Beautiful, highly-detailed professional build. Recent paint, strong supercharged small block, A/C, cruise, power steering, power brakes, power seat, power antenna, new touchscreen entertainment system. The rod you can drive every day and cross-country!
This 1939 Pontiac offers a wonderful streamlined look with distinct styling details that make it stand out from its corporate cousins. The bodywork is 100% OEM steel, no fiberglass, and you can see that GM stylists went out of their way to create something special. The roof has been chopped ever so slightly and was so neatly done that you’ll need a stock one to really see how it was done—they even managed to keep the front crank-open vent windows! Some of the trim has been shaved, but details like the original grilles, hood vents, and stand-up taillights are original 1939 Pontiac items and the hood ornament represents the Pontiac “Silver Streak” theme that would be part of their marketing for decades. The handsome blue and gray paint job will look elegant and appropriate for decades to come and even though it was finished nearly 20 years ago, it still looks spectacular. Seriously, this car looks like it was finished two years ago, not two decades ago!
The gray cloth interior uses a power track under the original bench seat and comfortable upholstery to make this the idea long-haul cruiser. A ‘60s Impala steering wheel dresses things up a bit, but that’s the original dashboard so it looks right at home in the vintage Poncho. You’ll note a polished stainless insert holding a full array of Stewart-Warner gauges, as well as a boost gauge underneath. A/C was neatly installed in a custom housing under the dash and painted to match the bodywork so it looks like it belongs there and the radio is a freshly installed Boss multi-function AM/FM/CD/DVD stereo with a fold-out touch screen, Bluetooth connectivity, a USB port, and even a back-up camera. It’s pretty trick. A tilt column, cruise control, two-speed wipers, plush carpets, and even a digital clock in the center of the dash make this vintage Pontiac as practical as your late-model daily driver. Even the trunk is neatly detailed with gray carpets, a spare tire cover, and a fire extinguisher. This is perhaps the most well-thought-out rod we’ve ever seen!
Power comes from a 350 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 that runs a B&M blower with a Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetor for fuel. It’s not at all radical, with a nice idle and no fussiness on the road. Turn the key and it starts and idles properly. However, it does offer a big hit of torque at any speed and you can’t get your foot on the floor fast enough to outrun the needle on the boost gauge, which snaps up to 6 PSI the moment you crack the throttle. Lots of polished aluminum and chrome dresses up the engine bay, and you’ll note once again that thoughtful details abound, from the built-in courtesy light to the neatly routed and labeled wiring, to the color-matched power brake booster and master cylinder. The A/C system uses R134a refrigerant to make it easy to service and a big electric fan keeps everything cool. You want a rod you can drive without anyone complaining about the ride? This is it.
Underneath there’s a reinforced frame with a late-model GM front subframe that includes power brakes and power steering, so it’s as easy to handle as any modern car. A TH350 3-speed automatic transmission has a modest shift kit so it snaps through the gears without being too aggressive, and 3.08 gears in the GM 10-bolt out back means this is a superlative highway cruiser. Long-tube headers feed a custom dual exhaust system with mellow-sounding mufflers and the suspension uses tube shocks at all four corners for a great ride. This certainly doesn’t feel like an 80-year-old car from behind the wheel! The stance is just about perfect—a little aggressive but with enough ground clearance so you don’t have to worry—and it sits on fresh chrome wheels with baby moon hubcaps and staggered 205/70/14 front and 235/75/15 rear blackwall radials.
This Pontiac also includes extensive documentation, including receipts, manuals, and instructions for all the various components.
This is one heck of a car with all the modern conveniences packed into a right-sized package. The sleek 2-door sedan look will stand out at shows and this car’s road manners are better than almost any other rod we’ve ever featured. If you want a true no-compromises old car that anyone can drive, you won’t be able to do much better than this. Call today!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
