not a Barnette

[John ED Renstrom]

after visiting Bill's 53 Barnette combo I can now say my 53 is not a Barnette. there are some differences I can't believe would occur in the same production year. the clincher is the way the tops of the doors are done. one can dismiss the door sills and the fact that cabinets in one are wood the other steel. but I can't see them changing the tops of the doors just because one is a ambulance and one is a combo. the good news is I have her back now and running. her she is with all the valves closing
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJadqklTvg4[/ame]

 

[John Royark JR]

At least now we can cross that one off the list. I was betting on Barnette too.
The mystery remains!

 

[John ED Renstrom]

that we can. from all the pictures I could find the doors looked right with the rounded corners and all. but the upper door crease and the stamp half way threw the pillar on the Barnette tipped the scales. everything else about the out side doors is the same alone with the pillar. so one had to look right at that spot to see it. funny I missed noticing the top of the center door on the one at french lake. but with Todd's GMC having the same tunnel lights some one was making a few of these conversion in the 50s at least. got to be a couple more out there. maybe one of them has the tag still. it had to have gone here. same set of holes on both fenders

 

[Bruce Biancalana]

could it be an Acme?

 

[Pat Post]

Looks like an Economy Pontiac Style 1500 to me. Built in Memphis, TN.

 

[Keith Snyder]

I would tend to agree that this interesting car could have been built by Economy. Sure matches many of the design and style points of an Economy. The only other reasonable alternative I can come up with is that it could have been a Meteor. As many will remember, Economy built all of the Meteor-Pontiacs under contract in 1954 and, according to Tom McPherson, the Economy people made many trips between Memphis and Piqua during 1953 to show the Meteor execs various cars and the quality of their work. Tom has photos of several different 1953 Economy-Pontiac vehicles that were photographed in front of the Meteor office complex in Piqua. For the most part, these cars are wearing Tennessee license plates as well.

 

[John ED Renstrom]

it looks like a economy because all sedan deliveries look about the same. not a lot of difference in a stretch at a glance. there name plate would have been above the molding close to the door opening. as they built them for meteor I'm guessing they built the doors the same on the meteor as they did there own. so here is the difference in them. acme had a vary distinctive side window treatment so that rules them out. here is a national, the economy built meteor, Bill"s Barnitte and mine for comperasion.