Chieftain or Star Chief? 1955 Pontiac Sport Coupe
Pontiac rolled out a new design for its cars in 1955 and included a V8 engine for the first time since 1932. Only two broad series were available, the Chieftain and the Star Chief of which the latter rode on a slightly longer wheelbase. The seller seems to have a nice ’55 Pontiac to sell but provides few details (not even a model name) and only three photos. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the asking price here on Facebook Marketplace is $11,000. Thanks, Barn Finder Kiwie49, for this tip which leaves us wanting more.
The Chieftain offered a Catalina Coupe which found 72,000+ buyers in 1955, while the snappier and bigger Star Chief grabbed up sales of nearly 100,000 units in the same body style. Unfortunately, the photos don’t help us to identify which model the seller has, so perhaps a Pontiac expert among our readers can share some light on the matter. We’re told it’s “a nice car for being 68 years old” and runs and drives great (so why not pull it out of the crowded garage for the pics?).
Displacing 287 cubic inches in 1955, the new Pontiac V8 had an output of 173 or 180 horsepower depending on carburetion (were the few extra horses worth the need to use premium fuel?). Since 90% of all Pontiacs built in 1955 had the Hydra-Matic transmission, we assume that’s what’s in play in the seller’s car. This may be a very nice auto, but you’re going to have to make a trip to Chi-Town to know for sure.
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Comments
where to offer the seller, I want it for 500 contact details???
on face book market place. click the link near the top of the article.
he might laugh though. the article says the price is $11,000
i bought one for fur twenty two two hunted in76 that is scam price price is not right
It’s been listed like that forever. It’s a total scam I’m sure. It at one time was listed for a million dollars. I’m 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. If it was worth catching a bullet for it , I’d verify it. Scam.
“I have pitchers of the car”-so it’s actually a basket case??!??!
It’d be nice to see a little more-under the hood, interior, etc. but if it’s at all like the “pitchers” posted it’ll need a closer look for the price, now that the knocked it down $1,000,000 or so…
Unique ‘50’s American iron, worth a followup IMO.
pictures!!
Scam….
Scam….
Body parts pictures. Kind of hints that it doesn’t run doesn’t it?
It’s a star chief, see the cursive script letter f in the passenger side photo?
That’s a stylized V8 logo and appeared on all 1955 Pontiacs. 1955 Pontiacs had no series identification on the sides, save for the three stars on Star Chiefs, visible in the same photo.
I don’t see any sign of the rear gravel shields Star Chiefs have, but it does have the 3 stars on the front fender That Chieftains don’t have.
Yeah, this smells of scam. Either the thing doesn’t actually run and is awful shape, so they can’t easily pull it out of the garage for pics, or this guy really doesn’t own the car and is trying to get something for nothing.
Chieftain. It does have the 3 “stars” of the Star Chief but their placement is incorrect. It should have 2 stars on the door and one on the fender. This car has one star on the door and 2 on the fender.
A better “tell” is the chrome side strip. On a Star Chief the part that curves down from the bottom of the vent window is wider. This car has the narrower chrome strip of the Chieftain.
Your right Tiger I had a Star Chef that’s
not a real factory Star Chef
I left a message for pictures. I’ll be back later with what I find.
I saw one like this for sale several years ago in Ontario, Canada. Looked reasonable on top but the underside was plastered with thick roofing tar hiding all the problems. Up here, where road salt is used a lot, I always look at the bottom side of a car before looking at anything else. Could this be the same car?
certainly a Chieftan, if it were a star chief the trim on the door would be twice as wide as this one where it runs up to the vent window area
Lived in Chicago when my father drove a new 1956 Pontiac. Lots of snow so lots of car rust.
Not a real Star Chief
He rode by someone’s garage and took 3 pitches!
you are correct it is a starcheif , that gold letter is a v8 badge , the three stars on the fender denote starcheif , just sayin
“It runs and drives great”
Sooo…. why not back it out for better pictures?
I checked my history on cars. 3 Stars and a gold V is a star chief. If no stars on the front fenders it is a Chieftain. It looks like a nice car and if it runs and needs very little work, some buyer might just have a great classic car. The 1955 Pontiacs were the first Pontiacs with a 287V8 engine, slightly larger than the Chevy 283, and slightly smaller than the Olds engine. It is also the first with some real nice styling. Prior years were basically old peoples cars, with either a flathead six or flathead straight 8. A lot of unanswered questions and not a lot of answers. We don’t even know what the inside looks like or if the darn car even runs.
I went back and did some investigating, and found that chrome on sides is incorrect for Star Chief and stars are wrongly placed. No chrome on rear lower fender skirted near the wheel well, that also denotes it as a Star Chief. It is probably a Chieftain dressed up to look like a Star Chief. The Star Chief would bring more money probably. The gold V8 on rear fender is from a Star Chief. Chieftain has a silver one. This looks like a mish mash car that was doctored to look good but probably has been run into the ground, and needs s crapload of work to make it into a decent car, and probably costing more than it’s actual ending value. Somebody wants to find a dumb person who really thinks he’s buying a great classic car and will probably get screwed royally!
In 1992 I drove from York, PA to Rochester, NY or one of those tri-cities to test drive a 1955 Pontiac that was for sale at a low price and in good condition. I had just caught the must have a vintage car bug so I was in a rush to find something to satisfy the craving. But the Pontiac felt like I was driving a truck. No power steering and it just was not an enjoyable ride. So soon after that I bought a 1950 Hudson instead for family nostalgia reasons.