Pfeil

Yes, I can see that the 49 Ford went too far with slab side styling and in 52 Ford brought back modified pontoon rear quarters and Ford lost its #1 lead for 49 to Chevrolet in 1950. As far as 57 goes; Ford sold 1,522,406 cars in the 1957 model year, while Chevrolet sold 1,515,177. Yet even today there's argument as to what company really sold the most. Chevrolet actually sold more cars during the 1957 calendar year, but those sales included several thousand '56 models. I don't really care because I like both cars, and I also like all fords from 52-59 and that includes the 58. The 58 if optioned right with the right colors can be an attractive car. If I owned G.M. and I had five divisions, I would choose the divisions that were not as high volume compared to Chevrolet do the experimentation. That is plain good business sense. So???

Take a look at this 1956 G.M. / Chevrolet Impala dream / show car. The double spear shows up on the 1961 Pontiac. 61 Catalina For 62 Pontiac uses the very same doors of 61 but takes off the front spear point and extends it forward to the headlight trim to make the car look wider. Out back it keeps the spear open ended and adds the faint body creases (upper and lower) of the coke bottle styling that last through the 60's on Pontiac which many makes copied even into the 70's. The coke bottle flair starts just aft of the door (only two door cars) The top part of the coke bottle flair has stainless molding, bottom doesn't, the 62 has the new simulated convertible " bow roof" in the hardtop. The 63 below the side spear is gone and the emphasis is on "Coke Bottle styling" and stacked headlamps, the "A" pillar is changed, but the rest of the roof is the same until 1965. ] by 65-66 it's much larger

Yes John, I know, But it was done in a different way on the 57 Cad, 58 Chevrolet Pontiac with those "A" pillars. It just comes off new. Compared to old. And talking about shared canopies! all or most of your glass will interchange with the Pontiac below.

Buick, as far as hardtops are concerned had two hardtop roofs for 58 in two door cars. SOLID CITIZEN, I like that.

John, the 58 Chevrolet has a lot of 1957 Cadillac in it

On Pontiac, yes, they could have split the molding around the rear quarter body spear.

UNTIL Grandpa gave us the key to the glove-ha ha Box door!

I agree but you could take the same basic car and order it the way you want. Look at these two 58 Pontiac's. You could have it either way. A Star Chief below; Or a Chieftain Below; Yes, that's Shelby

That's why most diehard Pontiac guys don't consider them as Pontiacs!!! The ENGINE is a big part of the brand!

I like the conservative "fin" approach Pontiac took in 1959. Other than the 1960 Pontiac, Pontiac of 59 started couple of themes that would stay with it until its demise. One the split grille, and "Wide Track". For example, in 1959 a Oldsmobile had a front and rear track of 61 inches, a 1959 Chevrolet had a front of 61.3 and rear of 59.3, Cadillac - ft. 61 rear 61. And Buick, front of 62" rear 60" Pontiac had a front track of 63 7/8" and rear of 64". The new for 59 cars were longer and lower and wider and with those narrow front and rear tracks they looked funny, and as Pontiac's General manager said, " they looked like football players wearing ballet slippers" That was the start of wide track-in the styling studios. They found out later after they had done it that it made the car handle much better. Pontiac has my vote for the best 1959 G.M. car. Motor Trend thought so too, it was their "car of the year" winner.

Post war design first cars at G.M. were the 1948 Oldsmobile 98(the only Olds with this styling) and all 1948 Cadillac. This styling is call flow through fender styling where the high line starts at the front fender and with a body crease continues through the door-s and over the rear quarter panel pontoon fender. Buick turned down using it because it's Air foil styling was still successful. The airfoil Buicks started in 1942 and are different than the Pontoon style Buicks and other G.M. products. Air flow styling took the high line fender styling through the middle of the body (door) basically extended the front pontoon to the rear fender, through the fender and fender skirt, and exited at the end of the skirt. In Flow Through fender styling the air foil line was raised over the rear pontoon. Simply an evolution of a theme. All 1949 G.M. cars would have Flow through fender styling. 1942 Buick, Pontoon styling. below 1942 Buick with Air Foil styling and you can see how a skirt is essential in this design. Below 1948 Oldsmobiles >>>and the 98 with flow through fender styling Below all 1948 Cadillacs with Flow Through fender styling And what is nice is that ALL G.M. cars will have this styling for 1949 and what better image and very great car for the money is this Chevrolet Coupe that has the styling features of the Cadillac above!

