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Restoring my Canadian 57 Pontiac.

This made it easy to restore everything that came off the dash.

She was a very solid Alberta, Canada car in paint that was put on in the 1970's.

Sometimes I wish I had left the car in this two tone green because the paint was excellent. I was driven to build the car as my dad had owned one in silver and white.

All body panels were made straight.

Being a solid Alberta, Canada car it required very little body work. That is what sold me on this car in the first place.

All glass was reset in new rubber seals.

Car was repainted in base coat clear coat in an exact match of the original silver and white paint. I used original 1957 GM paint chips to match up the colors.

When I picked it up from the paint shop.

Redid all window seals including all wind cord.

Completed 57 261 in line six cylinder engine. I did everything to it that could possibly be done.

Restored parts in storage until I was ready to put the car together.

Rebuilding the odometer that did not turn and discovering how the speedo works with that drum set up.

The door panels are the original 1957 panels which I dyed. Everything else was replaced with new interior items.

Original restored engine bay. Many items here are 57 Chevrolet issue. You put a Canadian and American Pontiac side by side and you can see all the differences. The biggest difference being the engines. Canadian Pontiac's came with 261 in line sixes and 283 V-8's. American Pontiac's only came with the 347 V-8.

Original interior lay out for 57 Pontiac Path Finder Deluxe. As some folks will notice, the steering wheel is all 57 Chevrolet except for the Pontiac emblem.

My 57 Pontiac Pathfinder Deluxe sedan is a Canadian issue Pontiac, meaning it is based on a Chevrolet and not an American Pontiac. I purchased the car in May 1996 in Omeme, Ontario, Canada. The car was built in July 1957 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada by GM Canada and was sold in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada by a dealer named AMOS in that town. The car ended up coming back to Ontario in 1979 to its birth place of Ontario. My dad Anthony (1927-1993) bought the same car in 1959 and kept it until 1970, I was born in 1958 so I grew up with the car and have fond memories of it. I rebuilt everything on my 57 before I decided to do the body and paint. I collected many 57 accessories for the car because I am accessory crazy. The car was very solid being an Alberta car and that minimized the body work. I drive the car on average 4,000 miles to shows and cruises every year. This car has been a real joy since 1996 and I hope to continue the time travel. Cheers.

Original issue for Canadian Pontiac 261 in line six cylinder engine.

Original 261 in line six cylinder engine with 148 h.p. and that is enough to haul this car around.

Out of this world rare accessory vacuum ash tray unit. It works really well.

The relay and main control box for the Autronic Eye automatic head light dimmer unit. Everything works.

Made this up for car show events.

Original accessory spot light and also equally hard to find original antenna bezel.

Traffic light viewer and compass.

Factory/dealer Autronic Eye automatic head light dimmer and it works great.

Very rare accessory compass.

The looks of an original tar top battery but it is a modern battery in hiding.

Factory/dealer accessory sun visor. I have always loved these useful accessories.

Angle of factory/dealer accessory sun visor.

Original script of Pontiac Buick dealer that sold my car new in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.

Very rare litter container. I bought this N.O.S. in the box never used.

Another view of rare Autronic Eye unit.

Engine bay decal detail.

Glove box door detail.

Rare dealer installed vacuum ash tray.

Another angle of vacuum ash tray.

Mileage as of 2021. I zeroed the odometer in 1997 when I restored the car.

Dealer manual windshield washer system. It is operated with a foot pedal.

Factory original AM radio and clock.

Dealer installed vent shades. Practical and stylish, I always thought.

Original bug screen. Makes the chore of picking out bugs in the core a non issue.

Factory installed electric wiper motor. Miles ahead of the standard issue vacuum set up.

Dealer issued oil filter set up. Only filters about 15% of the oil at a time because it is not full flow. This system is called a by pass system and is there only for looks, as far as I am concerned.

Dealer installed passenger side spot light. I have always loved these functional accessories.

I replaced the single master system with this dual master for safety. I love originality but the added safety of this conversion is well worth the effort.

I tied in the front lines to the front of the master and the rear lines to the back of the master in this manner. There was no need for a proportioning valve what so ever.

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Comments

57timemachine on Nov 16, 2020 said:

I just feel the need to clarify, that this 57 is not the very same car my mom and dad had. It is an exact copy of our family's 57 except for the many accessories I have added. Cheers.

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Mario on Nov 29, 2020 said:

Beautiful restoration of your 57 Pontiac George. Since you made it an exact copy of your Dad's car then I would say your Dad is very happy that you honor him this way. Cheers, Mario.

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57timemachine on Nov 29, 2020 said:

Mario, very sadly my dad passed on July 16, 1993 from cancer. Three years before I bought the 57 Pontiac. My dad did get to see my many other vintage cars that I built. He was always a big fan of the 57 Chev Bel Air I built and he would come see it often as I did a body off resto on it a number of years ago. Of all my dads GM cars that he owned, he always said that his 57 Pontiac was his favorite. He always felt it was the most reliable of all the cars he owned. That is until the motor finally blew because of very high mileage by 1970. Cheers.

