For Sale at Auction: 1946 Pontiac Eight in Newport, Rhode Island

Chassis No. P8LB32060
Body No. 336-872

Civilian production resumed at Pontiac on 13 September 1945, and the cars that emerged were, like everything else out of Detroit that autumn, lightly revised 1942 models sent back to a market starved of anything new. Pontiac fielded two series. The A-body Torpedo covered the lower end, while the Streamliner sat on GM's larger B-body shell shared with the Buick Special, Oldsmobile Series 70, and Cadillac Series 61. Buyers identified the 1946 cars by their wraparound bumpers and reworked grille, and Streamliners were further distinguished by the Chief hood mascot, chrome hood spears, and the "speedline" accents that ran back into the skirted rear fenders.

At the very top of the range sat the Station Wagon, offered in the Streamliner series alone and priced, in Eight De Luxe specification, at $2,019; nothing else in the 1946 Pontiac catalog cost more. The wood bodies came from outside suppliers, and where the standard wagon carried three bench seats for eight passengers in frankly utilitarian fashion, the De Luxe gave up the third row in favor of a six-passenger cabin, leather and wool upholstery, passenger car interior hardware, and a substantially deeper cargo hold. Ribbed wood framing carried the speedline theme along the doors and flanks. Few were built, fewer still were kept, and a body framed in ash and paneled in mahogany was never going to weather neglect well, which is why this car has long been regarded as the only known survivor of its exact specification.

This car was discovered in Oldcastle, Ontario, in 2004, having reportedly spent many years before that in a private museum in Maine. It then passed to a private Colorado collection, where it remained until 2021, when it returned to Maine to join the Motorland Museum. The older restoration in Royal Maroon metallic presents well, and inside, the red leather and tan wool cloth upholstery has taken on an appealing settled quality. Power comes from the 248.9-cubic-inch flathead straight-eight rated at 103 horsepower, fed by a Carter dual downdraft carburetor and driving through a three-speed column-shift manual transmission. Equipment includes a Super Deluxe radio, electric clock, Venti-Heat heating and defrosting, chrome exhaust deflector, and whitewall tires. The body tag remains in place and legible, recording style Station Wagon and body no. 336-872, with the body itself credited to the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company of Ionia, Michigan.

The costliest Pontiac of 1946 and, so far as is known, the last of its kind, this Streamliner is eligible for AACA National Meets and is guaranteed to be a standout at any "woodie" gathering or Pontiac-Oakland Club event.