1951 Pontiac

"TIN WOODIE" Wagon

8 - Cyl.

Automatic

K8UH30708

Other

Gasoline

Up for auction is a 1951 PONTIAC CHIEFTAIN DELUXE "TIN WOODIE" WAGON. This rare and unique automobile was part of an estate sale (it was owned by a Federal Judge from Texas) and it has a clear title but I am in the process of moving, misplaced it and do not have it in hand at this time so I am selling the car without a title with a chance of getting the title sometime in the near future. The 1951 Pontiacs' were the "SILVER ANNIVERSARY PONTIAC'S". Pontiac celebrated its Silver Anniversary in 1951; it had been 25 years since the first car rolled out of the Oakland factory in Pontiac Michigan. Clearly the Chieftain styling reflected the modern trend in post-war automobiles. The predominantly horizontal grille-work of the '49 and '50 was pleasantly updated with a gull-wing motif for 1951. An Indian head medallion featured prominently in the center of the grille opening, while the the Pontiac name-plate was incorporated into the top arched grille bar attached to the hood. Pontiac's famous Silver Streaks still adorned the center of the hood, rising from the front name plate, up and back to the base of the windshield and then continuing on the deck lid to meet the rear name-plate and trunk handle. The standard hood ornament was a chrome-plated Indian brave; the Deluxe ornament was fitted with a translucent amber Indian head insert and illuminated whenever the parking or headlamps were lit. All Deluxe models carried the Pontiac name in chrome script on the front doors just above the sweep-spear (they actually look like spears an American Indian would have used), and those with 8 cylinder engines included lettering Eight as well. The standard models also used these scripts, but they were mounted higher on the front doors in the absence of side moldings. All models had Indian head medallions on either rear fender at the upper back corner; these were new for '51. As with past practice, the Deluxe models also had chrome headlamp trim rings, bright gravel guards, full wheel covers and belt moldings that dipped down just ahead of the "c" pillar on either side. The Deluxe station wagon and sedan delivery got all the bright trim and gravel guards, but were fitted with hub caps instead of wheel cover, this was done to improve brake cooling. The front wheel covers featured an Indian head silhouette in red, similar to the rear fender medallions; while the standard hub caps spelled out "Pontiac" in red script. The Deluxe interior was offered in 5 shades of genuine leather combined with gray Bedford Cord cloth; red, green, blue, brown or black. These colors could be chosen to harmonize or contrast with the exterior color of choice. The instrument cluster was similar to previous years, although the ancillary gauges were horizontal as opposed to the round gauges used in '49 and '50. The heater controls were grouped directly in front of the driver around the column and particularly easy to use. The radio speaker grille remained in the center of the dash, and if equipped,housed the electric clock at its center. All 1951 Pontiacs rode on a 120" wheelbase chassis with 7.10x15 tires standard. The standard axle ratio on all Hydra-Matic models was 3.63:1. Pontiac increased the displacement or their straight eight to 268 cid in 1950 and carried it over for '51 unchanged. Pontiac had a long standing reputation for offering a wide array of accessories, and this practice continued for 1951. Another Pontiac tradition was the packaging of the accessories into groups. The Basic Group included the Venti-Heat under seat heater and defroster, the Chieftain 7-tube radio, back-up lights, turn signals and a non-glare rear view mirror. The Comfort Group came with the exterior visor, traffic light viewer, latex foam seat cushions and windshield washers. The Convenience Group offered the electric clock, outside rear view mirror, visor vanity mirror, glove compartment light, trunk light, the combination ashtray/map reading light, and the combination under hood/ trouble light. The Appearance Group consisted of fender skirts, the lighted hood ornament, exhaust deflector, No-Mar fuel door guard, the Deluxe steering wheel, and wheel guards. This "Tin Woodie" was equipped with ALL of these Group Packages, study the pictures carefully and you will see all of these options. A Standard model of this car sold on Ebay recently in unrestored condition for $35,000.00. THAT CAR DID NOT HAVE ANY OF THE SPECIAL OPTIONS THAT MY CAR HAS. A fully restored Deluxe Model