A real ragtop


Chieftain Deluxe would seem to be a '54, mostly.
     With fenders from 1954, a bumper from 1955 and a hood badge from — when? — '53? — this Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe might be a product of the Johnny Cash assembly line.
    Without question, however, our Pontiac is a true convertible, and not some hacksawed hardtop. And even with its bruised flanks and tattered interior, an innate elegance shines through.
   The straight-eight engine, turning over so slowly at idle, tells us the Chieftain is in fact a '54, the final year for Pontiac's torquey inline flathead. The Canadian flag on the antenna could be the driver's tribute to the generous visitors he hopes to encounter on this resort road near Santa Cruz del Norte.

Final-year straight-eight flathead.

Was green the original colour?

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