Big old cars are fascinating because they really show what driving is about. In both mechanical terms and overall design. A lot of post 1960 cars have boring yet functional designs. Where are the times that cars had a posh dashboard rather than recycled plastic? Where are the times that adding ornaments, additional fenderlines and so on in favour of a better looking car was normal? As for the mechanical improvements it's good to have power steering and power brakes for easy and safe driving but it removes the feeling of driving a big and heavy car. Driving an oldtimer without power-everything is a pure form of driving; you, the car and the road.

So where are those times? They are today! This is where my interest for old cars kicks in and I'm lucky to have access to various old cars because my parents own a Mercedes Ponton 220S (1956) and Mercedes 280CE (1979). In the family two uncles are into old cars (Mercedes and Bentley) so I've seen various old cars.

Mainly two types of American 50'ies cars exist: from 1949 to 1953 and from 1953 to 1959. The latter are the rocket-style cars with tailfins, the first are "new generation" cars with just a big front grille. The grille in the previous cars (1948 and earlier) is big too but the overall style of the car is a tad different. My interest goes to the first "new generation" Pontiac from end of 1949, Pontiac Star Chief 1958 and Buick Roadmaster 1958.

In mechanical terms and design I like the Pontiac 1949 most. The Pontiac sports an old-style flathead engine and it's design is at least to say 'gorgeous'. When I saw this Pontiac I knew I wanted one. Since then I've actively looked around for a Pontiac and eventually found one.

My Pontiac, I saw it for sale on-line in the Netherlands. Being able to see and drive the car before buying it is a big pro. If I would have bought it in the USA I can't be sure what I bought until I have it a home. After getting in touch with the seller I made an appointment to see and test the car. In the flesh the car looked way better than on the pictures and a short inspection showed that the car was in perfect state. After a testdrive I knew I had to buy this car, which I did on 25 februari 2011.

I drove the Pontiac to the RDW (Rijksdienst voor Wegverkeer) to import it to the Netherlands as it was registered as Belgian car. Unfortunately the dynamo broke along the way which meant I had to drive about 250KM with a ticking dynamo. To prevent shorting the car's electrical system I removed the wires from the dynamo. I was lucky to have a full battery and a car that starts really well, because the battery didn't recharge along the way and no-one would be able to help jumpstarting because of the 6V system.

Below you see a video on the day I arrived home with the car:

For the moment I don't have a working car. I still need a working dynamo, new plates and insurance. The plates and insurance will be arranged in a few days. The dynamo is a different story. I removed the dynamo and noticed that the pulley scraped on the casing of the dynamo. It's probably caused by a worn out bearing. As pictures tell more than a thousand words:

On the left you see the damage caused by the pulley that scraped on the metal. The right photo shows the inside part with the bearing that isn't steady anymore. I can tilt the rotor a bit which shouldn't happen.

Finally the new dynamo arrived. It turned out to be a different model (not for this Pontiac) but using one part from the old dynamo it fits! On 24 March I installed the dynamo but couldn't get the car running. As it was late I left it as it was and continued fiddling around the next car. It turned out that I just had to put some fuel direct into the carburetor as everything dried up. After putting half a cup of fuel in the carburetor the car fired up immediately.

The dynamo is not the original one and, more important, it doesn't recharge the battery enough when I use lights and radio together. This means I have to be on the look-out for an original one, but as the car runs fine with the existing dynamo I'm not in a hurry for this.

Part of the electrics have been redone years ago. It's either replaced or retaped which is all fine. The wiring underneath the dashboard hasn't been touched much, however. Some cables tend to loose dried out cloth when you touch them and thus are a risk of shortcutting the circuitry. I started on retaping these wires and to correct a problem regarding the taillights and the dashboard light; I can use the dim knob to dim the taillights and the taillights don't light up with citylight enabled.

Almost all of the bad wires are retaped and the problem with the taillights has been fixed. Meanwhile I noticed some rust underneath the dashboard, some little rusty spots and screws. Fighting this rust is on my to do list now. In the near future I'd like to:

In the meantime I have received nice little borders to decorate the licenseplates and a proper dynamo. The dynamo is being checked a the moment but it looks good!

The new dynamo charges a lot more than the old one! Even with lights on it charges more than the old one.

New dynamo in foreground.

Fixing the leak in the exhaust did help a bit but wasn't enough. The manifold was also leaking and turned out to be bent a bit. After flattening it and remounting with a new gasket the car runs like new! Solid and sound!

I also renewed some fuel-lines, hole near the hydramatic, coolant lines, the coolant itself, air in the radiator underneath the front seats, selfmade gasket of the carburetor and rust.

Engine without manifold, carburetor and air filter. The black spot on the right is the middle of the manifold. The soot clearly shows a leak.

Part of the hydramatic. It's supposed to have a tiny hole (which is still there) but in my case it was damaged. To prevent dirt on the inside it's better to seal the damaged hole.