Pontiac Tissue Dispenser

[misterc9]

I acquired this Pontiac Tissue Dispenser. NOS in box, but I don’t know what year and model it fits. Maybe someone here knows .GM

Edited August 23, 2022 by misterc9 (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

Packaging looks mid-50s. Going by the emblem I'll guess 54-59, Star Chief era.

 

Sometimes you'll find a date on the instruction sheet.

[The 55er]

I was going to suggest 1963-1964 era, this is just a guess. 

[John348]

I am pretty sure Pfeil will know it once he notice's this thread  

[Pfeil]

9 hours ago, John348 said:

I am pretty sure Pfeil will know it once he notice's this thread  

Sorry guys, just not into tissue dispensers but I concur with rocketraider. Contact Charles Coker in the Pontiac section as he is a POCI tech advisor (pontiac1953). 

[Larry Schramm]

12 hours ago, The 55er said:

I was going to suggest 1963-1964 era, this is just a guess. 

 

I agree.  Buick had a similar tissue dispenser about the same time.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[John348]

There is a part number on the box, so positive identification should be rather easy for someone with a Pontiac parts book

[Pfeil]

7 hours ago, John348 said:

There is a part number on the box, so positive identification should be rather easy for someone with a Pontiac parts book

Here is another angle. If you call California Pontiac Restorations 1 714 245 9800 with that part #, Rich over there can look up its application.

[Pfeil]

1965 Pontiac

1961 below;

Note that these tissue dispensers will not work on A/C cars because of the lower bi-level ducting

 

Another one in a 57;

 

And in a 56, however the early ones have the Indian head in the circle. I do know for a fact Bunkie Knudsen (Pontiac General Manager of Pontiac Mid 1956-the end of 1961 and oversaw the 1962 models) tried to remove all references of Indian image. Corporate legal said there must have at least one Indian head image, and so from 57 onwards the Indian head appears in the high beam indicator light. I don't know when this ended but my 1963 Pontiac has it and my 69 does not. Knudsen also to removed the silver streaks from the 57's nearly before production began and replaced them with the side spear.  

Edited August 24, 2022 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[EmTee]

10 hours ago, Pfeil said:

I don't know when this ended

The '66 Catalina my family owned still had it...

[TAKerry]

As a kid I thought the coolest thing about the Pontiacs that mom drove was the Indian head high beam indicator. I am pretty sure they were either very close to 1969 models or newer.  

[rocketraider]

My Pontiac bud did a little scouring last night and came up with 59-67 for this tissue box.

 

I don't ever remember seeing one like this in an Olds or Cadillac. Buick, Chevrolet and Pontiac, yes. My 65 Olds parts book lists 10 pages of accessories including the Valiant hand controls for handicapped drivers and "self-deicing wiper blades" but no tissue dispenser. 

 

In late 60s they did offer a small black grained plastic tissue box which could theoretically be painted to match the car's interior. Then in 70s they offered plastic tissue boxes and litter containers that mounted under the front seat. I've bought and sold a few of these over the years, but tissue dispensers weren't my thing either. 

[rocketraider]

Can't swear to Buick or Cadillac, but those high beam indicators were cool. Bowtie for Chevrolet, Chief Pontiac's head for Pontiac and Rocket for Oldsmobile. I think some later Pontiacs used the Arrowhead. Details like that were part of what set GM cars apart from the pack. I don't know of any other manufacturers who did that.

[PONTIAC1953]

I would say that tissue dispenser is for the mid 1960s, the very first dispenser offered about 1949 had a plain black face, then about 1951 the black face had the white encircled Chief's head profile on the right side, that changed during the 1953 model production year to a stainless steel or chrome plated face and having the Chief's head now centered and having the dual streak waterfall on both sides of the head, and now the dispenser swung out instead of tilting out, the embossed head for 1953 to 1955, was replaced in 1956 with a decal of the Chief's head, the face of the dispenser would change again like every couple of years. first picture shows the 1951 to early 1953 style, the second picture shows the mid 1953 to 1955 style in the 1954 Pontiac showroom album, the last picture shows the same dispenser shown in the 1955 Pontiac accessory booklet. 

[Pfeil]

As in the picture I show above the 57 has the new type of dispenser. I found that dispenser in my 1959 Pontiac accessory book and it's the new type. That accessory in 1959 cost $6.00, and as I mentioned before this accessory book states that the dispenser cannot be installed on cars with Air Conditioning.

[PONTIAC1953]

2 hours ago, Pfeil said:

As in the picture I show above the 57 has the new type of dispenser. I found that dispenser in my 1959 Pontiac accessory book and it's the new type. That accessory in 1959 cost $6.00, and as I mentioned before this accessory book states that the dispenser cannot be installed on cars with Air Conditioning.

well, my 1953 Chieftain Custom Catalina with the in dash 1954 Pontiac factory a/c and the rear 1955 Buick factory a/c doesn't interfer with the underdash tissue dispenser.

[The 55er]

In the 60s some factory AC equipped Pontiacs had the ducting mounted under the center & passenger side of the dashboard and there was no room to mount the tissue dispensers in the traditional location. 

[rocketraider]

Same with 68-72 Oldsmobile A-bodies. Then by 1970 or so most dashboards had been redesigned to where such an accessory wouldn't fit anywhere. 

 

May explain why the aforementioned Olds pieces were designed to either be spiked into the transmission tunnel carpet or slid under the passenger side front seat.

[Pfeil]

6 hours ago, pontiac1953 said:

well, my 1953 Chieftain Custom Catalina with the in dash 1954 Pontiac factory a/c and the rear 1955 Buick factory a/c doesn't interfer with the underdash tissue dispenser.

1965 Pontiac without A/C

 

1965 Pontiac with A/C;

 

 

[Larry Schramm]

Here is the Buick dispenser.

 

 

[kings32]

Had one in our 1950 Chrysler ,don't have the car but still have thetissue dispencer .

[PONTIAC1953]

16 hours ago, Pfeil said:

1965 Pontiac without A/C

 

1965 Pontiac with A/C;

 

 

I used to own and drive a 1966 Bonneville Safari Wagon with factory a/c

[WQ59B]

9771xxx is a '63 (and later) part number (on the instruction sheet for the template).
I have this exact same box/emblem, my grandfather told me it came out of his '57 Star Chief (...but he also had a '63 and a '66).
The design is definitely earlier than '63, I'd say very late '50s, but obviously the template may change as the dash did.

983xxx is not a Pontiac-sequence number, but perhaps GM accessories used a different system.