Everyone knows about the Bonneville. Perhaps your uncle owned a Grand Prix when you were a kid. Maybe your first car was a hand-me-down Catalina. So where does the Star Chief fit in? Our Pick of the Day is a 1963 Pontiac Star Chief Vista listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Palmetto, Florida. (Click the link to view the listing)
When the Star Chief was introduced in 1954, it was Pontiac’s top model. A special, limited-edition called the Bonneville (officially, the Star Chief Custom Bonneville) was introduced in 1957, and the name was mainstreamed as the top Pontiac model starting in 1958. When Pontiac finally introduced Bunkie Knudsen’s vision of what Pontiac should be, the models were Catalina, Star Chief and Bonneville.
Aside of being the middle trim level, what distinguished the Star Chief from other Pontiac models was that it featured the Bonneville’s longer wheelbase without the fancy interior or upgraded engine — a little bit of Catalina, a little bit of Bonneville, if you will. Star Chiefs always sold in fewer numbers than its siblings, too. After 1960, only four-doors were available and, starting in 1966, the model became the Star Chief Executive, to then become the Executive from 1967-70. The Star Chief series of the 1960s clearly never seemed to receive the love of other models.
This Yuba Beige 1963 Pontiac Star Chief Vista nicely demonstrates what the model was all about. A four-door sedan was available, but the four-door hardtop received the Vista name. Notice the chrome decoration on the C-pillars? This trim was a Star Chief feature from 1961-66. “Open the doors and check out the stock interior with factory Fawn cloth and vinyl,” says the seller. “The dash is beautiful and the original radio has all new internals that allow you to plug in your phone.”
Originally sold in Orlando (check out the trunk badge), this Poncho recently had some maintenance work that includes new shocks and springs, new brake lines and an aluminum radiator. “A/C, power steering, and power brakes make this easy to drive and she just floats down the road!”
With only 90,000 miles on the 389 (the version not specified in the ClassicCars.com ad, though likely the standard 283-horsepower Trophy V8 with two-barrel and Hydra-Matic), this well-kept Star Chief still has miles of life left. For $18,995, it’s a fair price for when Pontiac was at the top of its game.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.
Had a 61 starchief with a 389 and slim jim tranny. Loved that land yacht
Diego, I simply love that you respect Pontiac. I’m a GTO guy, but Pontiac was so much more than that- a good HS friend had a ’63 Grand Prix, his older bro a ’65 GTO. These were not the quickest not fastest cars, but they carried weight. Very sad that GM axed the excitement division. I’ll die owning a GTO.
You can blame Roger Smith for the demise of Olds and Pontiac. His cookie cutter cars of the 80’s were a disaster. He goes down as the beginning of the end for the great GM nameplates.
My dad had a 1963 389 Pontiac Star Chief! I ended up driving it to high school and I absolutely was so proud to be in that car! When I became an officer in the US Army my dad called me and asked me if I wanted to store the car and keep it and I stupidly said no! I wish I would have kept it!