1953-54 Pontiac Production Numbers

[Dave]

1953-54 Pontiac Production Numbers

(Six & Eight Cylinder – Transmission Breakdown)

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1953
Six Cylinder
Model: 53-25
Name: Chieftain
Production Run: November 7, 1952 – November 20, 1953

• Standard Transmission: 33,705
  
• Hydramatic Transmission: 4,507
  
• Powerglide Transmission: 702
  
• Total Produced: 38,914
  

Eight Cylinder
Model: 53-27
Name: Chieftain
Production Run: November 7, 1952 – November 20, 1953

• Standard Transmission: 68,565
  
• Hydramatic Transmission: 293,343
  
• Powerglide Transmission: 17,797
  
• Total Produced: 379,705
  

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1954
Six Cylinder
Model: 54-25
Name: Chieftain
Production Run: December 1, 1953 – September 1, 1954

• Standard Transmission: 19,666
  
• Hydramatic Transmission: 3,004
  
• Total Produced: 22,670
  

Eight Cylinder – Chieftain
Model: 54-27
Production Run: December 1, 1953 – September 3, 1954

• Standard Transmission: 29,906
  
• Hydramatic Transmission: 120,080
  
• Total Produced: 149,986
  

Eight Cylinder – Star Chief
Model: 54-28
Production Run: December 1, 1953 – September 3, 1954

• Standard Transmission: 571
  
• Hydramatic Transmission: 114,517
  
• Total Produced: 115,088
  

[Dave]

For those who may wonder why some 1953 Pontiacs received the Powerglide transmission - It's due to the August 12, 1953 Hydra-Matic plant fire in Livonia, Michigan which destroyed the 1.5 million square foot factory. This resulted in Pontiac installing Chevrolet's Powerglide transmission in 18,499 cars.

It would take roughly 9 weeks for the Hydra-matic production to resume in Willow Run, Michigan.

*NOTE* This is in reference to NON-Canadian models. 

All Canadian 2000 and 2200 series Pontiacs from 1951-54 had 3 speed manual transmissions OR an optional Powerglide transmission. This is due to the Canadian 2000-2200 series cars being built on the Chevrolet platform. No Hydra-matic option was available for the Canadian 2000-2200 series cars from 49-54.

[54starchief]

Thanks for posting these production numbers. Is there any more information on production numbers? Like how many sedans or hardtops were built or is this all thats available?

[Dave]

As far as I know, this is the only information available regarding Pontiac production numbers.

I have heard that more detailed information was lost in a storage building fire sometime in the early 1960s, but I have not been able to find any corroborating evidence to support that claim.

No newspaper articles, GM documents, fire reports, or archival records have surfaced to confirm such an event. From what I've been able to find, the fire story appears to have originated within Pontiac hobbyist circles and has been repeated by several respected Pontiac historians and technical advisors since the mid-2000s, but no one has provided a source or primary evidence to support the claim.

That does not necessarily mean the story is false some of these individuals were active in the hobby long before the internet and may have heard it from sources closer to Pontiac itself. However, given the amount of time that has passed, one would expect some form of contemporary documentation or primary source evidence to have surfaced if the event could be verified.

Someone else may chime in someday with evidence that proves otherwise, and I would certainly welcome it. But until a primary source surfaces, I would treat the fire story as hearsay rather than established fact.

I think it is more likely that the detailed information was either purged over the years or simply was never retained in the first place.