Image credit: Aaron Summerfield ©2011 Courtesy of RM Auctions. © conceptcarz.com (Reproduction Or reuse prohibited).
The 1939 Pontiac Series 26 Deluxe 120 was available in several body styles, most had two doors. There was one four door body style (the Touring Sedan), a two-door coupe, sport coupe, convertible coupe, and a two-door touring sedan. Pricing ranged from $815 - $1,000 and there were a total of 53,830 examples produced during the 1939 model year. Powering the Series 26 was an L-head six-cylinder engine that displaced 222.7 cubic-inches and produced 85 horsepower; it was the same engine found in the Series 25. The transmission was a synchromesh three-speed manual gearbox with a dry disc clutch. The wheelbase was the largest Pontiac had to offer, measuring 120 inches and the same platform used for the Series 28. The Series 26 was longer, lower, and wider than the Quality Six models.
The highlight of the Series 26 lineup was a special vehicle that was designed specifically for general Motors 'highways and Horizons' pavilion at the 1939-40 New Yorks World's Fair.
Norman Bel Geddes designed the GM Pavilion, known as 'Futurama', which foretold the transportation and communities systems of 1960. This peak into the future included 'Previews of Progress,' with items such as 'Yarns made of Milk! Glass that Bends! The Frig-O-Therm that cooks and freezes at the same time! The Talking Flashlight transmitting speech over a light beam!' Sharing the spotlight was the 'Glass' Car - The first full-sized transparent car ever made in America.' General Motors along with Rohm & Haas, the chemical company that had recently developed Plexiglas, built a one-off special body using the chassis of a 1939 Pontiac Deluxe Six. Rohm & Haas, using drawings for the Pontiac four-door Touring Sedan, constructed an exact replica body using Plexiglas in place of the outer sheet-metal. All the hardware, including the dashboard, was chrome plated. The structural metal underneath was copper washed. The rubber moldings were made in white, as were the car's U.S. Royal all-white tires. The result of the work was an exterior that allowed onlookers to view the cars innards. Fittingly, the car is commonly known as the 'Plexiglas Pontiac' or 'Ghost Car.' It reportedly cost $25,000 to build.
A second Plexiglas car was later built, using a Torpedo Eight chassis, and hurriedly constructed for the 1940 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island, a man-made island in San Francisco Bay. The 1939-40 Deluxe Six is the only one known to survive.
After the New York World's Fair, the Series 26 Ghost Car went on a dealership tour, and then retired to a special display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. where it remained until 1947. It was later owned by a succession of Pennsylvania Pontiac dealers. It appeared at the first annual meet of the new Pontiac-Oakland Club International in 1973 and was purchased by Don Barlup of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. Barlup commissioned a partial restoration from S&H Pontiac of Harrisburg and sold it to collector Leo Gephart in 1979. The current owner's father purchased it from Gephart in the early 1980s, and it has remained in the same family ever since.
Source: RM AuctionsBy Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2011
The highlight of the Series 26 lineup was a special vehicle that was designed specifically for general Motors 'highways and Horizons' pavilion at the 1939-40 New Yorks World's Fair.
Norman Bel Geddes designed the GM Pavilion, known as 'Futurama', which foretold the transportation and communities systems of 1960. This peak into the future included 'Previews of Progress,' with items such as 'Yarns made of Milk! Glass that Bends! The Frig-O-Therm that cooks and freezes at the same time! The Talking Flashlight transmitting speech over a light beam!' Sharing the spotlight was the 'Glass' Car - The first full-sized transparent car ever made in America.' General Motors along with Rohm & Haas, the chemical company that had recently developed Plexiglas, built a one-off special body using the chassis of a 1939 Pontiac Deluxe Six. Rohm & Haas, using drawings for the Pontiac four-door Touring Sedan, constructed an exact replica body using Plexiglas in place of the outer sheet-metal. All the hardware, including the dashboard, was chrome plated. The structural metal underneath was copper washed. The rubber moldings were made in white, as were the car's U.S. Royal all-white tires. The result of the work was an exterior that allowed onlookers to view the cars innards. Fittingly, the car is commonly known as the 'Plexiglas Pontiac' or 'Ghost Car.' It reportedly cost $25,000 to build.
