It’s somewhat fitting that a car made for 1941 would have the name Torpedo, seeing that the US would be dragged into World War II at the end of that year. This 1941 Pontiac Torpedo, which is a two-door sedan, I believe, can be found here on eBay in Kiel, Wisconsin and there is an unmet opening bid price of $4,300 and no reserve after that.
I love the 1941 license plates on this car! You can tell from the chrome bumpers that this car was made before mid-December of 1941 as after that they had painted bumpers until production stopped for the war effort. If you think that people today have lost touch with what it really means to sacrifice and all work together for a common goal, I think you’d be right. World War II was an incredible event in history, I’m not sure if we have what it takes as a society to go through anything like that again. But, I digress, let’s keep talking about this car instead.
This car doesn’t have the triple stainless steel spears/trim along the sides of the front and rear fenders so I’m guessing that it’s not a Custom but a more base model Deluxe. And, you can see that the next owner will have some welding to do.
The interior is a little faded and worn but it would probably look nice with a lot of elbow grease and some detailing. The front seat looks great as does the back seat, or at least it looks good and would look very good after a thorough and careful cleaning. Could that be the original fabric on both seats?! Very cool. They say that this car was parked in 1964 so I guess it could be all original. You can see a suicide knob on the steering wheel, a very cool period feature.
Despite the dashboard having “Silver Streak” written on it, this engine isn’t an eight-cylinder, it’s Pontiac’s 239 flathead-six and the seller says that they had it running. They bought it from the original owner’s family and this is one incredible car. Are there any fans of pre-war Pontiacs out there?
Very nice for what you’re getting. On the
whole, a really rock-solid car. My late
Mother owned a ’46 fastback coupe when I was very young and I can tell you
firsthand that these cars were built to
last. Ours was the top line model with
many accessories on it including, a spotlight, fog lights, vent window wind
deflectors, curb feelers, and a WORKING
radio, and those huge bumper guards at
both ends of the car. It also had the
stainless steel trim pieces on all four
fenders too. It was powered by a straight
8 mated to a 3-speed tranny too. The thing I remember most about it was the
factory 2-tone paint job that covered the
car. It really made the car look as though
it was moving even when it was parked.
It’s been 60 years since Mom had that car
and I can still recall it today. What a great car it was too.
I really miss those old bumper guards. When the manufacturers got rid of them & made the plastic bumpers, that matched the same color as the car,.the body shop bill went through the roof. Those old bumpers sure protected our cars, back then. A little tap, today & the shop has to order a new bumper.
How cool is this? I would get it running and drive as-is. Reminds me of the cars you could buy for $40 back in the day and drive home.
When I was 15, summer of ’57, my 17 year old cousin had a ’41, bottom of the line, 2 door fastback. We spent a good deal of time going to junk yards to get parts for it before they were needed. Fuel pump, generator, starter, carburetor, trim, tail light lenses, etc. Who knew if they worked or not, but for a dollar or two, and some labor, they were a deal, and fun. One yard had a Model A wagon, all the wood was there and in pretty good shape, sheet metal was good, painted bright red, 4 cylinder motor was there, dried out Xmas tree in the back, $25, tree included. My father pointed out that if I bought it we had no place to put it, and it was 200 miles from home, and I was no mechanic. But we had a good time in the Pontiac.
Those were the days, when you could work on your car, in your garage. And there was plenty of room, under the hood, to get into the tight spots.
Wait a sec.. There were no tight spots.
Imagine a car company naming a car “Torpedo” nowadays.
And yet there is a company called KIA, the acronym for Killed In Action… go figure.
All pre war cars were built like tanks!! These are no exception!! I would get it running and stopping and drive it around on the weekends just for fun!!
There were plenty of 50s car, that were like tanks, too. My old ’58 Pontiac Chieftain conv., is a prime example.
THS IS NOT a torpedo back I have a 41 Buick torpedo which basically is a fast back that is a 2 door sedan , not as attractive as a torpedo
Pontiac used the Torpedo moniker across all body styles: sedans, convertibles, and sedanettes
You’re right Ikey. I remember those days
too. You should’ve seen the stuff we found in people’s garages and bought for
a song. The cheapest car I ever bought
was a ’52 Chevy sedan for $10–and Dad and I drove it home! The second cheapest was an old Volvo PV544 sedan
I bought from a local Ford dealer for $25
because he wanted it gone. Oh man, was
this thing a sight! It was five different colors and had a rag stuffed down the gas filler tube where the cap should’ve been. Being a car-crazy kid in highschool,
I took it on as a Winter project. And despite it’s outward appearance, the engine ran like a watch and the interior was fairly serviceable. So after hitting
the books and eating dinner, I’d go out
to the garage to do the bodywork providing I had time to do so. Even my Mom and sister pitched in by recovering
the door cards and seats in some brown
naugahyde they had lying around and we
covered the floors with carpet we scrounged from a local carpet store after
Dad and I patched the holes in them with
some sheet steel and a pop rivet gun.
By spring, the car was ready to paint so I
sprayed it with a case and a half of 1965
Chevy tropical turquoise that my BIL had
given me. After knocking down the orange peel, I went over it again, buffed it
out, and it looked great! Wound up selling it to a guy I knew at school for $850. At best, I probably put maybe $200
in it, so I made $650 on it. Gotta say I miss those days and I’m saddened by the
fact that today’s kids will never have the fun we had turning someone’s junk into
our own treasures.