One-Off Custom Camper? 1956 Pontiac Chieftain
Superior Coach was a coachbuilder from 1909-80. They are best known for making hearses, ambulances, and school buses. And Pontiacs in the 1950s and forward were often a source for the first two. We couldn’t find any indication they ever made a camper out of a Pontiac – in this case likely a 1956 Chieftain. Whether this is a one-off or not, it looks like a professional job was done of it back in the day and it almost runs with coaxing. Though it has plenty of patina on the forward sheet metal, a full restoration may be the best route to go. Located in Eugene, Oregon, a dealer is offering this unusual camper here on Facebook Marketplace for $6,700 (firm).
In 1956, Pontiac offered three station wagons, so this camper was based on one of the following: a 2-door Chieftain wagon (6,099 copies left Pontiac). 4-door Chieftain in standard and deluxe trim (34,376 built), and the Super Chief Safari (4,042 copies), like the Chevy Nomad, a sport wagon. We’ll rule out the Safari and the 4-door, so maybe this conversion started as a 2-door Chieftain.
The seller’s Pontiac has the looks of a Superior ambulance or hearse from the front, given the rise in the roofline above the windshield which continues rearward. Both of those kinds of vehicles would have required the additional headroom due to the raised floors they were needed. Superior Coach went through several iterations, ownership, and names before being liquidated in 1980. For most of its life, the company operated out of Lima, Ohio.
We’re told that this Pontiac has a Superior Coach tag on the firewall. Part of the customizing of this aluminum camper includes motorized butterfly doors. When you sort out all the stuff stored in the back of the camper, the seller says the quality of the workmanship is apparent and it’s not a homemade hack job. He’s never seen another one like it, nor could we find any other photos of one online, either. The converted vehicle has been idle for some time, but we’re told the engine will turn over. But the car part as well as the internal aspects of the camper are going to need an extreme makeover. Have you ever seen one of these?
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Comments
Now that is neat. A blank canvas.
I have been an avid camper since the 90’s
And have owned multiple units
The old ones take up a lot of time wich is why i bought a brand new fifth wheel 9 years ago
Its not new anymore but we still enjoy it
Now to this THING , a milion hours of free time could get you going somewhere, quite the machine , i love it but i like to ENJOY my free time …
I own 58 Pontiac hearse. Maybe I could do this with it.
The inside height would leave you practically on your hands and knee’s. Not ideal.
I think I would take this thing apart and put a modern RV in its place keeping the front and putting in a modern drive train it would be a real head turner and something you could enjoy
Considering the width of the door I would say it was from a 4 door wagon, not a 2 door. Unless the roof can be raised while parked you would have to be really short or a contortionist to enjoy it as a camper…
This is a first class quality unit. If you look at the “steel” framework for the top you start to get the feeling there is more to it. Then when looking at the ad pictures in the ad, you see the center gear motor in the roof framework that powers the the top up. On the firewall you see an antique battery isolator. If I had the time, I would buy this and restore it. With paint and a polish job on the camper body, it would look amazing. The interior looks to be a blank slate so the interior could be modern or retro. Up grade the brakes, rebuild the suspension and maybe toss in a 500/472 Caddy engine and one of the late model overdrive transmissions OR just transfer this Cadillac body and camper onto a late model truck chassis and drive it!
I want it!
I like it!
Poor Old Norwegian Thinks It’s A Cadillac.
Wow, if the roof can be raised it makes it even more special (but more work)
The seller has to show it raised as the asking price is very high
A milion hours for the resto job sounds about right !
Makes me think… but I must pass. I don’t have the ability to bring this one back to where it should be.
This thing is pretty cool. Too bad we don’t have a network of BF people that can go check out cars and take BETTER pics and write up a BETTER description than the seller AND help take any tarp or car cover off completely.
The horror, the horror.
“toss in a 500/472 Caddy engine”
I knew that was coming, sooner or later.
Looking at an old reddit post, it appears that has been listed for sale for at least 6 months.
This was created from a professional car. So it’s base would only have been a four door wagon.
Or possibly just the front clip & Commercial chassis. It might not have had any body panels from the cowl back when Superior bought it from GM.