- Seller: Mark R (Contact)
- Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Mileage: 72,500 Shown
- Chassis #: K756S2410
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: 287 V8
- Transmission: 3-Speed Manual
The seller has this 1956 Pontiac listed as a Chieftain, which Hagerty says was the base-level trim, and it may be that model. It’s hard to tell, at least for me, despite so much information and so many brochures showing the different trim levels. The VIN shows that it was built in Kansas City, it’s a 1956, and has a standard transmission. The seller has it listed here as a Barn Finds Exclusive, and they’re asking $20,000.
The first car I remember as a kid in the 1960s was our 1956 Pontiac, seen in this pic at our grandpa’s house, probably around 1967’ish. In looking at the photos of it now, I have no clue what the exact model was. It was a four-door post, just as this car is a two-door post, but ours had little chrome shields over the taillights, and the Chieftain has plain taillight trim rings. The other features look similar. The seller says this car was originally Hialeah Green, but was repainted in this two-tone scheme.
The second-generation Pontiac Chieftain was made for the 1955, 1956, and 1957 model years, and they came in a wide variety of body styles. Sadly, a convertible wasn’t available after the first generation, so I made a quick one here. The third generation was only made for the 1958 model year, and that was it for this model.
The seller is very light on photos, unfortunately. For such a nice-looking, restored car, I don’t understand why there weren’t two dozen or more photos added to the listing. Maybe they would send more photos to anyone who is interested. The interior has been redone, and the door panels aren’t what would have been the original style or pattern. I’m assuming the seat design and fabric are different as well. It all looks good, though, and this car has a three-speed manual on the column. Our black and white ’56 sedan had an automatic ($188), a power front bench seat ($93), and power steering ($108), so this one appears to be a really basic model.
Sadly, the seller didn’t bother to pop the hood to show us the rebuilt engine. Another mystery of 2025. The trunk looks great, though. This car has Pontiac’s base V8 engine, a 287.2-cu.in. OHV V8 with 170 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. It’s sent through the three-speed column-shifted manual to the rear wheels, and they say it runs and drives as a 1950s car should. It was owned by their grandfather since new, but was parked from 1956 through 1978; so sadly, it sounds like he didn’t get a chance to enjoy it. Please check out the photos and let us know your thoughts on this 1956 Pontiac!
While I understand old car memories in pricing, the real world will probably be closer to mid teens.
Your Right JIM! At 78 years old and having done body and paint work for 50+ years I like the rigs I could afford to drive to high school to look cool! The Late 30s and early to mid 50s cars still appeal to me whereas most of these kids today have never learned how to drive a stick shift but I don’t think you could Give them an early 50s car or turck. Just No Appeal to them. They are into the 60s through even up to the early 90s stuff. I guess they say “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder!” but I Still like to look at the occasional late 20s to early cars and trucks but they are few and far between. Especially the 29 to 30 coupes! Those were my Favorite.
According to the 75 Years of Pontiac book, there were 2 different versions of this model. Style number 2719 was the 860 series (special trim) and the 870 was Style number 2719D (deluxe trim). The 870 had visored tail lights, an extra chrome belt molding below the door windows and full wheel covers compared to the the 860 with ring tail lights, no belt molding below the windows and small hubcaps, The 870 could be ordered with a higher grade interior which may explain why Scotty’s photo of the front door may be different from the 860 we see here. Still a really nice car, GLWTS!
Thanks for the great information, numskal!
This was factory built as an 860 two door sedan.
That’s a nice car! I sure wouldn’t kick it off my driveway. Through the years I worked on a few of them but they were pretty much relegated to the salvage yards by that time. Lots of those engines (287-347) in GMC trucks that saw our shop though.
They were actually a good engine. About the only problem I saw with them is broken rocker studs, or studs that worked their way out of the heads. But I don’t think you could work one of those engines to death; you had to kill them with a stick.
Good car for someone. This round won’t go to me though, unless there’s a major change tonight…
This is a great old Pontiac. And it’s not something you see a lot of either. Its sad that Grandpa didn’t get to enjoy his pride and joy more. Love the V8 and a stick too. Scotty, I really enjoyed your photo from ’67 with you and your brother hanging out the window. I’ll bet a lot of us did that when we were that age. I couldn’t help but notice the trailer hitch too. I wonder what your parents towed with it? I’d be ecstatic to own this one.
8 cylinders, 3 pedals, and 2 doors. What’s not like. If I had an extra 20K and a garage I’d be on my way to buy this. If it was a Chevy it would be twice the price, but i always liked these better. And there isn’t as many of these.
1956 should be equipped with the 317 cu.in. engine.. 287 was 1955.. am i right ??
Interesting point. There was a guy in our car club, had a ‘56 sedan-delivery and it had a 287 (some say 288), but it was about as basic as you could get. Some local farmers had V8-powered ‘56 GMCs. Two had 4-speeds, one ran a Hydramatic and the other was a 3-speed. Call me a dummy but I just thought they were 287s. Of course you could put a 287 and a 347 side by side on the floor and they look the same.
The big GMC trucks had 317s in ‘56 and by ‘57 everything Pontiac or GMC was powered by 347s.
I overhauled a couple of 347s, one in a tandem LCF truck, and the other in a ‘57 Surburban Carrier (like the Chevy Cameo Carrier).
Of course, this was back in the 70s. The cars were pretty much gone, by then but pickups were still plentiful and some of those big trucks are still around today.
