Never Surrender - 1931 Pontiac Cabriolet

It should be expected that any type of collector car, at one time or another, could present a problem or two to its owner; however, the joy of ownership and a little know-how almost always leads to a solution with happy results. But what decision would you make if the odds seemed stacked against you? If faced with several dilemmas in rapid succession, would you opt to sell, or would you press on with repair after repair?

As the owner of a 1931 Pontiac Cabriolet, Phoenix, Arizona, resident Donald Kline was familiar with the nuances of antique car ownership when he found a 1934 Pontiac four-door sedan for sale in Owensboro, Kentucky. It turned out to be an intriguing purchase: an unrestored original sedan, showing just shy of 25,000 miles. "It had some wear but was still very presentable and surprisingly solid," Don recalls. "On the windshield was a 1939 parking permit sticker from the city of Chicago, and in the door jamb was a service decal dated from 1956 showing that the car had just 23,472 miles then. The seller had purchased the car from Kentucky Senator Gooch and at that time discovered an old map of Chicago and a photo of Charles Lindbergh under the seat."

Given its overall condition, a restoration was never considered. Instead, Don drove the car whenever possible; unfortunately, it didn't take long for problems to begin to develop. The old gas, now mixed with a modern formula, quickly built a layer of gum and varnish on the intake valves within the original 223.4-cu in straight-eight engine. "That necessitated a valve job from a local flathead Pontiac expert," explains Don, adding that they removed the gas tank to have it professionally cleaned, while also replacing the fuel line.

Initial removal of some of the original interior was done via the rip-and-tear method; however, trim was spared from the damaging effects. Although the headliner remains in place here, the team already suspected much of the wood framing survived intact.

The Pontiac then performed faithfully until Don made a fateful decision to attend the 2009 Flathead Reunion hosted by the Early Times Chapter of the Pontiac Oakland Club International. As the meet was in Iowa, Don thought it would be the perfect opportunity to first visit with family in Ohio before stopping by the show on the way back. In anticipation of the cross-country jaunt on secondary roads, Don had a shop in nearby Tempe rebuild the engine.

According to Don, "My brother accompanied me to the meet, and we made it as far as Effingham, Illinois, when a pickup passed us making this terrible racket. After the truck passed, we both realized that the noise was coming from my Pontiac, and I quickly shut it down on the side of the road. Come to find out, a connecting rod bearing had failed."

Family members came to the rescue and trailered the sedan back to Ohio. Mike Graham of Wayne, Ohio, was contracted to perform a second rebuild while Don returned home. In November, he arrived in Ohio to pick up the car, at which point Mike informed Don that the engine was destined to fail because of the poor workmanship of the initial rebuild. Fortunately, the long overdue return trip went smoothly, but it wouldn't be long before another Flathead Reunion tempted Don.

Now that the filler has cured and been sanded, the body will be disassembled again in preparation for the continuing elimination of the remaining factory paint. The initial phase was accomplished with a pneumatic sander, which does not warp the sheetmetal.

"This time, the meet was in Illinois in 2011, but I only made it to Oklahoma--with the same problem! Once again, my family came to my aid, and we brought the car back to Mike. Live and learn: The ultimate culprit led back to the original job. The person who rebuilt the carburetor also rebuilt my distributor, and insisted on setting the timing to EPA standards in order to lower carbon dioxide emissions and such. That meant advancing the timing considerably, which in turn put a beating on the rod bearings, causing the continual failure. The third rebuild finally solved all of the issues."

At this point, one would think Don's problems would be over, but fate had one more ace up its sleeve. On November 27, 2012, Don had just backed his Pontiac into the driveway in anticipation of making the short trek to a new mechanic for routine maintenance.

"I was in the house for 15 minutes when my neighbor knocked on the door and told me the car was down the road in a ditch. It had rolled down my driveway, taken a sharp left, traveled to the end of my street, crossed five lanes of normally busy traffic, crashed into some Palo Verde trees and came to rest near a telephone pole. In reality, it looked like someone attempted to steal it and quickly opted to bail out. It was miraculous that the car didn't hit anyone, or wasn't hit by anyone else, for that matter."

Damage was relegated to the grille, radiator shell, right-front fender and front bumper; all covered by the insurance company. This presented yet another difficult set of choices: Repair the damage and try to match the patina, drive the car with some sections looking obviously refurbished, or embark on a complete restoration? After weighing all options, Don chose to restore the entire car.

