[takid455]

Came across a 57 safari. 4 bbl, hydro, 2dr . Thought they were all 2 dr but a 4 dr is listed under the production line up.

What are current values of these things? Yes , there are a lot of factors involved. All conditions. Lets leave out junk and obvious parts cars. Mainly focused on drivers and complete weathered original condition cars.

Did some searching but with only 1296 made, there isnt a lot of data. Check hagerty and Ebay but not a lot of current info.

Are they desirable? Seems the Nomad is more popular.

My plan is to bring it back to life and enjoy it. Not resto it, just address what it needs. Rust is pretty minimal. Don't want to be too deep in the hole thus seeing what realistic values are and then I will back track from there.

[unruhjonny]

iirc recently Smoke Signals hadca three part series on the safari 2dr;
it had a title something along the lines of "no safari, no nomad" because (i believe) that GM didn't see enough demand to have only tooled up for one division to use it.
i's base rates more on the nomad than the four door safari.

[1965gp]

One sold this weekend for 140k - very nice 2dr tri-power car

[Bill Hanlon]

POCI tech guy Larry Gorden has a '56 Safari and is a pretty good source of info on early Pontiac Safaris. Here is a pointer to some '57 documentation on his web site. http://www.pontiacsafari.com/L1Early...957_models.htm

This is a pointer to his site's front door. http://www.pontiacsafari.com/index.html

[U47]

In 1957 Pontiac made the two door Safari and a new model called the Safari Transcontinental which was a four door. The rest of the Wagons were not called Safari until 1958.

[Safari Larry]

In 1957, Pontiac changed the meaning of "Safari" to apply to ANY station wagon. A 1957 Safari could be any of the several station wagon models. A 2-dr Safari could be the Star Chief Custom 2-dr Safari station wagon or the Chieftain 2-dr station wagon. So you must be specific when you reference a 1957 Safari. Big difference in values.

See http://www.pontiacsafari.com/57/57su...dPriceList.pdf

In 1955-56, a "Safari" was only the one model 2-dr Star Chief station wagon.

[U47]

Sorry Larry don't know how I forgot that. 1957 is also the year Pontiac abandoned the Chieftain 870 for a new name SuperChief.

[takid455]

Pretty sure it is a Star Chief ( sporty wagon) however, what are the body / trim differences between the two models?

I would have to go back and look at the trim tag

[U47]

Originally Posted by takid455

Came across a 57 safari. 4 bbl, hydro, 2dr . Thought they were all 2 dr but a 4 dr is listed under the production line up.

What are current values of these things? Yes , there are a lot of factors involved. All conditions. Lets leave out junk and obvious parts cars. Mainly focused on drivers and complete weathered original condition cars.

Did some searching but with only 1296 made, there isnt a lot of data. Check hagerty and Ebay but not a lot of current info.

Are they desirable? Seems the Nomad is more popular.

My plan is to bring it back to life and enjoy it. Not resto it, just address what it needs. Rust is pretty minimal. Don't want to be too deep in the hole thus seeing what realistic values are and then I will back track from there.

Google 1957 Pontiac Safari Transcontinental IMAGES

[Safari Larry]

Anyone wanting to know about 1955, 56, 57 Pontiacs should get familiar with www.pontiacsafari.com. It isn't just about Safaris, it is about all Pontiacs of those years with a LOT of information. I use it often.

For example, select "Pontiac Info" from the menu and scroll down to 57's. Open the "1957 Sales Brochure" link. You'll find the Safari wagons there along with other models and info.

For photos of the 57 Star Chief Custom Safaris (2'dr & 4-dr), select "Safari Photos" from the menu. You'll find detailed photos there of several.

Then once you purchase the Safari, you'll want to select "Pontiac Garage" from the menu and look around for things such as the Shop Manual, Trans' Manual, Fisher Body Manuals, and much more. Scroll to the bottom of that page and select "1957 2-door Chieftain Station Wagon" to get an idea of what the 2-dr Chieftain Safari looks like (an awesome custom). Scroll to the bottom to see the finished product.

