1948 Pontiac - $4,900 (Plainville, Ma)

[Gearheadengineer]

1948 Pontiac Silver Streak 8. In-line 8 cylinder engine. Fuel tank is in rough shape, I have the new tank for it. Will start and run on alternative fuel. Best offer please respond to email or call  show contact info . It has been in my family for over 45 years. I do not have a title for it.
 

https://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/d/plainville-1948-pontiac/7789997782.html

 

[deac]

These fastback Pontiacs are not easy to come by, at least in my travels, and it has the 8 cylinder too!  It looks like this on has heater and possibly and under-seat heater, under-hood light, and also the little bumpers over the main bumper.  This one is probably well optioned or a deluxe model.  I must note that the wiring is junk!  However for 4,900 dollars someone could consider bringing this back to at a least driver state.  For a restored one these Pontiacs can fetch a pretty good price...

Edited October 3 by deac (see edit history)

[Hans1965]

I am waiting for such a thing for years and then it has no title. Great color. Even with rear window wiper. But this car needs a lot of love now. These straight eights are really nice engines. Hydramatic car. Wiring really falls apart. The trunk handle looks like an elephant head. These Pontiacs have so many nice details. 

10 years ago I saw the same model here. Good paint and chrome, interior and wiring shot, too. For 14 grand. Is it very silly to still regret that I haven't bought that?

[m-mman]

“Done” cars cost money. 
Cars with needs (should) cost less.  
If you enjoy doing the work then a done car can be boring.  

There is no better way to truly learn about a make & model than to repair it yourself.  A car takes on a different feel when you have made it what it is today.  But it does take time and money.  

Wiring harnesses are not cheap (but cheaper than making your own) Installation has you crawling through the entire car and you really learn it. 
But plenty of people have done it. 
 

Rust repair can be evil. Unlimited amounts of time and money, and you need metal working and welding skills. 
But plenty of people have done it.  
 

Body and paint and chrome sucks up tremendous amount of time and chrome is always expensive. 
But plenty of people have done it. 
 

Missing title?  Yes, it is a hassle but making one is not that difficult. The last car I bought WITH a title was my 10 year old daily driver. All my collector cars seem to come without titles. I consider the ability to create a title an essential collector skill.  

I am so surprised that car people who can; weld rusty metal, make a fender out of a piece of sheet metal, apply paint such that it looks like a mirror, understand electrical circuits and theory without a color code or diagram become like frightened children about a car with a missing title.  

Creating a title is not that difficult in fact it is cheaper and quicker and easier than rust, paint, chrome, electrical or interior.  Plenty of people have done it. 

[Hans1965]

18 minutes ago, m-mman said:

Creating a title is not that difficult in fact it is cheaper and quicker and easier than rust, paint, chrome, electrical or interior.  Plenty of people have done it.

I certainly believe you, but I am not even close to the US. Export without a title - difficult to say the least, import in Europe without a title - I would not even try. I call myself mad, but not to that extent! 

 

Even with a US title in hand, when I go to my local DMV I am treated like a criminal, a really bad villain. Extra work, extra effort, extra everything. They hate me, nothing less.

[drhach]

No car that old in Connecticut will have a title. If he's the registered owner, you're fine. Maybe he's saying he isn't the registered owner which could be a different deal. In Illinois, I bought a Connecticut registered 1992 Jeep. The seller was able to prove that there was no way for him to tile a 20+ year old car. I researched the laws and took my chances. I had a bit of an argument with the lady at the DMV, but I made her prove her opinion on the matter and I walked out of there with an Illinois title in my name. 

[m-mman]

54 minutes ago, Hans1965 said:

I certainly believe you, but I am not even close to the US. Export without a title - difficult to say the least, import in Europe without a title - I would not even try. I call myself mad, but not to that extent! 

Ahhhhh yes. Export is a different situation.  So many rules (that were not written for our ancient cars) and people who don’t understand when something doesn’t fit into their daily routine. 
 