A second Plexiglas car was later built, using a Torpedo Eight chassis, and hurriedly constructed for the 1940 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island, a man-made island in San Francisco Bay. The 1939-40 Deluxe Six is the only one known to survive.
After the New York World's Fair, the Series 26 Ghost Car went on a dealership tour, and then retired to a special display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. where it remained until 1947. It was later owned by a succession of Pennsylvania Pontiac dealers. It appeared at the first annual meet of the new Pontiac-Oakland Club International in 1973 and was purchased by Don Barlup of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. Barlup commissioned a partial restoration from S&H Pontiac of Harrisburg and sold it to collector Leo Gephart in 1979. The current owner's father purchased it from Gephart in the early 1980s, and it has remained in the same family ever since.
Source: RM AuctionsBy Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2011
2011 RM Auctions - Concours d'Elegance at St. Johns
Pre-Auction Estimates :
USD $275,000-USD $475,000
Sale Price :
USD $308,000
1939 Pontiac Deluxe Auction Sales
Recent Sales of the Pontiac Deluxe
(Data based on Model Year 1939 sales)
1939 Pontiac Deluxe 8 Coupe Sold for USD$7,700 2018 Mecum : Dallas | |
1939 PONTIAC SILVERSTREAK Sold for USD$27,750 2016 Leake Auction : Oklahoma City | |
1939 Pontiac Silverstreak Sold for USD$19,500 2016 Silver Auction - Arizona in January 2016 | |
1939 Pontiac Deluxe 120 'Silver Streak' Convertible Chassis#: EB18262 Sold for USD$32,727 2013 Goodwood Revival | |
1939 Pontiac Silver Streak Deluxe Six Station Wagon Chassis#: P6EA-35162 Sold for USD$68,200 2012 Gooding and Company - The Scottsdale Auction | |
1939 Pontiac Plexiglas Deluxe Six 'Ghost Car' Chassis#: 3113436 Sold for USD$308,000 2011 RM Auctions - Concours d'Elegance at St. Johns | |
1939 Pontiac Silver Streak Sold for USD$6,400 2010 Mecum Auctions - St. Paul MN Auction | |
1939 PONTIAC COUPE CONVERTIBLE Sold for USD$21,000 2002 Kruse Auction - Auburn, IN | |
1939 PONTIAC UNKNOWN CONVERTIBLE Sold for USD$24,500 2001 Kruse Auction - Tulsa, OK |
Pontiac Deluxes That Failed To Sell At Auction
1939 Pontiac Deluxe's that have appeared at auction but did not sell.
Vehicle | Chassis | Event | High Bid | Est. Low | Est. High |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1939 Pontiac Silver Streak Deluxe Six Station Wagon | 2022 Broad Arrow Auctions : West Palm Beach | $55,000 | $65,000 | ||
1939 Pontiac Silver Streak | P6EB30173 | 2022 Broad Arrow Auctions : West Palm Beach | $35,000 | $45,000 | |
1939 Pontiac Deluxe 120 Silver Streak Convertible | 6EB18262 | 2014 H & H Auctions Pavilion Gardens | |||
1939 Pontiac Silver Streak 2-Door Sedan | 2010 Mecum Auctions St. Paul MN Auction | $7,250 | |||
1939 PONTIAC COUPE CONVERTIBLE | 2002 Kruse Auction Auburn, IN | $17,600 | |||
1939 PONTIAC UNKNOWN CONVERTIBLE | 2001 Kruse Auction Auburn, IN | $16,000 |
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1939 Pontiac Deluxe
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