I get no $$$ from the web site, so look at it or not, your choice. Our own Bill Hanlon helped me with the site by editing the Master Parts Catalog. I scanned the catalog and sent that to him on CD (remember those) years ago to look at and give his opinion. He was a great help. I was initially going to sell it on CDs but my web space was upped so I could publish it online. I really didn't want to mess with selling CDs anyway. Now I rambling, time to stop....

[takid455]

Good info.

Look through the safari page and it is very informative. If this car works out, I'll be sure to visit it.

Through the page, I was able to confirm that is it a Star Chief Safari (Custom Safari is you will).

What is involved effort wise to install an factory AC into a non AC car? Assume you have the pieces. Are there pre stamped hole(s) for the controls that go on top of the dash?

[Safari Larry]

Installing factor air in any 1955-57 Pontiac is a relatively major effort. There are no pre stamped holes in the dash for the controls and ducts on each side. Factory installation kits came with templates for cutting out the holes. Without those templates, you would need a donor car with AC to determine where to cut the holes.

[Stuart]

Another good place to reference is http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php...c/1957-Pontiac Factory brochures aren't always 100% accurate since they were printed before the beginning of the model year and sometimes certain features or options changed, but in general they will tell you what you need to know about a certain model.

I think for installing air conditioning in a car like that I'd go for an underdash unit. A/C was often a dealer or aftermarket installed option anyway, and today you can get reproduction underdash units that look period correct. It would certainly be a lot easier to do, and wouldn't involve any major surgery on the car. Vintage Air is one source, there are others. https://www.vintageair.com/builder-series/

[estokes-bonnie66]

I've had my Chieftain 4dr wagon for 8 years. Never see another one. Value is tough. Nomads are known where the Safari just is not.

On the A/C issue. After market is the only way to go. Big issue will be the bracket for the sanden comp on the Pontiac block. If you find/make one I'll take one as well. Not obvious.

Ed S
1957 Chieftain 4dr, 3sp, 9pass, WAGON.

[lalautze]

I have a Vintage Air underdash unit in my '56 Chieftain 4-Door Wagon. If pictures are needed of brackets or the like let me know.

[U47]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Another good place to reference is http://oldcarbrochures.org/index.php...c/1957-Pontiac Factory brochures aren't always 100% accurate since they were printed before the beginning of the model year and sometimes certain features or options changed, but in general they will tell you what you need to know about a certain model.

I think for installing air conditioning in a car like that I'd go for an underdash unit. A/C was often a dealer or aftermarket installed option anyway, and today you can get reproduction underdash units that look period correct. It would certainly be a lot easier to do, and wouldn't involve any major surgery on the car. Vintage Air is one source, there are others. https://www.vintageair.com/builder-series/

If you can get hold of a dealer installed FACTORY unit for those years to put in you would be OK. Forget about showing the car at AACA or POCI stock category with the new stuff. Also the new stuff looks like it doesn't belong anyway.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by U47

If you can get hold of a dealer installed FACTORY unit for those years to put in you would be OK. Forget about showing the car at AACA or POCI stock category with the new stuff. Also the new stuff looks like it doesn't belong anyway.

Judging doesn't seem to be an issue here, and the Vintage Air unit looks a lot more authentic than most aftermarket a/c units.

Originally Posted by takid455

My plan is to bring it back to life and enjoy it. Not resto it, just address what it needs.

[mr67gp]

This 1957 4 door Chieftain wagon has been for sale for a while. Might be a Canadian?

He's asking $12,500

https://newjersey.craigslist.org/cto...664085731.html

[takid455]

That 4 dr came up in my searches. Seems like a good buy 12k. However, as we know across the board, sans a few, 4 dr prices drop a lot comparable to the 2 dr. Through links above, I have confirmed it is a Star Chief custom safari. Going to meet up with owner again and take a better look at the car along with finding a number we both like.

[Poncho60]

I think the 4 dr wagon is the US version
The shift quadrant indicator doesn't look like powerglide to me. Could b wrong about that, not a real clear picture.