25 years ago I bought a 58 Imperial in Canada. It had been a California car when he bought it 10 years before that.  
He sent me a xerox of the long expired California title and I created the necessary paperwork to make a title in my name and get current plates.  I had not even paid for it yet. I flew in to drive it home. 
Crossing the border they asked what I was doing in Canada.  I told them I was visiting friends.  They looked at the (new) California plates and waved me through.  
It might be a little harder today, but when the car is titled and registered when you get it, there’s not much to discuss.  
 

31 minutes ago, drhach said:

I had a bit of an argument with the lady at the DMV, but I made her prove her opinion on the matter and I walked out of there with an Illinois title in my name. 

YUP!  That’s the way you do it!  You must know the rules better than they do.  You need to bring the printed text with you. 
You need to be prepared for come bureaucratic confrontation.  

If you go in knowing nothing, ask if something is possible and then take whatever they say as the truth, then you will have the problems. 

[deac]

Because I am a Pontiac guy and very curious I called the seller; eek!

This car is a project for sure.  Like I said earlier the wiring is junk. The sheathing has worn off the wire and  has bare wire showing through in various places. The front seat upholstery is worn through but the back is usable. There are rust holes in the trunk but no other rust exists. The engine was last started 5 years ago and it was last driven 25 years ago. He said the engine is okay. I think with a little TLC the engine will fire however after 25 years of sitting the automatic transmission is a craps shoot at best.

[daniel boeve]

2 hours ago, Hans1965 said:

I am waiting for such a thing for years and then it has no title. Great color. Even with rear window wiper. But this car needs a lot of love now. These straight eights are really nice engines. Hydramatic car. Wiring really falls apart. The trunk handle looks like an elephant head. These Pontiacs have so many nice details. 

10 years ago I saw the same model here. Good paint and chrome, interior and wiring shot, too. For 14 grand. Is it very silly to still regret that I haven't bought that?

I would first contact that shipping company in Holland and listen to what they say .Down here inn Belgium i had a cadillac that had NOTHING of paperwork or name or old plate , i mean nothing .bought it from a man who was gonna part it out .Down here  our gouvernment searched if it was not stolen or something not ok and after a year i did get the papers to go on and 2 weeks later everything was ok .I drove the car .

You can also change the chassis with a chassis that has a title .

[m-mman]

Another thought about automobile titles. The “title” issued from the DMV is NOT any guarantee of your undisputed right to that vehicle.  
 

About every year or so, a story pops up.  A guy buys an expensive collector car from a dealer (important point) He has it for a few months it is titled in his name. Then the police come knocking to impound the “stolen” vehicle.  
 

The car’s history is that it was stolen 20, sometimes 50 years ago.  It has been documented to have passed through many dealers and several states.  Each time a “title” (or registration) was issued to that owner. 
 

Now the one guy who had it last loses all his rights to it and gets no recourse.  None of the dealers or government agencies are responsible for verifying (certifying?) that anyone had a legal indisputable claim of ownership.  
 

Stolen 20? 50? Years earlier? I have always been told that no government agency keeps records that long, but now they are easily(?) accessed and deemed current.  
 

There have even been situations where the car was an old junker when it was stolen and the current owner spent a fortune restoring it.  All that money gone.  And there is no path for a car owner to get any type of government assurances that it is not stolen BEFORE they do the restoration.  
 

So whatever you guarantee of ownership you think a government document is good for, in reality it means nothing. 

[daniel boeve]

5 minutes ago, m-mman said:

Another thought about automobile titles. The “title” issued from the DMV is NOT any guarantee of your undisputed right to that vehicle.  
 

About every year or so, a story pops up.  A guy buys an expensive collector car from a dealer (important point) He has it for a few months it is titled in his name. Then the police come knocking to impound the “stolen” vehicle.  
 