sold at Barrett-Jackson for $102,000.00 7 months ago. You will NEVER see another opportunity to own one of these special automobiles ever again, they just do not come up for sale that often. I purchased the car with the intention of building a full on custom "Woodie" surf wagon, but after researching what I had I decided that this car deserves to be restored to its former glory and put into someones collection or a museum.The car is called a "Tin Woodie" because they were amoung the first cars that GM used a wood-grained paint scheme on a full metal car to create the appearance of a "Woodie" instead of using real wood. I have taken the car to a professional shop where they did get the motor to turn over so I do know that the motor is not frozen and straight 8's are just as easy as straight 6's to rebuild and once rebuilt they are very dependable and durable motors. This particular car is HIGHLY OPTIONED from the factory and it is the idea car for a serious restoration. Myself, I am more into the Hot Rod scene and chopping this car up to make it into a Hot rod would be a sin in my eyes. This car is completely stock and original with matching numbers throughout. It is also a very complete car but it is missing the optional 3rd seat, the 3rd seat was a factory option and this car did have a 3rd seat from the factory but it is gone. The Pontiac shares the same 3rd seat design as many other GM cars of the same type so the 3rd seat would not be impossible to find for a spot on restoration. I have been in the Hot Rod and Corvette scene for over 25 years and I know the right places to have this car restored (one of the shops that talked me out of Hot-Rodding the car would come highly recommended). Please do your research on this car, you will enjoy the rich history that you will discover. All of the wood inside the car is intact and all the parts are there to ease the restoration process. The car has never been painted or wrecked and has a very nice patina. Even if you just wanted to get the car running and put a simple interior in it you would have a VERY COOL car that would guarantee that you would get more attention than a brand new Ferrari. a small portion of the glass is cracked but all glass is intact. The car will need front floor pans but again this Pontiac shares the same floor pans as many other GM cars and they will be easy to get ones that are made with American steel. The rust is minimal throughout the car the worst being the front floor pans and lower rear quarter panels. I would love to keep in touch with the buyer of this car to watch its progress and offer any help I could, this is a very special automobile. I am involved with Austin Speed Shop, a true to life Hot Rod shop based in Austin Texas and is owned by a group of blue-blood Hot-Rodders including Jesse James of the West Coast Choppers fame. Austin Speed Shop is going to be featured in Jesse James' new television show on the Discovery Channel starting in March (in which I will be appearing) and they are building a 1951 Chevrolet 5 window pickup truck for me that is going to be a feature build on the show. I say that to say this, I know I can help the new owner of this car in many ways to make this car exactly what he or she wants the car to be. This car was a TRUE BARN FIND, it has been kept inside of a barn on a South Texas ranch for many, many years, it is rich with history and needs someone to love her again. If you are that person please check out my feedback and bid with confidence and bid to win the very special piece of American Automotive History. Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my auction. God bless and as always, happy motoring. On Mar-01-12 at 09:50:15 PST, seller added the following information: A fellow Pontiac fan has pointed out the fact that I mis-spelled "Woody" and thought that maybe I would get more attention to my auction if I spelled it correctly. Thanks again Stan. On Mar-02-12 at 20:51:34 PST, seller added the following information: ***************I HAVE FOUND THE CLEAR TEXAS TITLE !!!!!!!!!!! REPEAT.................I HAVE FOUND THE CLEAR TEXAS TITLE !!!!!!!!!! THE CAR WILL NOW BE SOLD WITH A CLEAR TEAXAS TITLE !!!!!!!!! C-L-E-A-R T-E-X-A-S T-I-T-L-E- !!!!!!!!!!! HIP-HIP HOORAY !!!!!! CLEAR TEXAS TITLE!!!!!!!!! I WAS PUTTING UP SOME OLD FILES IN MY NEW HOME OFFICE AND LOW AND BEHOLD, I FOUND THE CLEAR TEXAS TITLE !!!!!! LET THE REAL BIDDING BEGIN !!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK FOLKS, THE CAR IS NOW COMPLETE !!!!! GOD BLESS AND HAPPY MOTORING !!!!!!!!!!