Adam Woodhams and his '51 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe from Driverzines.

At the end of World War II, the impact on the United States was undeniable. Not only did the country have to clean up messes at Pearl Harbor and overseas, they also had to lay to rest thousands of young men who sacrificed their lives for their country. Along with dealing with the toils of war, the economy had to bounce back and men had to return to their positions in the workforce, displacing women from their jobs at an alarming rate. Automobiles were the least of everyone’s worries but just a couple years later with what seemed like everything back in order, the automotive market made great strides forward, producing some of the most gorgeous and iconic cars in the automotive world still renowned today.

The 1951 Pontiac Chieftain is one such vehicle – a large “bomb” style sedan decked to the nines with chrome, fancy trim options, and added luxuries like heated seats and electric clocks. Marketed in its third year of production as a mid-level sedan, one would be hard pressed to find anything on this classic car that was mediocre. Thus, Adam Woodhams’ passion for the vintage beast.

Check out his beloved car in the exclusive video from Sean Rivers above.

Woodhams, owner and president of Adam’s Rotors of California, wasn’t always smitten with  vintage Pontiacs. In fact, his love of hot rods and Kustom Kulture started with Mercurys. 

“Since I was a kid I always loved Mercs…always appreciated ’em and wanted them,” Woodhams told us in a recent conversation. “I’ve been into cars since I was 15, but when I was 22 I was in a very bad car accident and nearly killed myself. When I got out of the hospital I knew life was too short and had a bit of a ‘quarter-life crisis’ and bought and built a ’65 Lincoln Continental. That was my first step into classics and following my heart in vehicle choice, and not just what was easy/realistic/reliable or work/business-related.”

All Images courtesy of StanceWorks.

From there, Woodams realized a passion for Chevys, resulting in the build and customization of a 1957 Chevy Task Force. The graduation from Chevy to Pontiac happened later at a car show where Woodhams caught a glimpse of an iconic early 50s Indian-badged masterpiece and all its glory. Just as soon as Woodham found his true calling in the Kustom world, the search began for the perfect car and the ’57 Task Force went up for sale to fund the project. The ultimate decision came down to this 1951 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe Two-Door you see here.

While Woodhams admittedly wasn’t a fan of the blue color scheme in the beginning, the vehicle became the best option after two failed purchases and many dead ends presented themselves. From that point on, the blue kind of grew on Woodhams and now he finds it to be one of the most appealing colors of the era, remarking that no matter what color schemes he sees at car shows, its always a blessing to come back to his pale blue and navy combination.

With a year’s worth of work into the vehicle, the Pontiac now features many components that are old-school-cool as well as influences from Kustom Kulture. Under the hood, you’ll still find the car’s original Flat Head Straight Eight with a NOS HC head that replaced an old cracked one. Along with the original engine, the Pontiac also makes use of its original 6-volt system and hydra-matic transmission, which was rebuilt using 1954 internals and fitted with a passing gear for hill climbs and passing unsuspecting modern rides. 

The suspension that supports the vehicle is completely custom with Slam Specialties 6-inch ‘bags in the front run with a belt-driven York AC compressor and clutch with an oil recirculation kit, 5-gallon tank, 200-pound blow off valve and a toggle control under the dash. This complements the 6-inch progressive semi-truck rubber rear springs with a custom cross member mount and bumper stops, custom track rod, shock mounts and front sway-bar end-links, and mono-leaf dearched rear springs and blocks for the classic tail-dragger riding stance that transforms into a slammed piece of art at a stand still.

Additionally, the suspension  features a notched rear frame, shortened driveshaft and a rearend bell trunk notch.

Getting the Pontiac’s “low and slow” 116hp to the pavement are 15×6-inch steelies wrapped in Coker L78 wide whites in front and 670s in the rear. The front wheels are complimented by 3 1/2-inch Wheel Vintiques bullet caps while the rear wheels are fitted with smoothie dog dish caps to fit everything under the rear skirts.

Moving to the exterior features, you’ll find everything from blue dot taillights, the original steel visors and skirts, and even an old black and yellow plate, as well as shiny door handle guards, 4-inch peep mirrors, 80-inch Triple Lake straight pipes, a 5-toothed bumper guarded front bumper and Chevy Bel Air skirt bloomers. The finishing exterior touches are countless.

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Inside the car, the Pontiac maintains its vintage class with a totally custom pleated finish done in Blood Red and Champagne  Kodiak Sparkle Vinyl. Red crushed velvet carpeting piped in Champagne vinyl mixed with  Pontiac vanity mirrors, Venetian blinds and a red crystal suicide knob add even more character to an already charming interior. With the finishing touch of yellow crystal doorknobs, locks and valve stem caps, an ode to Woodhams’ wife (the same color found in her wedding and anniversary bands), the Pontiac is completely telling of Woodhams’ style.

We could go on and on about how gorgeous this ’51 Chieftain is but we’d rather let you take it all in for yourself, so make sure to check out the video above. Enjoy!

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Adam would like to thank the following people for their help and dedication to his car: My wife; interior-Chava & Son Upholstery; exhaust-Kurt at Babe's Lighting & Muffler; transmission- Ken Colby; rear suspension- Jason Colby; all-around fabrication/service work- Reinegger Wheel & Frame; pin-striping- Rudeboy; blinds- Ruben at Auto Venetian Blinds; Gee, California Pontiac Restoration and Accuair.