1929 or 1930 Pontiac 2 dr. sedan

I have purchased what I believed to be a 1930 pontiac 2 dr. sedan. But I'm having doubts. Can someone help me? Job number listed on firewall of car is 8940. Body number is 50086. Numbers from engine all on drivers side: P617435 and 526865. Thanks

Pontiac did not use year designations as we use them today. And many cars were registered as the year they were sold in, The first Pontiacs advertised as 1929 were in fact Series 6-28 (same car as 1928 except for cross flow rad and Hotchkiss drive) built from August to November 1928. Series 6-29 were built from December 1928 until August 1929. These had a different body and were easily identified by their vertically divided rad shell. 1930 Pontiacs were designated Series 6-29A from August 1929 until November. Starting in December 1929 was Series 6-30B. The obvious difference between the Series 6-29A and Series 6-30B is the belt line. On the 6-30B it is convex and runs from the radiator all the way around the car. The 6-29A's belt moulding is concave and only runs from the A pillar around to the A pillar.

I don't have a list but someone here will be able to tell you from your serial number when you car was built.

Thank you for the info. Also thank you for responding to my first ever post about the type of floor in my car. I was able to construct the floor myself. Today I also discovered that my car has a key operated transmission lock. Didn't Pontiac abandon that in the 1930 cars?

I believe that there were quite a number of things that were carried over from one series to another if there was excessive stock on hand. So I would say there could be a Series 6-30B with a transmission lock but the parts book and literature says not. So your car is a Series 6-29A which means it is either a 29 or a 30. How about a picture.

I will take a picture and send.

The engine number quoted (P617435) is early in the 6-29A series which went from 608157 to 673500 (maybe September 1929). I think the number 526865, if it is off the engine, is a casting number(?). The style number 8940 is 6-29 series (or 6-29A?) but not 1930 6-30B. It would be 301 if it was. The serial number is probably on the rear cross member and should fall in the sequence 538075 to 591500 to make it a 6-29A. As tinindian said it could have been titled as either 1929 or 1930.

I believe that there were quite a number of things that were carried over from one series to another if there was excessive stock on hand. So I would say there could be a Series 6-30B with a transmission lock but the parts book and literature says not. So your car is a Series 6-29A which means it is either a 29 or a 30. How about a picture.

Have taken picture. hope my effort at sending it works. I have located the serial number attached to the frame side just below the left front fender: 540092-P

The visible "A" pillar formed in the cowl makes this a Series 6-29A. This series was sometimes called a late 1929 or just as easily an early 1930. It is interesting that your radiator cap (bronze face is definitely 1929) seems too large for the top of the radiator shell. The 30/31 cap is 1/4 " smaller and matches the opening in the rad shell. The ribbed parts above the opening in the rad shell should be painted black. From the distance this makes the 29/30's similar from the distance. Most of the 29's didn't have the ribbed part the opening was curved at the top. A lot of cars at the end or beginning of production had bits and pieces that were not correct according to serial number or series. Also unless you have all the provenance about the car who knows what or when things were changed. It all depends on the date of manufacture, date of sale and where it was first registered as what is the correct year. If your registration says 1930 there is no reason to doubt it. You should get a copy of "Pontiac: The Complete History" by Thomas E. Bonsall, Great book.

My Pontiac a Series 6-30B was built in Regina Saskatchewan and bought new by my Grandfather. I have all the history and documentation on the car and am still puzzled. The engine and bellhousing were never painted and the front fenders do not match the contour of any Pontiac I have ever seen. They do match exactly the fenders on 1930 Oldsmobiles. So maybe a small plant that built Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles on the same line (and maybe only a hundred of one and seventy five of the other) put different fenders on the last few cars because those were the fenders they had on hand. Eighty five years later who can tell why but I know the fenders on the car are the ones it came with.

i have an engine from a 29/30 Pontiac ( what i have been told) , number is 526865-2 (drivers side /bottom side of engine ) .. any advice on what the numbers mean ?

7 hours ago, RoyG said:

i have an engine from a 29/30 Pontiac ( what i have been told) , number is 526865-2 (drivers side /bottom side of engine ) .. any advice on what the numbers mean ?

 

The number 5268625-2 a part number cast on the block.

P586849 makes it a late 1929 (1929 1/2) carry-over model. The first true 1930 engine was P591501.

Your engine should have a casting date on it somewhere.

Thank you for the reply, great information. 

the only other Number I see is E99 

36 minutes ago, RoyG said:

Thank you for the reply, great information. 

the only other Number I see is E99 

Check out this thread for some more reading. I posted photos there of the numbers on my 1926 engine but I don't know if Ferro continued to use the same casting date system as late as 1929.