In 1957, the Chieftain was Pontiac’s entry-level car. But it was on a trim level that may have been equivalent to the Chevrolet Bel Air. The two cars shared the same platform but rode on a different wheelbase (122 for the Pontiac, 115 for the Chevy). The seller has a nice ’57 Chieftain that looks every bit like a restored car, though the seller is uncertain about a few things (including the model). Located in Mandan, North Dakota, this classic from the era of tailfins and Pontiac’s “Star Flight Styling” is available here on eBay for $26,999 (though offers will be entertained). Kudos to “Curvette” for another killer tip!
You had three choices of Pontiac in 1957: Chieftain, Super Chief, and Star Chief (the latter rode on a 124-inch wheelbase). The high-end Bonneville was an option on the Star Chief in ’57 and soon became Pontiac’s top model. The three stars on the rear fenders and the Chieftain script on the front fenders identify this automobile as such (couldn’t the seller have consulted the title or run the VIN?). A variety of body styles were offered except for a convertible.
The seller believes the 347 cubic inch V8 is original and stock. The only changes are to the air cleaner and alternator (was an upgrade made from a generator?). A 3-speed manual transmission takes care of the shifting of gears. The heater has been pulled, but replacing it should not be a hardship (does the seller still have the parts?). Since the engine has at least 64 cubic inches more than a ’57 Bel Air, wouldn’t the Pontiac be faster?
Appearance-wise, what’s here to fault? The body and paint look solid, though the rear fender skirts are clearly a 1950s thing. The interior looks ship-shape and wears a set of those see-through seat covers that your grandma used to like. They could easily be removed if you don’t care about them. The seller is losing storage, so this car is the odd man out (we assume he/she has others that will be kept).
Probably my favorite era for cars were the years 55 to 57 in any make. This car is gorgeous. Those plastic seat covers were a popular add on back then. They were hot in summer, cold in winter, and tended to yellow over time, but did an excellent job of protecting the upholstery. I’ve seen many 30+ year old cars where the were so yellowed you couldn’t see the seat, but when removed the upholstery was like new. I like this car and the price seems very fair to me for a turn key classic.
This appears to be a nice and extremely rare Pontiac. I’ve never seen another 2-door hardtop with a manual transmission. It’s not perfect, but someone did a lot of expensive work to rebuild it to this point.
The text of the ad is poor. He doesn’t explain any mechanical flaws, so I guess everything works perfectly. Yeah… that could be.
The missing heater parts won’t be easy to find in good condition. I believe they go under the front seat. The air cleaner, hubcaps, spare, and jack aren’t common junkyard parts either. My guess is that it’s got a two-barrel carb, but I can’t see it below that fonky-donkey aftermarket air cleaner.
I’d install the missing stock parts, fix the flaws (headliner, brakes?, old tires?, engine?, whatever), install power steering, lose those hideous skirts, and replace the cherry bomb mufflers. At that point it would be worth about $25,000 if there’s no hidden rust. With transport and taxes, I’d have spent over $35,000. Not too bad if I wanted to keep this car forever.
At least no continental kit.
Generally speaking, I like factory fender skirts but, they do nothing for this car. The color isn’t the best for this car either.
In high school, a friend of mine had one in the copper color with chrome reverse that were topped with baby moons and no fender skirts. Now that one, I thought, looked pretty cool.
bought a 57chieftian for $75 with my high school graduation money 1967. dark gray automatic and fast . had to sell it when i went into the service to a friend, tried tracking it down when i returned to no avail . my very favorite car . have a promo model of one .yes didn’t need fender skirts
I like this car right here but those fenderskirts, (my Dad would’ve loved those), need to be placed in the trunk to never be seen again. I wonder how much of a nightmare finding heater parts, (and how expensive that’s gonna be), and if any of the original missing heater components are presented with this jewel? I’m intimately familiar with the clear plastic seat covers and they do appear to maintain the upholstery in fine form. You absolutely don’t want to jump in there shirtless for a spin if the car has been, (God forbid), sitting out in the direct sunlight for any length of time or you’ll get worse flashburns than you will from welding without a shirt! I still think it’s a beautiful car though.
Beautiful Poncho!!
If not mistaken, there were like only 50 Bonnevilles in 57 and they were fuel injected. Than maybe I am mistaken.
More like 630 ’57 Bonnevilles produced — supposedly one for every Pontiac dealership — but some say only about 50 survive. All were convertibles with fuel injection. It was a halo car meant to signal the transformation of the rather unexciting brand into one with some serious performance cred.
I’ve seen two or three ’57 Bonnevilles over the years at SoCal car shows. One even had the rare factory A/C. Stunning cars in person.
Nice ’57. Too bad it doesn’t have the “through the bumper” exhaust. Those required constant maintenance to keep them clean but were uber cool!
“I really don’t want to sell it, but I’m losing storage and something has to go.” ~ I call BS. He doesn’t even know if it’s a Chieftain or not, isn’t sure what engine it has, and HE’S A USED CAR DEALER with several other vehicles listed on e-bay ~ not a private collector. This car needs heat/AC installed as well as a power disc brake conversion, plus who knows what else. I feel $20K would be much more in line. Plus I don’t trust used car dealers. I got taken on one like this once. The first lie he told me was “I’m not a used car dealer, just a private collector.” The second lie was “I don’t really want to sell it but I need the room and something has to go.” Then when I got the paperwork guess what ~ he’s a used car dealer.
If nothing else, beautiful baby blue and white. Those seat covers sure bring back memories!