1956 PONTIAC STAR CHIEF

1956 PONTIAC STAR CHIEF.
The Pontiac Star Chief is an automobile model which was manufactured by Pontiac between 1954 and 1966. It was Pontiac's top trim package on the Pontiac Chieftain, with later generations built on longer wheelbases, and serving as the foundation platform for the Pontiac Bonneville. The car was easily identified by its chrome star trim along its sides, a feature all Star Chiefs were equipped with.
Second generation (1955-1957)
Along with an all-new body, the straight-eight was superseded by the new Strato Streak V-8 power in 1955. Typical for the 1955 Pontiacs is the design with two wide "Silver Streaks" running the length of the hood. The hood ornament “Indian” was amber plastic that lit up when the headlights were turned on. Also for 1955, the new Star Chief Safari two door hardtop wagon, which was similar to Chevrolet's Bel Air Nomad, was introduced, shared with the Pontiac Chieftain. This variant lasted through 1957; after that the Safari name was used for all of the division's standard four door wagons. The Safari was introduced on January 31, 1955, over three months behind the rest of the 1955s. Prices listed for the Star Chief averaged at US$2,594 ($26,240 in 2021 dollars) and 203,404 were recorded to have been manufactured in 1955.
When the storyline of I Love Lucy pointed towards a Hollywood setting in the 1954-1955 season, the characters drove (in episode 110, "California Here We Come") to the West Coast in a red on white 1955 Star Chief convertible, that in the previous episode "Lucy Learns to Drive" was "bumped together" with a 1922 Cadillac Type V-63. General Motors was a sponsor of the show and the Pontiac was used several times for product placement.
The Safari was not quite part of the Star Chief line, as it sat on the shorter Chieftain 122 in (3,100 mm) wheelbase. It was officially part of the "27 series", whereas the longer Star Chief received the "28 series" designation. In January 1957, some time after the rest of the new models, the four-door "Custom Safari Transcontinental" station wagon was introduced.
For 1956 the design was lightly revised, with heavier looking bumpers and a vertical slash on the front door above the swage line. In 1957, the high performance Star Chief Custom Bonneville was introduced as part of its divisional head's push to raise the marque out of the doldrums. The silver streaks running down the hood were dropped for the new "Star Flight" design. All gauges were placed in an oval on the dash and the side trim had a missile-shaped spear behind the front door.
When Pontiac was introduced in 1926 as a companion brand to the pricier Oakland automobile, it shared the wheelbase and a number of components with Chevrolet as a way to keep production and development costs down. This practice of borrowing from Chevrolet sustained until 1954, when Pontiac introduced its new, top-of-the-line model: the Star Chief.
The new car used the longer wheelbase of the junior-series Oldsmobiles and Buicks, allowing for a longer overall wheelbase, body and larger interior. Another nod to the high stature of Star Chiefs, they came standard with the Pontiac straight-8 engine, no 6-cylinders were available and could be ordered with air conditioning. It was a large and bold step for Pontiac, part of its newly hatched campaign to reinvent the brand to entice a more youthful clientele into Pontiac showrooms. For 1955, Pontiac emerged with a new body style like other GM divisions, as well as a new V-8 engine. The next year ushered in mild alterations, with the twin Silver Streaks running the length of the hood in traditional Pontiac guise.
The convertible was arguably the most prominent of the Star Chiefs. Equipped with power steering, power brakes, a power top, a power rear antenna and an AM/FM radio, this Star Chief is presented in the two-tone color combination. The 1956 Pontiac Star Chief is how Pontiac was positioning the Star Chief to attract young, upwardly mobile professionals into the showroom.
CC rating: 5,751cc 351 ci (5.7L) V8
NZ First Registration: 01-Oct-1975

[@ericnadaoka9038]

Mine had the steering wheel on the left side.