[Onestone]

Hi everyone, another newbie here - this time from Europe

I'm not new to car restorations, but so far I was in the Volkswagen scene and I own and drive a Rabbit convertible MK1. This is my first US oldtimer.

I came across this forum on my search for good Pontiac knowledge, since I recently bought one from 1955 as a good restoration base. The recommendation for this forum was on www.pontiacsafari.com

Since a few weeks I was already reading a lot here, and also this thread was very helpful and came just at the right time for me:
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...d.php?t=882633

This is the good piece of automobile art what it's all about:





Originally I was looking for a Chevy Bal Air, but there are just too many around in here, and I really fell in love with the beautiful dashboard of this Pontiac:




Since these a very rare in Europe, I hadn't much offers to chose from. I was looking for about 3 years now to find one at a reasonable price, almost complete and with a body in good condition. This one met all my criteria, and it drives, steers and brakes I already know that the previous owner added emblems from later models, like the Star Chief lettering on the dashboard.

This is going to be a longer restoration project, since there is a lot of work to do until it will be in a nice state.

What's roughly planned:

• Medium engine overhaul. Its running nicely, but way too fat and the engine is leaking everywhere Also the carburetor needs to be checked, and the ignition will be upgraded to contactless, I already bought a Pertronix kit and a matching coil
• The Hydramatic transmission only shifts two gears instead of four. It was overhauled by the previous owner, and this is the result
• The interior will be completely renewed
• A new professional painting and chrome renewal is planned, since the painting wasn't done professionally and the chrome is very spotty
• More or less complete renewal of the electrics, since its really (!) botched

And a hundred other little things of course
I already own the shop manual and was reading a lot on pontiacsafari.com.

Parts are really a problem here, but rockauto and pontiacparts.net will be my friends I guess.

I'll keep this updated and I hope for some good tips and hints of the experienced members here.

[Bill Hanlon]

Welcome Onestone.

HydraMatic transmissions of this era are very sensitive to proper throttle linkage adjustment. Maybe that is all that is wrong with yours. When you say "only shifts two gears instead of four" do you mean it only shifts once (for instance from 2nd to 3rd gear) or does it shift two times (2nd to 3rd and then 3rd to 4th)?

Can you tell which gears it is using?

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

Welcome Onestone.

HydraMatic transmissions of this era are very sensitive to proper throttle linkage adjustment. Maybe that is all that is wrong with yours. When you say "only shifts two gears instead of four" do you mean it only shifts once (for instance from 2nd to 3rd gear) or does it shift two times (2nd to 3rd and then 3rd to 4th)?

Can you tell which gears it is using?

At the moment it only shifts once, but I'm not sure which two gears its using. It must be either the 2nd and 3rd or 1st to 3rd (...is that even possible?) I guess, since I can start driving without any problems and then it only shifts once at a higher speed.
If I decrease speed it also shifts back from the higher to the lower gear, so its working both ways.

Reverse an neutral are working fine too by the way.

[67drake]

Cool color combination!

[Jack Gifford]

Welcome!
Where in Germany? I ask because I spent three years stationed very near Luxembourg, and drove a Pontiac-powered Chevy. Back then ('64-'67) Luxembourg and Belgium were sources of American car used parts.

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Jack Gifford

Welcome!
Where in Germany? I ask because I spent three years stationed very near Luxembourg, and drove a Pontiac-powered Chevy. Back then ('64-'67) Luxembourg and Belgium were sources of American car used parts.

Ah very nice! I'm from the "heart of Germany", next to Frankfurt I saw a few old Bel Airs for sale from Belgium the last years, but not a single old Pontiac

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

...Can you tell which gears it is using?

Any hints where to start? I will check the Hydramatic shop manual tonight too.


While renewing electrics, I got stuck on the horn button yesterday. Under the engine hood everything is working fine after the renewal, relay switches as it should and horns are blowing very loud

Inside I removed the steering wheel because the horn button relay contact had permanent ground. After steering wheel removal the problem was gone. It looks like this, the horn blows if I connect the brass contact with the center nut. So far so good, so thats what the botton should do:



How is the button supposed to work? The horn should sound if I tip the inner wheel to the left or right, right? Is there an isolation missing maybe? This is how my steering wheel and button looks from front and back:

[Bill Hanlon]

Originally Posted by Onestone

Any hints where to start?

