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1929 Phaeton in NZ


nzcarnerd

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These photos were posted on a local facebook page from a meet in Nelson, at the top of the South Island, about a day's drive from me.

 

To me that body style is a 'tourer' or touring to you in the USA, but I see from my copy of The Standard Catalog it is referred to as a 'phaeton'.

 

As you will see from its registration sticker whoever registered it, or whoever the clerk was who transferred the words, couldn't spell.

 

I guess an unmolested open body 1929 Pontiac would be quite a find, especially in right hand drive. Might be the only one in existence?

 

Many years ago I was fortunate to obtain a list of Pontiacs imported to New Zealand by GMNZ. It tells me that only two (yes 2) tourers were imported in 1929. Whereas the sedans were locally assembled (from CKD - completely knocked down - packs) the other body styles were imported fully assembled - (SUP - single unit pack).

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Neat looking car.

Pontiac always referred to their four door open cars as "Phaeton".  Always as in '29 and '30 the only years they were available complete with a "Stewart" manufactured body.  There is a 1930 that was imported from Australia and written up in  article in Cars and Parts, May 1990. Many technical errors in text but many full colour pictures in article,  I have a copy if anyone wants an emailed copy.

Thanks for sharing nzcarnerd.

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That 29 Phaeton is stunning and it looks to be a Stewart bodied car. 

 

That 1930 Phaeton that Reid mentioned in the old Cars & Parts article was actually a Holden bodied car-built down under.  Comparing it to my 1930 Stewart built Phaeton, you can see lots of differences in every body panel and even windshield frame.  Sorry, I couldn't find pics of just my phaeton but you can barely see it beside the sedan shell.  I so wish my 30 was in the condition of that 29.  One reason I haven't yet tackled mine is I keep building my skills or I know I will need a lot of help in repairing a couple of  body panels that someone 'goofed' up back in the day.

1930 Pontiac sedan mine frt.jpg

1930 Pontiac sedan mine rr.jpg

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A close up of the Stewart body plate.

 

The plate below it is the modern 17 digit vin number which is attached by the local registration authority to any car which is reregistered after a period in which its registration has lapsed. The same goes for any older car which is imported. If you don't want one of those ugly plates on your firewall you can choose to have the number stamped on the chassis. That is what I did with the 1929 Plymouth we put back on the road in 1996.

 

 

44907339_10218249547254771_3037431610812137472_o - Copy.jpg

 

Perhaps I should make it clear here that the NZ and Australian markets were always quite different particularly in regards to import rules and regulations. Australia encouraged their own coach building industry by taxing any fully imported bodies.

 

I don't know what the tariff regime was here in NZ in the early years but after NZ suffered a 'balance of payments crisis'  in 1938 (which coincided with brief a downturn in the US economy), a whole raft of import restrictions were put in place. These encouraged much local manufacture of all sorts of things. It was only in the 1980s that the economy was opened up and now we have one of the least restrictive tariff systems. Local car assembly finally finished in the 1990s. I think it coincided with cars becoming more sophisticated and complicated.

 

Australian  bodied cars were only sold new in Australia in the pre WW2 era. A few Holden body GM cars have found their was to NZ in later years - I have a Holden body 1934 Buick awaiting restoration.

 

Any information regarding basic details of cars registered in NZ can be found on carjam.

 

https://www.carjam.co.nz/car/?plate=fcw547

 

Looking at some of the details in that report it is obvious the car does not have a working speedometer. That is not required for a car first registered before 1936.

 

Of course any information there is only as good as what is provided by the owner.

 

 

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