Words: Tommy Parry
After growing tired of his racing-exclusive vehicle, Bryan traded his truck for a ‘50s Pontiac Streamliner with no shortage of issues. The one strong point was that, at some point, someone had swapped in a Gbody drivetrain and brake lines. Other than that, it was a piece of work. Nevertheless, Bryan saw the potential with this platform, which he hoped to make a focused cruiser out of.
Operating on a limited budget of just $75 a month, Bryan had to get quite creative. This pushed him into reverse engineering some of the GM parts that he already had. The first order of business was fitting a new gas tank in the place of the old junkyard item which was filled with garbage.
After his starter caught fire, the coolant reservoir sprayed hot coolant in his face, and finding gravel in the original block and mud in the cooling passages, he came very close to driving the Pontiac into the sea. Instead, he gathered himself and scrapped the tired 350.
He then turned his eye to the corner of his garage, where he had a race engine sitting. This LQ4 boasted 862 heads he ported and polished, a Howard ASA cam, LS6 springs, a trunion upgrade and ARP bolts. Using it was a no-brainer.
In the interest of keeping the car streetable and moderate, Bryan purposely kept an automatic so he wouldn’t be tempted to make an all-out race car again. A 4L80E off Craigslist did the trick, though he had to suffer through a few slipping ratios before he settled on a 3.08 that worked with the motor and the tune, as you can see in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr2uhs042Tg
He then turned his attention to the suspension department. Once he got his angles right and tacked his perches on, he added the Moog 5660 springs, leaf springs from a second-generation Camaro and a set of 2” blocks. It’s a beautiful combination that ensures the most cosmetically appealing stance and a safe ride.
Though Bryan’s still got plenty to do, he’s managed to enjoy this car quite a bit thus far. For one, he’s been able to foster a fondness for automobiles in his children with this Streamliner. Recently, his uncle – who was his auto-building inspiration from the age of 4 – passed away. He wanted his kids enjoy cars like he did.
“I would also love to go and visit with the other guys from the local SCCA CAM autocross class,” he said. “That group of guys has to be the best group I have had the pleasure of hanging out with. The camaraderie, the playful banter, the jokes and the BBQ are all great. I once broke all five lug studs off during an event, and like a gang, all the old hot rods drove over and we set up a mobile shop with what tools we had and fixed it before we went and got a beer.”
Even though this isn’t intended to be a dedicated racer, it’s going to be hard to keep it away from that environment. There is a chance that, disciplined as Bryan is, he might crack one day and relapse into cone carving.
To keep an eye on the progress of this stellar build, you can follow Bryan’s thread here.