1. Earl retired in 1958, before he retired his last project was overseeing the 61-62 models. 2. According to Ear's nephew. When some of Earls underlings told him (and had pictures) of Chryslers new cars for 57 Earl said he didn't want to see any of that at all. His explanation to these people was G.M. leads not follows!

For example, a 1959 Pontiac 2 door coupe front door will fit without any modification to a 1959 Chevrolet. A 1959 Oldsmobile door has a bolt on piece to the same door to extend from the front fender body crease to the extension which goes to the body crease in the rear quarter panel to the rear high mount tail lamp, Take that extension body piece off the door and it's the same as a Chevrolet/Pontiac. I think the same holds true for Buick with the Buicks extension bolt on piece for the door. I also think the Cadillac Coupe de Ville is the same. See the door of a 59 Olds the top part of the door is a bolt on piece. You can see at the top of the inside the two machine screws holding the piece on.....Very clever! ^ 59 Pontiac door

Put a 1957 Ford or Chrysler product next to any 1957 GM product and the GM styling looks half a decade behind the times- with the benefit of hindsight. OK, let's put a 1954 Chrysler and a 54 Mercury next to a 1954 Olds and see whose styling is old. Slab sided, Sweep cut fender styling front and rear. An "A" pilar that is swept back past 90 degrees with a vista wrap around windshield. This car makes the other two look like they are from another era. FYI, Buick shares that windshield and roof, and Cadillac won't get an "A" pillar swept back like that until 1957, Pontiac and Chevrolet until 1958. Compared to Olds and Buick for 1954 The 1954 Chevrolet and Pontiac are two styling sequences behind Olds and Buick.

I'm sorry I offended you, so I changed it to your taste. Hope it makes you feel better.

The 57 Chevy is not restored. It's a modified car. Just in the picture I see incorrect wheels, tires, paint color, disc brakes and interior.

What I would do is soak that thing in carburetor cleaner, rinse it out in kerosene, then fill it with oil then turn it over and let it drip dry. Your rinse in kerosene will have to be done over and over to get all the particles out of it and the kerosene runs clear.

Buick is the only G.M. car to my knowledge that has two sources of outside air to the crankcase. The left side of the Buick engine has a filter breather that's louvered. Pontiac for instance uses a breather cap that's stuffed with wire and 1/2 of the cap has an air directing flange to move air into the crankcase and looks similar to the one below; That air comes from the engine fan and pressurizes the system constantly with fresh air, the system is vented by the road draft tube and the system is called " Pressure / Suction" crankcase ventilation. Normally, but not all cars have the road draft tube cut at an angle, but the best system does. Cutting the tube at an angle creates a low-pressure area under the tube when the car is driven to draw the blowby gasses out of the engine. ALL of these breathers MUST be cleaned every oil change (oil changes in the day were somewhere between 2000 and 3000 miles) and these breathers must be cleaned with (some old manuals say clean with gasoline) kerosene or paint thinner, then filled with engine oil and allowed to drip dry before reinstalling. The reason is so the oil coats the metal mesh and that takes dirt out of the air stream before going into the engine. If you want long engine life this system MUST be maintained. Interesting thing about the Buick straight eight is everyone forgets about the left side intake filter hiding behind everything.

Doesn't make a bit of difference to the Fed. So you will pay mileage tax to the Fed, and you will pay another mileage tax to the state.

No, they've ( Fed.) have already said they want this directly to them.

Modified to " It's a 1956 Cadillac " don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

Why is our local Toyota dealers lot empty and has been for several months?

This is for the FED. not the state gov.

Might be a good idea to buy pre OBD2, that way the gov has a harder time with the new mileage tax as they need your BCM to interface with the transponder you have to buy.

I hope you watched that movie! Occasionally it surfaces on TCM. The owner of the house and cars taste is Perfeck! Didn't know they made three tone Chevrolets.