Project: P-59

Since not a lot of blogging has been taking place lately, and since I have no dedicated internet connection at home to support creating and modifying html pages, I thought, what better place than here to chronicle the resurrection of a 1959 Pontiac. So, here we go.

It was a cold and snowy January day when my buddy Ben sent me a craigslist link to an interesting car with a very decent price and located within an afternoon’s drive of CF. I shot the seller a message and heard back that same day (Jan 10, 2014) that the car was still available, so now the only question remained, when could we go see it? Menomonie, WI is about a 4 hour drive, and in my mind it wouldn’t make sense to pull a trailer for 8 hours if the car was junk.

With some pretty decent weather, we took the Sonic up to inspect the car. I think we were both a little shocked, Ben more so, when I pulled out cash and made the deal while he was snapping pics. The interior was in surprisingly good condition, the tires were holding air, the paint combo was terrific, and the engine spun freely. Even the radio fired up. Yes, the body had its share of pinhole rust, but I could live with that. It wouldn’t make sense to take a 4-door Catalina and pour thousands into bodywork and paint given the other examples out there. But in its current state, it’d make a great driver. All it needed was brakes…fuel line…a running engine…suspension parts….tires….

With the deal made, the next step was getting the car home. This was easier said, than done. After finally landing a date that worked, and after getting Ben’s dad’s trailer free (long story), we attempted to make our way (Jan 25, 2014). This didn’t go so hot. The 1993 Chevy pickup performed admirably for its first time out, but the weather slayed us. The roads had glazed with ice from the high crosswinds and it would only get worse the further north we drove. After an hour or so north, with cars getting fewer and fewer, and with the ice so bad we couldn’t break 35MPH without fishtailing, we decided to call it off and reschedule.

Feb 1^st, and we were finally successful. Other than some very rough road that just about threw us out of the truck, some very tight loading work to clear the trailer fenders, and the disappointment of finding Skoogs closed, the trip was otherwise uneventful.

However, I was now presented with a new problem. As our lane was impassable, the car would have to sit at the parents place in town until spring. Fine.