The car’s history is that it was stolen 20, sometimes 50 years ago.  It has been documented to have passed through many dealers and several states.  Each time a “title” (or registration) was issued to that owner. 
 

Now the one guy who had it last loses all his rights to it and gets no recourse.  None of the dealers or government agencies are responsible for verifying (certifying?) that anyone had a legal indisputable claim of ownership.  
 

Stolen 20? 50? Years earlier? I have always been told that no government agency keeps records that long, but now they are easily(?) accessed and deemed current.  
 

There have even been situations where the car was an old junker when it was stolen and the current owner spent a fortune restoring it.  All that money gone.  And there is no path for a car owner to get any type of government assurances that it is not stolen BEFORE they do the restoration.  
 

So whatever you guarantee of ownership you think a government document is good for, in reality it means nothing. 

Down here I can buy a car that has been stolen .I can buy a car in full confidence not knowing it was ever stolen .As soon as I buy it from a person  who bought it from somebody else also unknown it was stolen I can keep it .Of course it will be investigated and you must be clean and not come out of jail a week before .Would be very suspicious .

[lhend50]

Titles are getting more and more difficult, but, not impossible. In VA you can apply for an abandon vehicle title. Cost a few bucks and takes a month or two, but you get a legitimate title. One problem is states that drop legitimate title out of the data base. I had a friend who had a Model A for decades, keep it title and registered in his name. When he passed, his wife took the title in and asked to have it transferred into her name. They refused, asked for a tracing of engine number, which over the years had been changed. Don't know how it got resolved. I had a car trailer registered in NJ, lost my title during a move. Trailer had been register in NJ for 20 years, I went to DMV asked to have my lost title replaced. Handed the lady my current registration, she says, trailer is not in our data base, it doesn't exist. I took in a tracing of the Vin, she said, it's only 4 digits, no good. After a long discussion, they gave me title by adding 2 letters to the beginning of the VIN. It's crazy, but doable. 

 

[58L-Y8]

"...and chrome sucks up tremendous amount of time and chrome is always expensive."

 

One saving grace about Pontiacs is they seem to use a lot more stamped stainless steel for the brightwork trim rather than pot-metal.

[Gearheadengineer]

17 hours ago, deac said:

Because I am a Pontiac guy and very curious I called the seller;

Thanks for taking that step! I purposely avoided it because I’m not far away and I might be tempted to bring it home. Sounds like a manageable project with potential. I like the styling of this body style. 

 

18 hours ago, drhach said:

No car that old in Connecticut will have a title.

Fun fact: while CT doesn’t REQUIRE a title on older cars, you can get one. I just went through the process. It required some study and quite a bit of patience and persistence. I had a bill of sale from the previous owner (in MA) and a 30 year old registration from the owner before that (from GA). 
 

For cars without a title, the CT DMV has a document that explains the CT laws on older cars. Intended for use at another state’s DMV. If I remember right, the document is available on the DMV web site. 

[deac]

36 minutes ago, Gearheadengineer said:

Thanks for taking that step! I purposely avoided it because I’m not far away and I might be tempted to bring it home. Sounds like a manageable project with potential. I like the styling of this body style.

oh yeah I forgot to mention that the seller wants to get rid of it and is negotiable!  Very tempting!

Edited October 4 by deac (see edit history)

[Gearheadengineer]

56 minutes ago, deac said:

oh yeah I forgot to mention that the seller wants to get rid of it and is negotiable!

Noooooo! I don’t need to know that. 😄

[Hans1965]

I got in touch with the seller and asked him for more photos. He wants to add them to the craigslist posting. But he gets a lot of inquiries. Might be gone very soon. 

[deac]

3 hours ago, Hans1965 said:

I got in touch with the seller and asked him for more photos. He wants to add them to the craigslist posting. But he gets a lot of inquiries. Might be gone very soon. 

At a $4,900 price this will be gone quickly; like by the end of this weekend!

Edited October 4 by deac (see edit history)