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azmusclecar on Dec 4, 2020 said:

Nothing better than a vinyl front bench seat and some twisties to bring your girl tight up against you. Of course that being your wife she complained I was driving like a kid. Wow, killjoy. I guess I won't bother to take her and the station wagon to inspiraton point. Tonight it's called Frustration Point.

Beautiful restoration.

My uncle was a tried and true POINTYA** mechanic most of his life. I would sit on the milk box in front of the house waiting to see his car with the golden Indian Head lit on the hood and knew it was him coming down the street.

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Mario on Jan 3, 2021 said:

Happy New Year George! Just admiring the detailed painstaking work you did with the 57 Pontiac resto. I'll bet a lot of Love went into this project and kept you going. Enjoy your beauty, cheers, Mario.

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57timemachine on Jan 3, 2021 said:

Happy New Year to you too Mario. I did not go as far with my 57 Pontiac as I went with my 57 Chev, as far as the restoration goes. I did an extensive body on restoration with the Pontiac, not a body off like the Chev. Thanks for the kind words, it is always appreciated. Cheers.

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Mario on Jan 3, 2021 said:

By the way Brandon was able to make it so anyone can add photos to your Inliners page. I added a pix of my Dad's 71 Chevelle straight 6. Mario

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Mario on Feb 2, 2021 said:

Great restoration George on your 57 Pontiac. You must be anxious to take it out for a drive now that we're in the middle of winter. Cheers, Mario

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57timemachine on Feb 2, 2021 said:

Like most true gear heads, winter is always brutal. Not being able to drive one of the toys is pure murder. I suppose it makes us enjoy them even more, once spring gets here. You lucky guys in the down south have no idea what I am talking about and I envy you folks for that. Come early April if weather permits, out come the toys from deep winter hibernation. Cheers.

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Mario on Feb 3, 2021 said:

I know what you mean George we just had a foot and a half of snow dumped on us on Long Island, NY! Some places got 2 feet! It will be around for several days since temps are below freezing. And the PA Groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter! Cheers, Mario

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57timemachine on Mar 8, 2021 said:

Mario, here in Southern Ontario we are getting spring like weather in very early March. I hope that ground hog is very wrong because I am really getting the old car shakes right now.

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Mario on May 7, 2021 said:

George I like the silver and white color combo and glad you painted it that color in honor of your Dad. I agree with your Dad with that color combo. Cheers!

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57timemachine on May 8, 2021 said:

It was a very seldom seen two tone colour combination, then as well as now. Maybe it was too subdued for most 50's folks then. Mostly wild vivid two tones and colours were chosen then. My 57 was originally two tone green and looked real fine like that but something over came me to do my car as my dads car was. Cheers.

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Mario on May 20, 2021 said:

Great pictures George on the unique options in your 57 Pontiac. Cheers.

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azmusclecar on May 20, 2021 said:

George, is that the original color of the engine?

I don't have the greatest set of peepers anymore but it that like gray or green?

Maybe I need to invest in an Autronic eye.....

Is that color the official color for Canada?

I somehow thought Pontiac was blue.....but then again what do I know.........

and my posts prove it.............

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57timemachine on May 21, 2021 said:

Rob, Canadian issued 261 GM in line six cylinder engines for Pontiac's from 1955 to 1962 were painted green. The Canadian built 235 six cylinder Chevy's were blue like their American counter parts. There were some slight shade differences between some of those years from 1955 to 1962. Cheers.

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azmusclecar on May 22, 2021 said:

Ahhhhhhhh, it was worth getting up today to read this........I feel smarter today than I did yesterday. But let's not test that theory.

Boy that would make a great tough trivia question at a car show.

Thanks for the reply....I may need to use this info against my cousin in a Classic Car bench racing conversation........

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57timemachine on Nov 20, 2021 said:

Rob, I know this is a very delayed response but you never fail to crack me up. Cheers to you brother for having an amazing sense of humor, especially in today's nutty times. Cheers.

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Mario on Mar 19, 2022 said:

Hi George, I hope all is well. I haven't heard from you in a while. Cheers!

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57timemachine on Apr 17, 2022 said:

Thankfully I have never had any hang ups on how many doors a car has. I am into cars and not the amount of doors a car has. I love all forms of vintage cars and have never discriminated. Things are not like they use to be years ago, when a nice solid four door gave up its life for a rusted mess two door. Most folks now have seen the light and appreciate a car for more than the sum of its doors. I have seen for many years now countless four doors being restored properly. Cheers.

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57timemachine on Aug 21, 2022 said:

Mario, as always I appreciate your decent opinions. Cheers.

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Mario on Oct 13, 2023 said:

George the dual master update was a much needed safety precaution and good you did that. I agree safety is always most important over originality.

Your '57 Pontiac always looks like it just came off the showroom floor. Cheers my friend, Mario

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Restoring my Canadian 57 Pontiac.

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