59 Strato Chief undergoes major mods in Namibia

Ugo of Namibia sent me some pictures of stage one of his rebuild project. I'll put them up separately, since when I try to add them to this post, the site crashes on me!

I haven't seen his post or photos so thought I would put them up; the project looks awsome .

Ugo emailed me "Rear discs and callipers are Mazda, front are BMW. I had to fabricate the mounting brackets etc myself. Engine is a small block Chevy with Edelbrock components throughout and Holley carb. Automatic four speed Toyota gearbox, shortened propshaft, new brake lines and fuel lines throughout etc. Original diff. Cat hydraulic steering pump!

I still need to source and fit a power steering box, steering column etc.

Now for the body, electrics, upholstery, glass and all those numerous finiky things. I am going to remove as much chrome as possible. All the chrome beading, front grill, door handles etc are damaged beyond repair. I am going to mould the huge bumpers into the body leaving a compacted customised close to the ground look without loosing the beautiful 59 Pontiac lines. I have been heavily criticised by the old style restorers for this idea but necessity is the mother of invention. The upholstery I am contracting out to a master of his craft in Johannesburg.

My Pontiac and I are having a trial separation at the moment. When one starts to talk to and then swear at a motorcar then something is very wrong and it is time for a break."

Is this a Chevrolet frame? Is the car right hand drive? Looks like a fantastic project. Keep us posted!

markymark wrote:

Is this a Chevrolet frame? Is the car right hand drive? Looks like a fantastic project. Keep us posted!

Hi - yes, all the 1959 Canadian-made Ponchos that were right hand drive for export to the British Commonwealth countries, such as South Africa, were built on the Chev fram and used Chev running gear. Only the Fisher body was a Pontiac, and so the export cars were not "Wide track". It means they looked a little "under" for tires, but parts are easy to get, just quote Chev Bel Air! If you have a look at my Strato Chief (RHD imported from South Africa) you'll see what I mean.

Ugo's Strato Chief would have been assembled at the Port Elizabeth GM plant, as was mine

Cheers