Assuming that ..........
1. the engine starts with the shift lever in "N" as it is supposed to and will not start with the shift lever in any other position
2. the transmission provides "park" as it is supposed to by locking the output shaft when the shift lever is in "R" with the engine turned off as it is supposed to and will not lock the output with the shift lever in any other position
.......... then the shift linkage is probably adjusted close enough that it isn't a problem.

This manual https://www.pontiacsafari.com/L1Gara...ic_1946-55.pdf is about as good as you'll find for understanding HM operating theory and making adjustments to the HM transmission. It may help with your troubleshooting efforts. Unfortunately, it depends on special tools and gauges for the adjustments. I had a set of the tools that I used to loan out, but I sold it along with a bunch of HM manuals when I totaled my HM equipped truck in 2012.

One of the HM parts suppliers used to loan out a tool set. If I can find his name I'll post it here.

[Bill Hanlon]

Found it. Dave Edwards at https://www.autotran.us/

[Goatracer1]

If you are not all ready a member join POCI (Pontiac Oakland Club International) they have an international chapter whose director lives in Sweden. They have technical advisors for everything. Your car is beautiful. Your horn wiring is correct as far as the wheel. Something in the chrome horn ring is grounding out.

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

Assuming that ..........
1. the engine starts with the shift lever in "N" as it is supposed to and will not start with the shift lever in any other position
2. the transmission provides "park" as it is supposed to by locking the output shaft when the shift lever is in "R" with the engine turned off as it is supposed to and will not lock the output with the shift lever in any other position
.......... then the shift linkage is probably adjusted close enough that it isn't a problem.

Hi Bill,
my transmission behaves exactly as you describe. Everything is fine, just it uses only two gears But I will take a closer look into that at a later time. I also got the original Hydramatic shop manual meanwhile. Als thank you very much for the link to Autotrans for the required tools.

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

If you are not all ready a member join POCI (Pontiac Oakland Club International) they have an international chapter whose director lives in Sweden. They have technical advisors for everything. Your car is beautiful. Your horn wiring is correct as far as the wheel. Something in the chrome horn ring is grounding out.

Thank you for that hint! Gettings parts from Sweden would be much easier for me.


Meanwhile I fixed the hornbutton completely. This is how I started...:

State of the pulled parts:




Cleaned from corrosion etc.:




Then I saw that the isolation of the contact point was missing. So I designed an exactliy fitting one and 3D printed it with TPU material:




I also understood that the pushback of the inner steeringwheel with the hornbutton is originally done with a foam part underneath. This foam part was also shrunk over the years so it couldn't push the contact back anymore. That also was obviously the reason for the permanent ground contact
So I desigend a new one and also 3D printed it with TPU. After three or four tries I found the perfect size and filling for the required flexibility

Old part and new part (with some adhessive strips as mounting help):



All parts assembled. Fits nice and the horn now works again as it should:




If anyone is interested in the 3D-prinfiles let me know, maybe it can help other people too.


Next questions I have while reworking electrics:

- I need to remove the rest of the steering wheel (the part under the horn button), because I need to fix the direction lights lever. How is this done?
- How do I remove the knob from the light switch? This might sound stupid, but there is no screw and I already tried to turn and pull it. I just don't want to destroy anything...

More updates to come shortly

[Bill Hanlon]

Originally Posted by Onestone

- How do I remove the knob from the light switch? This might sound stupid, but there is no screw and I already tried to turn and pull it. I just don't want to destroy anything...

I'm not sure about '55 Pontiacs, but on most old GM cars the knob along with the shaft it mounts on is removed by pushing a small metal "button" on the side of the light switch. I think the knob has to be in the "off" position when you push and hold the button. Then pull the knob.

[Bill Hanlon]

Originally Posted by Onestone

it uses only two gears

It would help if you could tell which 2 gears. Can you change gears by moving the shift lever while driving?

[Jack Gifford]

Great work on the horn switch!

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

It would help if you could tell which 2 gears. Can you change gears by moving the shift lever while driving?

Hi Bill, I will take a deeper look into that later. Right now temps are below 0°C here and snow / rain, no driving weather

Originally Posted by Bill Hanlon

I'm not sure about '55 Pontiacs, but on most old GM cars the knob along with the shaft it mounts on is removed by pushing a small metal "button" on the side of the light switch. I think the knob has to be in the "off" position when you push and hold the button. Then pull the knob.

