like to go in the draw thanks.

Well done Jerry. 2 x 57's in three months is a pretty good hit rate.

Chris, the wagon is a Safari Wagon and sits on the shorter Super Chief/Chieftain 122" wheelbase, hence the 3 stars. It is only the Star Chief model that has the four. That's a nice shot of the car. I have spoken to the owner(who didn't build the car) and it is Chev LT powered (not the latest LT but the earlier pre-LS engine). It looks real cool down low with the airbags. Note the 3 stars and painted rear side rockets, which denote it as a Super Chief.

Thought somebody might be interested in this bit of trivia relating to 1957 Pontiacs in New Zealand, as the last time I checked there were only 6 in the country. At the recent Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod show, there were two of these in the attendees' car park, but I unfortunately wasn't able to go, but if I had that would have been 50% of them in one place. These are the ones at the show:- The Safari is one of only 1292 produced in 1957, so pretty rare. The other '57 Pontiac that I know of is is a Super Chief model, which sits on a 2" shorter wheelbase and is 7" shorter overall than the Star Chief, which is my model. Here is a photo of this one:-

Hi Jerry, here is the thread from Trifive.com that details the clock conversion process that I followed. https://www.trifive.com/threads/diy-55-56-custom-clock.49041/

Hi Jerry, great job you did there. When I had my '56 Bel Air my steering wheel was like yours, but I sent it out to be repaired and painted. So good on you for fixing it and making it such a great job. Now onto the clock. The one in the Star Chief wasn't working, so I purchased a quartz clock kit and converted it over. No more issues, and it keeps great time too! If you are interested I can let you know the details of the conversion.

That Bel Air sure is a beautiful car. They always talk about buyer's regret, but sometimes seller's regret is just as painful.

Before I purchased my '57 Star Chief back in 2012, I fell for this 1957 Safari which was LS1 powered, Fatman front end, and 4 link in the rear. It was up in Northern USA somewhere, but when I started to get real serious the owner got cold feet and said he didn't want to sell out of the States. A shame because I really liked it, but it was not meant to be.

I used JB Weld to fill in the hole in the middle of my wife's mixing bowl, which used to have a blender through the bottom, as she liked the glass bowl to use. After filling the hole in (about ½" diameter) over several times, I then ground it smooth with some grinding stones in my cordless drill until they were super smooth to touch. This was five years ago and it's still going strong.

Jerry, you are a braver man than I am. I had this with my '56 Bel Air wheel, but I sent it away to be repaired and painted. It lasted the 10 years I had the car, and still looked like a new wheel when I sold her. Was expensive though if I recall. Thanks, it feels nice to when driving, not too small, but not large like the standard one, especially as I have power steering.

My US built Star Chief has the clock held in by the U shaped bracket, which is contained by a wing type nut that screws onto a single stud in the centre of the clock.

Jerry, from what I have seen '57 Star Chief wheels are like Unicorn's teeth. When I replaced the awful wheel on my one, I fitted one of the 15" '57 Bel Air ones from a reputable seller on eBay (if there is such a thing) as the stock one was simply too big for me. There are some Chinese ones around that don't have the steel ring in the circular plastic rim, but thankfully mine did. I then sourced a centre cap with the Pontiac name and Chief Pontiac logo from a member of Canadianponcho.com, as the 1957 Canadian Pontiacs were basically Chevys with a Pontiac front and rear end.

And the poor tiger has to die because of his stupidity!

Yes Chris, it is a bit eye searing first thing in the morning! 😎 Thanks to all who voted for me.

Lovely looking '57, for sure.

Jerry, I have a Vintage air system in my '57, but it's not very pretty hanging below the dash, and the vents are just the standard Vintage Air plastic ones. A lot of the guys on the Chevy forum I belong to fit the original OE vents (or repos) by cutting into the dash, but I'm not game to do this. Below is the car when I first purchased it 10 years ago with the awful steering wheel, (I replaced it with a small diameter '57 Chev wheel) and you can see the vents and controls below the dash. There is no room inside the dash, which is where the ECU unit is mounted.

Hi Chris, if you are looking to buy it would be nice to get another '57 into the country.

Old guy44, your eyes were spot on, as the Canadian Pontiac versions were on the Chevy chassis. On the US model 1957 Star Chief the cabin area from the beltline up, including front and rear screens, stainless trim, and the doors were the same as the ‘57 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop, but the overall vehicle length was longer by 13.8” at 213.8” (5.43m), compared to the Bel Air’s 200” (5.08m).

Looks great to be out and about cruising. Hope we will soon in Auckland after Tuesday's announcement.