1957 Pontiac Star Chief Safari Wagon Rare Transcontinental Model

I always thought these were beautiful wagons.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1447647938...uid=o9-poCnLTli&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

I could totally see this car bringing some serious coin. This is bee-you-dee-full.

 

Taken from a September 2020 Old Cars Weekly article

Top model gets lost in Pontiac’s blitz

With all of the fuss over the limited-production Bonneville and the Star Chief Custom Safari two-door sport wagon (Pontiac’s counterpart to Chevrolet’s Nomad sport wagon), the Transcontinental Safari — which was actually Pontiac’s top wagon — took second stage. Today, the Transcontinental Safari four-door wagon is virtually unheard of and little known by collectors. The new wagon was given GM Style Number 2762SDF and priced at $3636. It was an upmarket version of the Super Chief and Chieftain four-door wagons and also Pontiac’s priciest station wagon: $155 more than the Star Chief Custom Safari two-door wagon.

Outside, the Transcontinental Safari was distinguished by a modified side spear containing a fourth chrome trim star; special paint; a standard roof rack; and an anodized aluminum trim panel below the side spear. The Transcontinental Safari’s anodized aluminum panel was similar to that found on the high-line Bonneville convertible.

The Transcontinental Safari’s interior was pure luxury with genuine leather seats including a 70-30 front seat; the seat back on the passenger side was much wider and available with a headrest. The rear seat folded flat and the cargo area was carpeted to match the interior, which was finished with bright metal cargo slats. The Transcontinental Safari was announced just a few months after production of the rest of the 1957 Pontiac line began and didn’t appear in early brochures, so one can only conjecture why sales were so few. Just 1894 Transcontinental Safaris produced, making it almost as rare as the Star Chief Custom Safari two-door wagon with just 1292 units built.

All but four of the 3186 Star Chief Custom Safaris (the two-door sport wagon and the Transcontinental) were built with the optional Strato-Flight Hydra-Matic automatic transmission. Safaris equipped with dual exhaust used simulated bumper outlets with the exhaust redirected to prevent fumes from entering the passenger compartment. Neither Star Chief Custom Safari returned for the 1958 model year. The Transcontinental quickly became Pontiac’s “forgotten ’57” in what was otherwise a pivotal year for the GM division.


Perhaps best summarized in the book “Pontiac Since 1945” by Richard L. Busenkell, “Nineteen fifty-seven can be pinpointed as the year in which Pontiac’s image truly did change. After two-years of dramatic improvement, the firebreathing ’57 models, aided by the glamorous Bonneville, succeeded in transforming the public’s perception of Pontiac. No longer would auto magazine and car buffs overlook Pontiac when discussing Detroit’s hottest cars. Never again would anyone be surprised when a Pontiac turned in a sizzling performance. Pontiac was well on its way to becoming something unthinkable a few short years before: the yardstick by which the performance of every other American sedan was measured.”

 

I agree, they are basically a 4-door version of the 2-Door Safari wagons, very $$$ cars when new, not many sold.

 

In the early 1980's we looked at one of these in a wrecking yard in Missoula, MT. It was red. I no longer remember much of the detail, I believe it was pretty complete and for sale, but having my 2dr version it was more of an interesting but don't need another project than a I should take this home. Somewhere I have a picture of it, sitting with the liftgate open and surrounded by other cars. I believe it did not run, beyond that....again, my memory is not good after strokes, but I believe the owner of the yard was Mike last name starting with a Z. Later on I regretted not bringing it home. It would have been a bit of a hassle given we were then living in Southern Alberta so would have had to go through the importation effort which included vehicle a must be 25 years old rule and I am thinking it was right at that age so about 1982 or 3, given we bought our 2dr in 1980.

 

I would do some investigation on this one to confirm that it is ACTUALLY a 'Transcontinental' model. Although it seems to have the reclining front passenger seat with headrest that the Transcontinental model had, it seems to be missing the lower quarter panel brushed aluminum trim that (I thought) all Transcontinentals had.(Pictured...)

 

A note on the Transcontinental.......

Back when I was a kid, let's say from age 11 (late 1962) through early adulthood, I tried to stay pretty informed about all the car makes and models. The Transcontinental was one that slipped through the cracks. I didn't learn about it until a few years ago......