1930 Pontiac Phaeton

[rareindian]

I posted this in the Pontiac Oakland forum but thought I would post here to reach a larger group in my search. One of my many projects cars is 1930 Pontiac phaeton Stewart Body. Looking for anyone who may have seen another or has info of that may help in my restoration.

The '30 phaeton is a fairly complete project as all the phaeton unique items are there including top and unique door handles. What I want to really know is if anyone else has ever seen or heard of another in existence. I'm sure there is but in ten years of searching the internet, POCI rosters, magazines, car shows, etc. I can't even find so much as a photo or mention of one. The closest I've found is the 1930 Pontiac phaeton from the cover of Cars & Parts magazine years ago but that is an Australian Holden bodied car-not the U.S. Stewart built like mine. The cowl tag info:

THE W.F. STEWART CO.

FLINT, MICH

MODEL No 88-A

BODY No 103

If anyone has ever seen another or has information I would love to hear about it.

Rick

[Guest]

A brief description and two pictures in John Gunnels book "75 Years of Pontiac Oakland" page 100.

Don

[rareindian]

Yep have that and several pieces of 1930 Pontiac sales literature that provides a drawing and model listing. But, even all those are just drawings, not actual photographs. I haven't even been able to come up with even a copy of a factory photo-only sedans, coupes.

As Pontiac's total production figure for 1930 model-year was at an all time low with something like 58,206, I know there probably aren't too many around. But, all indications are beginning to make me think it may be the only one left around. I had no idea when I bought it, I just liked old Pontiacs and couldn't talk myself out of it.

If I could find another I would like to take some notes on the wood construction as several portions of the wood around the back section are gone. I may just have to approximate with something else of the same model year.

Rick

[Guest]

Cars and Parts, May 1990 pages 48-53 inclusive. Owned by William Schultz, Sr of Roserville, Mich. who bought it in 1979 and had it shipped from Australia.

Beautifull red phaeton, good article with lots of pictures.

[rareindian]

Hey Tinindian,

Yep that's the one I mentioned in my first post. But, it's a Holden built body not the Stewart body that was built in the USA. There's actually quite a bit of difference in the body shape as well as the windshield and top configurations. But, it (the Holden) is a beautiful car and I look forward to mine being in that condition some day.

Tinindian, as a new guy here on the forum I've been catching up with alot the posts here on early Pontiacs and looks like you and I could enjoy some long conversation!

Rick

[Guest]

Out of about 900 pictures I have of 1930 Pontiacs the only other phaeton is owned by Driver Brothers in Australia so it is probably a holend body as well.

[poci1957]

Rick, there is page here on Stewart that you might find interesting if you have not already seen it:

Coachbuilders, Coach Building, Coachbuilt Cars, Coachbuilding History, Encyclopedia of American Coach Builders & Coachwork

[rareindian]

Thanks, that was very interesting as I had never read much about W.F. Stewart Co. All I knew was their coach building for other companies, never knew they tried airplanes, too.

[earl e rizer]

My avatar is a 29 Canadian built Pontiac. I would love to see some pic's of the Stewart body car

[Guest]

I just recieved some literature that I purchased from Walter Miller. It is a General Motors Export booklet that lists 6-30 Pontiac S.U.P specifications. I try to pick up any information that I can on 1930 Pontiacs. This one has lots of specific information about cars shipped from Pontiac, Michigan. All the information seems to coincide with previous information that I have except that rims were all painted black (no mention of cadmium plating which other literature specifies) and open bodies were by "Oakland". The closed bodies were by Fisher. This is the first time I have heard of an open body Pontiac in north america no having a Stewart body.

It goes on to say that the top bows were natural finish with chrome plated slat irons. Haartz Double Texture Grey top material #W 1187. All of the other specification seem to coincide with all the other material I have. I just thought you might be interested.

[rareindian]

Reid,

That info on the top bows confirms then, as the metal shows show chrome. I wasn't sure if it was chrome from the factory or if somebody had chromed them at a later time. Some of the other pieces such as bumpers, windshield posts etc. seem to have been replated a long time ago and not a very good job I might add-pits and dings were not repaired and just plated over.

Thanks, I'll add your info to my 'phaeton file'.

Rick

[Dave Mellor NJ]

I'm sorry it's not a phaeton or a 30 but I'm sure you,ll be interested in seeing the 31 pontiac convertible getting auctioned in Chambersburg,Pa on Oct 4. see my post a few rows up.

[TG57Roadmaster]

rareindian,

Best of luck on your search; here's what I would do, if I were in your shoes.

First, I'd contact the AACA Library to see if they have any info on the W.F. Stewart Co.

Second, I'd contact the Free Library of Phila's. Automotive Collection for their complete MoToR collection,

and have them peruse specifically 1930, on the off chance there's a mention of any WFSC product. Look for

the "Show Numbers" (coverage of the many smaller-town shows & salons) where most manufacturers

showed a variety of body styles.

Third, I'd pour over every late-'29 to early-'31 issue of AutoBody Magazine, a coachbuilding trade mag, available at the Nat'l. Automotive History Collection (NAHC), Detroit Public Library.

Fourth, after determining what they may possess on WFSC, I'd make a trek to Flint's Sloan Museum, as they have likely the largest horde of items on Flint manufacturers. That, too, may be done with phone calls/correspondence, but being in a research environment personally can uncover alot, and lead to some amazing discoveries.

Fifth, I'd contact photo repositories like the Scharchburg Archive at Kettering University; since WFSC made 1,000's of Buick bodies, maybe "architectural" details can be learned from Buick photos.

Lastly, I'd make a weekly check on ebay, as some really obscure stuff pops up, as you're well aware.

Happy hunting,

TG

Edited September 21, 2010 by TG57Roadmaster (see edit history)