The 1949 Chieftain and Streamliner would be Pontiac’s first new designs since the end of World War II. The former would be the entry level model and the latter more upscale, but they shared the same new B-body and engines. It would be the first time in 15 years that all Pontiacs rode on the same wheelbase. A continuation of that new design, this 1951 Chieftain is a project car today that was purchased 25 years ago the same way. It’s been garage-kept, but some furry creatures have tried to call it home. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it’s available here on eBay where eight bids have hit $4,051 with no reserve.

Pontiac’s would be a part of the product line-up for 10 years though 1958 (my folks owned one of those; what a tank it was!). Interior lighting – something you’d take for granted today – was standard equipment in these cars. Before they were known as the “wide-track” people, Pontiac would come up with little creature comforts that other car makers might not offer, such as optional radios with seven vacuum tubes, a tissue dispenser, under-seat heaters and even a Remington Auto-Home shaver! The Chieftain came with such “newfangled” instruments like a gas gauge, ammeter, oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge.

The seller of this 1951 Chieftain says he bought it 25 years ago as a project that never went anywhere (I can relate). It’s not complete in that a lot of trim is missing, but there are other assorted trim pieces going with the car that may or may not fit it. Sadly, the hood ornament (which is there) is partially broken and the two-piece windshield glass is gone. The car was photographed where it sits, so what photos we do have are largely from the driver’s side. The seller doesn’t bring up the subject of rust and we don’t have much here to critique.

Pontiac engines of the day were flatheads that came in six-and eight-cylinder configurations. There is only one photo of the engine compartment and I can only count six spark plugs, but the seller says it’s an eight, so I guess the other two are more obscurely-located. Chieftains used 239 and 249 cubic-engines, putting out from 90 to 106 horsepower depending on the number of cylinders and compression. We’re told the car has an automatic tranny, but the vehicle does not run or drive and probably hasn’t since Reagan was in office.

We’re not sure how many 1951 Chieftain convertibles were built because Pontiac didn’t break out production figures by model in those days. Of 316,009 total Pontiacs made that year, some 252,000 had the automatic, so this convertible is somewhere in that second group. If someone had hermitically sealed up this car eons ago, it could maybe be worth mid-five figures today. But in its current state, the bidding may have already found the ceiling.