Thank you so much for that hint! There is in fact a release button on top of the switch body, it worked!


While working a little bit further on the electrics, I am replacing ugly extra switches installed by the preowner. Two of the switches were for the electric wiper motor and the washer pump. Luckily I got the original wiper switch of the original vacuum wipermotor along with the car. I really want to keep the original look, so I thought of how to use the original vaccum switch for the electric wipers. So I constructed and 3D printed a holder for two small electric switches which fit plug&play to the original switch. After a few tries and few wasted prints it works now as a charm:

These are the parts, the 3d printed holder and the two electric switches. The small pin extends the washer button, the black cap on the original switch I also printed is just for dirt protection:



Installed switch, original look:



I also printed some switch plates as you can see, dunno if I keep them, just a small look&feel experiment

I also made a small video where you can see how it works. The holder fits to the original screw holes on the switch:

-->>> Original wiper switch for use with electric wiper motor <<<--

If anyone is interested I can provide the 3d printfiles and also a link to the switches on Amzn.


Under the hood I also got new battery cables, reworked the groundcontacts and installed an extra fusebox on the battery:


Lights are brighter and the car starts also better already, I can now measure 0 ohms of resistance from the battery minus to the engine and car body

Two more questions I have right now:

• I got the small red light which comes next to the parking brake lever. How is this connected? Is there an extra switch somewhere? Its sadly not in the electric diagram of the shop manual.
• I still need to remove the complete steering wheel to fix the direction lights lever. How do I get the steering wheel off completely?

[Onestone]

I got a step further on the steering wheel, I will need two 5/16 screws and a puller. Time to order some more inch screws

Any info on the wiring of the parking brake light? See pic attached what I mean, maybe it's named differently.

[Goatracer1]

My 1955 did not have the parking brake light but on my other cars that did have one there was a switch at the base of the parking brake assembly. Keep posting your pictures. They may help someone here.

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Goatracer1

My 1955 did not have the parking brake light but on my other cars that did have one there was a switch at the base of the parking brake assembly. Keep posting your pictures. They may help someone here.

Ah great Info, thank you @Goatracer1 ! This is what I found under the carpet, is this the place where the switch belongs to?

Wiring would be easy I guess, the switch works against ground and the other wire connects to +12V on ignition, correct?

Does anyone have a pic how the original switch looks like and how it is attached to the base?

[Onestone]

Another small update here: I could nowhere find how the original switch at the base of the parking brake looks, so I designed another replica to make it work again:

These are the parts, its a 2-part holder, a micro switch and a little cylinder to push the microswitch:


Everything assembled together:


And installed:


Works like a charm. If anyone wants to have the 3D-Print files to make one yourself, just send me a message.

At the moment I replace every cable which is botched. Usually such an evening ends like this:



I can't count how many of these insulting tapes, rubber caps and electricity thieves I've thrown away

Last night I checked the dome light which isn't working too, and one more time I just thought "WHYYYYY "



To be continued...

[Parkman51]

Hey Onestone! I just saw your comment on the windshield washer switch over on my post, and I'd love you to forward the 3d printfiles/send me the links. I've got another idea I want to test out first, but if that doesn't work, your solution looks quite elegant. My switch is different than yours, though, since it's the combination wiper/washer switch, so it might need some tweaking. See photo below.



My Pontiac also has a bunch of the same options that yours does, if you want photographs of how something specific looks (like the parking brake light wiring) just let me know.

[Onestone]

Originally Posted by Parkman51

Hey Onestone! I just saw your comment on the windshield washer switch over on my post, and I'd love you to forward the 3d printfiles/send me the links. I've got another idea I want to test out first, but if that doesn't work, your solution looks quite elegant. My switch is different than yours, though, since it's the combination wiper/washer switch, so it might need some tweaking. See photo below.

Attachment 663599

My Pontiac also has a bunch of the same options that yours does, if you want photographs of how something specific looks (like the parking brake light wiring) just let me know.

Hi Parkman,

just send me a private message with your email, I will send you the 3D-print files.

Or maybe Safari Larry can put the files on his great webpage ?

My switch is the same as yours, I also have the combined wiper/washer switch as you can see in the video. It just looks different on the pictures, because I have already removed the backside of the switch. If you loosen the two small screws on the backside and remove the vacuum part it will look exactly as on my pictures, see attachment what I mean.