1955 Pontiac Chieftain Sedan - Car Craft Magazine

1955 Pontiac Chieftain Pontiac Chieftain Rear

If the Chieftain's greenhouse looks familiar, that's because it was also shared with '55 Chevrolet 150, 210, and Bel Air two-door sedans both stateside and in Canada. The long-standing GM practice of sharing certain body shells between different makes maximizes tooling investments and streamlines the manufacturing process. Naturally, quarter-panels, hoods, front fenders, bumpers, and other bolt-on items are unique to each make, but the Chevy resemblance is clear right down to the characteristic beltline dip just beyond the B-pillar. Detail differences abound; notice how the Pontiac's fuel fill door opens upward (thumb depression on bottom of cut line). On same-year Chevys, the fuel door is hinged differently and opens horizontally toward the front of the car.

If the Chieftain's greenhouse looks familiar, that's because it was also shared with '55 C

With so much awesome iron flowing out of Detroit, it's easy to forget that most U.S. automakers also set up shop in other countries. The products of these offshore excursions ranged from virtual carbon copies of machines issued stateside to some downright bizarre crossbreeds. Here's a Canadian-built '55 Pontiac Chieftain sedan we found among the Tri-Five Chevy stash at Desert Valley Auto Parts (dvap.com).

Groovy Factoids
• To preserve and support local industry, most national governments institute so-called local content laws mandating that a predetermined percent of vehicle components be sourced from within the country rather than imported.

•'55 Chevy 265 engine blocks are cast without provisions for an oil filter. If an oil filter was desired, an AC-type S-6 external filter was mounted atop the engine near the front of the intake manifold. For 1956, Chevy revised the V-8 block to mount a canister-style oil filter on the driver side oil pan rail. As such, '55 265 blocks are highly sought after by concours restorers. The rest of us run from them.

An original three-on-the-tree car, this Foxcraft floor shifter was swapped in for quicker speed shifts. Foxcraft was one of dozens of aftermarket companies that cashed in on the floor shift craze originally created by George Hurst.
An original three-on-the-tree car, this Foxcraft floor shifter was swapped in for quicker
The real surprise is under the hood. Yep, that's a Chevy 265 small-block, and no, it wasn't swapped in. While U.S.-built '55 Pontiacs were powered by Pontiac's new 287-cube Strato Streak V-8 (which evolved into the mighty 389, 400, 421, and 455), Canadian-built V-8 Pontiacs got Bow Tie power (also all new for '55). This practice predates GM's late-'70s corporate engine sharing scheme and accounts for the existence of crazy Canadian hybrids like the '67 Pontiac Beaumont S.D. 396, which was essentially a Chevelle SS396 with a north-of-the-border twist. The original generator, stock single-pot brake master cylinder, and dusty Rochester two-barrel verify this original-paint Chieftain's unmolested condition.
The real surprise is under the hood. Yep, that's a Chevy 265 small-block, and no, it wasn'
All Canadian-built cars bear a specific cowl tag that makes verification a snap. This one is embossed General Motors of Canada Limited and proudly states Made in Canada.
All Canadian-built cars bear a specific cowl tag that makes verification a snap. This one