I tried to buy that Suburban Carrier but it was no dice.
In the Chinook Belt, between Great Falls, MT, and Calgary, Canada, there was very little salt used on the roads so, to some dealers’ dismay, vehicles lasted a whole lot longer.
I’m thinking you are right. I’ve looked it up and it says 56 was a 317.
I think you’re right, Raoul-F! I did see that, but the seller has it listed as a 287, so I went with that. I should have mentioned the difference; my apologies, thanks for catching that.
You are correct Raoul, 1955’s came with a 287, ’56s with 316. The story is that I had sold this car back in 1985. Twenty some years later I tracked the car down regretting selling it and found it in Alpena Michigan. I didn’t know the engine was swapped until I had an engine rebuild.
For future reference: It’s spelled “Chieftain.” Otherwise, nice write up.
Arrrrgh! I thought I had changed those, Kurt. Sorry about those embarrassing typos. Thanks for catching that.
This is pretty neat, but let’s call a spade a spade, while pops didn’t drive it much, someone accumulated 70K on it, I wonder if grammy grams finally got her license, and drove the old man around. A stick, not bloody likely. 70K isn’t something a grandchild would put on, or it wouldn’t look like this. Maybe, something doesn’t add up and in my usual demeanor, the stick is going to kill any sale. I know, I know, but seriously, who do you know that rows through the gears on a column shift today? Anyone? When I’m pushing daisies, and all these cars are unsold, you can say, by golly, that old fart was right,,a darn shame. Look at this car, its outstanding condition is attractive, and an automatic, while well worth the $188 bucks when new, could have guaranteed a sale today.
I would question this: “I wonder if grammy grams finally got her license, and drove the old man around. A stick, not bloody likely.” I am old enough to remember the Grams of the 50s. They were tough old girls. Many survived immigration from foreign lands, the great depression, world wars and nearly constant bitter struggles. If it was something that had to be done, they did it. Heck, even my 92 pound five foot tall mom drove cars with a “three on the tree” well into the sixties.
Howard I don’t quite get your usual anti-stick rant.
As a teenager in the 1970’s I learned to drive our 70 Torino with 3 on the tree and loved it. Was more fun than the other option, 72 mercury wagon with a 460 auto. Though hitting the 4s on the v-8 were audibly unbeatable.
What I’m getting at is even as a kid I knew what was the better driving experience, without being told. If kids today had the option of a stick in a plain jane like that old Torino there might be a few more up and comers willing to buy.
Just about everything on the market today tries to take the driving experience away from us. Look at Tesla. And they do it overloading any basic a-b transportation with fixed option packages charging exorbitant prices! Give me something I can buy without going in to deeper debt.
But I’m just an old f—t sounding off. My daily is a 30 yr old gas fired mercedes wagon and the other is the wife’s 2012 Fiat 500 Pop, 4 cyl, 5 spd. Guess which I drive more often?
Uh – grammy grams not likely to drive a stick on the column??? — Are you kidding us??!!! Prior to the slush-box automatics becoming more sophisticated and reliable, MOST cars had 3 on the tree sticks. Up until my parents bought their ’49 Pontiac that had an automatic – ALL of their cars were 3 on the tree sticks. My grandmother had a ’49 Ford with the ubiquitous Ford 3 on the tree stick shift, and she drove that car like a drag racer – speed shifting through the gears to make that Ford flat head six sing for its supper. I loved riding with her when she’d come to pick me up for the weekend. — EVERYONE of driver age back then knew how to drive stick shifts – or they simply didn’t drive. And “today” it’s a great blast from the past to drive one, which a LOT of classic car buyers absolutely LOVE to do to bring back the feeling of the ole days. I don’t know what’s your beef here, but I think you may want to have the ole memory-box checked out – some of its gears may be slipping.
Howard – Not sure of your experience in the era when this was built, but my Mom had no difficulty in driving a column-shifted manual. My grandmother didn’t drive but loved to ride on the back of my Dad’s Harley VLH.
Yeah – evidently Pontiac played loosey-goosey with their model designations of the 50s. My ’57 Pontiac was designated a Chieftain, but had several upgrades that came on Star Chiefs and Bonnevilles. It had two-tone paint, automatic tranny, factory AC, power brakes (but not power steering – weird), carpeting, cloth seats with vinyl trim, and dual exhaust. It may have been special ordered that way (by someone with lumberjack shoulders) – or there was a Chieftain option for these upgrades. I think they may have just gone with the flow – and changed things on the fly month to month in response to their sales numbers. Otherwise – ?????
My granny would chirp the tires going into second after smoking the right rear tire a cross the intersection in her 1956 Chevy 265 3 on the tree. Next time around Dad got her an automatic ’56 Olds2door hardtop. With a cam, 4 barrel and dual exhaust. That car really flew!
Both my kids learned to drive on manual transmission. (Turbo Mustang and Mom’s Subaru 5 speed) Many times my daughter was pressed into service at the body shop office she worked at in high-school and college. To transport a vehicle because no one else that worked there could drive a stick.
In regards to the door cards and upholstry, they are correct for the car as built. SMS fabrics supplied the correct pattern and quality of the seats. I supplied the trim codes off the tag on the cowling. While they did reproduce the door cards, they neglected adding the correct matching grey color of the seat back rests. This was added by me using quality vinyl spray paint. I didn’t want to wait any longer for them to make another set. They’re worth it but takes forever.