I’ve never seen a GMC look like that yellow sedan delivery, which has “Pontiac” written all over it. But then I’ve never heard of a Pontiac sedan deliver in 1958 either. Once again, we’ve just entered the automotive Twilight Zone: Canada.
Pontiac’s last US market sedan delivery was in 1953, but north of the border, Pontiac was of course an alter-identity Chevrolet, so there was a sedan delivery. And since GMC trucks was teamed with Pontiac in Canada, it made sense for it to be marketed as such, even if it did say “Pontiac” across the front of its hood. And of course there was a Chevy six under the hood.
Pontiacs were the Chevys of Canada and did not have the name for sports and luxury they had south of the border. It was like Canada had its own brand after Ford killed off its unique Canadian models. Sad GM had to kill the brand.
I went looking for this on oldcarbrochures.com but it isn’t there. But as an interesting aside, there is a brochure for 1958 Chevrolet “Panels” that covers the truck-based Panel Deliveries but not the wagon-based Sedan Delivery.
I don’t know what to make of that. While the El Camino was always considered to be a truck by GM, I guess they couldn’t decide if the Sedan Delivery was a car or a truck, because the 1959 “Panels” brochure *does* include the Sedan Delivery model.
The Sedan Deliveries were always considered trucks, rightfully so. You won’t find the ’58 (or any year) in with the passenger cars. They just left it out of that ’58 brochure for some unknown reason, which is titled “Task Force 59 Chevrolet Panels”; the Sedan Delivery was not part of the Task Force line.
What’s sort of crazy about the separation is how it was taken to extremes and passenger car based “trucks” would be addressed in truck service literature.
So, that made it necessary to “litter” the truck literature with information on “car” components that were unrelated to “real” truck applications and already well-enough addressed elsewhere, with passenger car service information, thank you.
FWIW, Collectible Auto’s article on Cheviacs (Oct 2008) says that the two-door station wagon was no longer part of the Cheviac line in 1958. So the doors and rear fenders and other parts needed for the sedan delivery wouldn’t have been available.
Maybe the ad picture was drawn before this decision, or maybe CA is wrong.
The ’58 brochure includes a 2-door Pathfinder wagon. A 2-door wagon is not shown in the ’59 brochure, but reappears in 1960 as part of the Strato-Chief series.
Canadian newspapers have them up through 1958—then I can’t find any more recent ones:
As a snot-nosed kid, I owned that exact vehicle, only in blue. For my first real job, I had started work on the used truck lot for a Canadian GMC truck dealer, where the sedan delivery had been sold new to a plumbing supply company in Vancouver, had been well used for 180,000 miles and traded back in where I purchased -as is- for $150. It was a 283, 3 speed column shift and I drove it into the ground before trading it. I’ve only seen a photo of one other, a survivor.
And here’s a surviving ’58: http://www.specialcarstore.com/content/1958-pontiac-sedan-delivery-original-islander
A search for: 1958 Pontiac Sedan Delivery Canada
will reveal one remaining on Vancouver Island.
Yes, they did exist!
Wowie, another car that I never had any idea existed. The artwork shows that what had been a pretty practical body style 6 or 8 years earlier had become awfully low and long, which was not the most practical shape for these.
To be really practical they needed to tool up a higher roofline like this Holden. Maybe Harley Earl wouldn’t let them!
Similar to the Prius V. I’ve been looking for a used one and have found most of them to be very used delivery vehicles and pretty beat up. That raised roof made them useful for those duties.
I know two local businesses that use these as cable/home theater service vehicles here in beach areas with very limited parking.
The last time I saw a ’58 Pontiac Sedan Delivery was in 1973. It was owned by a friend of my neighbor’s who was over to visit. It was an unmolested original at the time; not rodded, nor did have any extra side windows added to the rear panels. I sometimes wonder what became of it.
My parents rented out a housekeeping room downstairs in our house when I was a kid. The young man who lived there during 1958 thru 61 worked for Nutty Club Candy Company.
His company car was painted with the Nutty Club logo and was a 1958 Pontiac Sedan Delivery. One summer day my father had the guy take a picture of him standing in front of the Pontiac as it was parked in front of our house. I had the picture for many years, but it got tossed years ago as I was going through the family photos.
The Pontiac Sedan Delivery would have been a very rare car back in the day. I assume this Canadian company may have had a few of these Pontiacs in their fleet.
Very nice .
The Canadian Pontiacs came with a Chevrolet 261 CID i6 engine standard .
It was an upgraded 235 .
-Nate
I own an original 58 Pontiac Sedan Delivery, original paint with a 261 3 on the tree!! The only thing ever done was years ago someone cut in an extra window in the panel🤬There was 449 of them made in Canada only!