First Class Collision, just down the road from Don, was the body shop tasked to handle a portion of the job, and it was agreed that Don could assist where he felt comfortable working. Once the Pontiac was delivered, the front clip was removed, exposing the engine, frame and front suspension. The rear bumper, rest of the trim and accessory trunk were also removed before attention was turned to the interior.

A subcontracted company was tasked with handling the interior; however, they employed a "rip and tear" method of removal that actually did more damage than good. As an example, the rear glass was destroyed in the process, and the aforementioned parking sticker was sliced in two when they removed the windshield. Suffice it to say, they were quickly dismissed from the job, leaving Don to search for another company. A solution was found in Arizona Auto Trim in Phoenix, which received the seats and recovered them in mohair fabric from LeBaron Bonney. "I didn't see any reason not to have them done ahead of time; I just stored them until the time came to reinstall them," explains Don.

The exterior body panels were then stripped of their factory paint via sanding and soda blasting. Although it was believed the Pontiac's body was solid, this was reaffirmed by the fact that no rust repairs had to be made; all that was required was the careful hammer and dolly repairs Don had expected to have to do to the front fender damaged during the purported botched theft.

Below the steel panels, however, was a wood frame made of ash, which is typically a problem area in cars of this era if the elements are allowed to bypass weather seals. For once, Fortune smiled upon Don: With the exception of a lower portion of the rear window frame, the wood was devoid of damage. This prompted the team to leave the main body attached to the solid frame. Don's friend, who had woodworking experience, generously fabricated a new piece from ash matched to fit without alterations.

With the body now straightened once again and minor repairs completed, the shop moved forward by applying a skim layer of Evercoat filler to a select number of areas. This was then carefully sanded using 80-, than 150- and finally 220-grade sandpaper to achieve a smooth surface. A total of three sessions of four coats of Diamont DPZ6 primer was then applied to the body. After each session, the primer first was wet-sanded with 320-grade sandpaper, followed by 600-grade. Combined, the hours spent in prep work provided a superior surface for paint.

Visually, a significant amount of reassembly has been accomplished, and the wiring has been connected. All that remains are a few trim items, the center-hinged hood, rear fenders, trunk and rear bumper. Next on the list is the interior.

Diamont BASF paint was used for the final two-tone finish. The main body received five coats of blue, while the front and rear fenders, running boards and wheels, were covered with three layers of black. A total of four coats of clear were then applied and permitted to cure properly before progressing to final wet sanding. This was achieved with the same step process as before; however, a progressively finer grade of paper was utilized: 1000-, 1500-, 2000- and finally 3000-grade paper eliminated any minute imperfections. Final buffing unveiled an amazing luster.

After the re-detailed straight-eight engine and three-speed transmission were reinstalled, the Pontiac was returned to Don's humble garage for final re-assembly, which commenced with the installation of the front clip, consisting of pre-assembled front fenders, radiator shell and headlamp brackets. New wiring was installed, and assistance was lent from Arizona Auto Trim to furnish the passenger cabin with the rest of the upholstery. Final touches included trim refinished by Concours Plating in Phoenix, which also did a masterful job of straightening the original front bumper and grille.

Collectively, Don and his hired crew were able to finish the Pontiac in March 2013, a little over a year after the first pieces were removed from the car. Helping expedite the process was the fact that Don had already addressed the brake and suspension system just years earlier. "I had replaced the brakes when I purchased the car, and considering the number of miles I put on it annually, the shoes should outlast me. It's trial and error to get the mechanical brakes to work evenly, but it's a task I enjoy doing. I also had the knee-action shocks rebuilt. All we had to do during the restoration was clean up the undercarriage and apply some chassis black paint where needed.

"Since completing the car, I have not been able to drive it as much as I would like to. I travel in the late summer, which doesn't help, but now that it's done, I am a little reluctant to go very far with it. My attempts to go cross-country with it never ended well; I don't want to tempt fate," laughs Don.

Owner's View

While Don may joke about his adventurous trips, there's a genuine jovial satisfaction present when discussing his Pontiac. The styling and Art Deco cues have always been appealing, and while he's happy with the outcome of the restoration, he's also looking to uncover the rest of its past. In the meantime, Don also offers words of wisdom for those contemplating a restoration.

"Due diligence will pay off with regard to selecting the right shops to handle whichever aspect of the project you plan on farming out, but then you also have to be patient with them if you see a period of slow progress. Their 'delay' could actually be a necessary part of the process to achieve the perfection you desire. Also, don't be afraid to plan ahead. If you think you might need parts, start looking for them ahead of time in print, online or through club members. This will save you time and money in the long run. Lastly, don't try to put a timeline or completion date on your project. Patience will help avoid costly mistakes."