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Ken Leonard | all galleries >> Galleries >> Pontiac gallery Vol. #1 > 1953 Pontiac Catalina Chieftain
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1953 Pontiac Catalina Chieftain


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Guest 20-Aug-2015 03:13
Fred, here is the '53 straight off the internet.
Guest 24-Apr-2014 14:50
What size engine was in a 53 catalina?
Kim Duren 30-Jul-2012 20:19
I have a 53 Pontiac Chieftain and it is becoming my daily driver in Austin TX!
Daniel 02-May-2012 15:20
I have a 52' 2 door...i've already started stripping everything for rechrome and paint. Complete minus motor and tranny due to the previous owner needing it for his 53'. I'm 36 and this is my first classic project....loving it so far...
wayne 15-Mar-2011 20:37
I can buy one for 3000. unassembled, very clean, no title? WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK?I would have to ship from Oregon to Illinois, very expensive with current fuel prices.
lpmckelvey 02-Feb-2011 20:57
larry i am the owner of a 53 custom catalina with milano ivory bottom and laurel green top. it carries a sunvisor, spotlight, fog lights, bumper overrides, wire wheel covers, autronic eye, visor viewer, compass and fan, tissue holder. coker whitewalls. on a scale of 10 i would guess it an 8. have had the car 16 years. had a similar one in the army and college in the 50s . however it had a continental kit and was a powerglide. current one has the hydramatic. thanks for viewing.
frank 02-Dec-2010 21:22
FRANK, I have a 1954 chieftain for sale, all complete runs and drives body in rough shape. i am asking 800 if anyone is interested please call 941-391-7468.
Darel 06-Oct-2010 17:58
I'm rebuilding a 53 Catalina and am missing some parts. I need the hood ornament, the deck emblem,the right armrest and the door moldings. Darel
ignacio 17-May-2010 19:14
were i cant buy this kind of gas cars,the classic style
BILL DRUMMY 06-Sep-2009 13:35
Ken,

I think your car is for sale at Auburn...someone stole the traffic light viewer...how hard will it be to find another? Anything wrong with the car?

Bill
charles coker 18-Aug-2009 03:00
i have owned my 53 custom catalina since spring of 1973, these custom catalinas or 2537SD, were available in four different paint options, two tone either way, and solid of either colors, milano ivory, and laurel green. i have been the 1953 pontiac tech advisor for POCI since 1984. pontiac originally intended for 1953 to be the introduction of the 287 V8 engine, 23 1953 V8 prototypes were built and tested on pontiac's proving ground in michigan. buick and olds cried to GM's board of directors to stop pontiac's progress, they feared many of their customers would change to a V8 powered pontiac, spending less money, leaving the customer more money to spend on options. my custom catalina is still work in progress, many changes have been made such as adding many options that were available in 53,54,55,56, and my car is a tribute to the 23 prototypes that never left pontiac, michigan. here is how my car is equipped, 200 hp 287 strato streak V8, dual range hydra-matic trans, power steering, power brakes, power antenna, power windows, six way power seat, dual air conditioning, this consist of 1954 pontiac factory air (made by harrison div.) and 1955 buick rear factory air (made by fridgeaire), radio with front and rear speakers, foglights, dual spotlights, dual underhood lights, tissue dispenser, compass, outside sun visor, traffic light viewer, magna-tray, oversize rearview mirrior, shaded inside sunvisors, windshield washer, rear window wiper, continnetal kit, tailpipe extension, electric front wipers, grill guard, front and rear bumper wing guards, calif personlized plate "PONTIAC", autronic eye, fuel door lock, 1953 oldsmobile wire wheel covers-modified with pontiac rear fender emblems, i think i have remember everything, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.
Joe 31-Oct-2008 01:34
Here is are responses to a couple of questions posted above. Alan, the power trains for the Cheiftain and the Catalina are interchangeable. Pontiac used the name "Catalina" to denote the hard top (no B-Pillar) version of the Chieftain. Marie, the color names are Milano Ivory and Laurel Green. I recently purchased a 53 Chieftain Custom Catalina in original condition. By no means is the car in mint condition, but it is original...and that is what matters most to me. The reason I purchased the car is because it is the same as the first car my parents ever purchased back in the 50's. My dad still raves about his "old" Catalina today. Back in 62 or so, it was rear-ended and no longer driveable. I was happy to present this "new" old car to them a few months ago. It is really a fun car to drive!
Guest 04-Apr-2008 08:29
in 1963 i had a 1953 red pontiac convertibl with a black leather interior i paid 250.00 bucks for it ha ha ...it had the straight eight and hydramatic drive with power steering too. also, a power antenna and a spotlight with a mirror on it .. after a while it got hard to start when warm and my buddy carl hartman wanted to buy it .. anyway i had just bought a 1954 mrcury monteray convertible gold with a tan top . so i sold carl the 53 for 100 dollars .. he proceeded to pull the straight eight out and tried to install a caddy v 8 in it but never got it right . screwed it all up . and he ended up junking that ragtop at a and c auto wrecking on ridge rd. in cleveland ohio . darn !!now i look back tsk tsk .. if we only knew then what we know now . i,m 67 now and carl is dead ..died about ten yrs ago .. i often think of that red 53 convertible and wish i had stuck it away in a barn or something ha ha .. but hey it was a ten yr old car then ., and 53s were all over the place for 300 400 bucks or less .. thats life .....all things shall pass .....even our youth ....and eventually our memories...
Alan 15-Jul-2007 03:18
I am looking at buying a convertable with no drive train in it.I have access to a 1953 catalina hardtop with the drive train in it.Did the catalina and chieftan have the same drivetrain?
Guest 29-May-2006 02:41
I currently have a 1953 Custom Catalina...An exact replica of my first car. I delivered newspapers for 2 cents a paper and bought the five year old car for 600.00. At that time I did not realize how special the custom catalina was, but was so proud of it. It had a standard transmission and the current car has one as well. The current custom catalina has to be one of the finest still in existance. Does it ever get the attention when it is out.
Doug Wight 09-Apr-2006 18:32
I learned to drive in my mothers 53 Custom Catalina. It was purchased used in 1956 with unknown mileage (they turned odometers back then). It had the green body with milano ivory top. No power steering, but it had the beautiful leather interior offered then. I have been to many car shows in California, but have yet to see one like our old car. Yours appears to be a California car. I would enjoy seeing it at a show. Where do you show it? I current have a restored 63 Riv that I enjoy, but I still have memories of the old Pontiac.

Doug Wight
Ken Leonard02-Apr-2005 03:04
Andrew

I always like to hear about the young people like you getting into this fabulous hobby. I am 62 years of age and as I go from car show to car show most of the classic car owners and spectators are old guys like me. We need you to carry on!

Ken
Andrew 02-Apr-2005 00:26
Hi. I'm only 19, but I already own one. It's my first car. The colors are coral green and milano ivory. When I picked mine up it had been painted Mercedes metallic green.
Dann 19-Jan-2004 04:21
Great looking Pontiac. My dad bought one just like it brand new. Ours was identical but did not have the sun visor or spotlight. It was the top of the line Catalina Chieftain. When I was 16 in 1962 it became my car. That straight 8 seemed as big as diesel locomotive engine, but what a cruiser it was! Great memories and a beautiful example.
Marie 04-Jan-2004 01:50
This is a 1953 Pontiac "Catalina". They made this model in the reverse color way as well
with the lt. green on the body and the creamy green hard top. I forget the actual names of the colors.
Guest 03-Feb-2003 22:15
'52 coupe. Don't know what they were calling this model. Top model at the time.
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