One of the best and most often overlooked body styles for a hotrod belongs to those of the early 1950s GM passenger cars. It’s often passed up in favor of its successor in the Tri-Five era, but there is a lot to be said about the look of these earlier models. We love it when we see one that’s been treated to a quality restoration job.

This 1951 Pontiac Silver Streak belongs to Fred Dickinson of Shelton, Washington, and he was attracted to this car originally because of its similarity to his first car, a 1951 Chevy. “I was on the internet looking at cars when I saw this,” he explained. “This has the same body as the Chevy and it really reminded me of my first car. That’s what started all of this.”

That was about four years ago, when he saw this for the first time and bought it. Since then, it’s been completely redone. “It looked like swiss cheese when I got it,” Fred explained. “Hardly any floors. Now it has a new front end, rearend, floors, body, and pretty much everything else.”

This Pontiac features a little bit of Chevy power by way of a small-block 350 cubic-inch crate engine that’s been bored out just a little and built to produce near 360 horsepower. The transmission is a TH350 and it also has a positraction rearend in the back. The fuel provided by an Edelbrock carburetor.

The interior is all custom and was done by a Michael Worley at MLW upholstery. “I picked out the colors and told him to be creative,” Fred told us. “And he did a great job.” The interior is one of many places where this build really shines. The diamond pattern and colors are a great compliment to the rest of the design and the Pontiac accents on the door panels are a great touch.

With the updated drivetrain and show-quality interior, of course the instruments had to be upgraded to match. The dash now features a nice set of Auto-Meter gauges and an Auto-Meter tachometer where the clock would have been in the center of the speaker. He has also added a newer stereo and air conditioning to make the ride a little more comfortable.

We love Fred’s car, and we aren’t the only ones either. He took home a nice trophy last weekend from a show in Montesano, Washington. It’s not surprising at all considering the quality on this build.

What do you think of Fred’s Pontiac? Do you have a hotrod you like to take out for a cruise or take to a car show? If so, we’d love to see it. Shoot us an email with a couple pictures and a little information on your ride and you might just see it here as one of our Street Features. Still a work in progress? No worries, we’d always like to see a project for our What Are You Working On series.