1943 Pontiac Streamliner

A 1943 Pontiac Streamliner CC (often denoting the Club Coupe or "Chieftain" body designation) does not technically exist as a standard production vehicle, as all civilian automobile manufacturing in the United States was halted on February 10, 1942, by order of the War Production Board to pivot factories toward World War II military defense work.

However, any vehicle referred to as a "1943" model is a continuation of the 1942 General Motors B-body design specifications, which were either built immediately before the production freeze (and registered late) or produced in extremely limited numbers during the war for military or government staff use.

• The "Fastback" Profile: The Club Coupe (CC) featured an elegant, sweeping "torpedo-back" or fastback roofline that sloped smoothly from the roof all the way down to the rear bumper.

• "Blackout" Trim: If completed or registered after January 1, 1942, the car was built with "blackout" specifications. To conserve critical war materials like chromium and nickel, all the typical shiny trim pieces, bezels, and grilles were painted in gunmetal gray or body color rather than being chrome-plated.

• Silver Streak Accent: The iconic, parallel chrome (or painted) lines known as the "Silver Streak" ran down the center of the hood.

• Front-End Aggression: The 1942 design featured a wide, horseshoe-shaped front grille with horizontal bars. The front fenders were lengthened so that they extended backward and bolted directly onto the front doors.

• Chassis: Built on GM's robust, full-size B-body platform with a 122-inch wheelbase.

o Six-Cylinder (26 Series): A 239. 2 cubic inch (3, 920 cc) L-head inline-6 engine producing 90 horsepower.

o Eight-Cylinder (28 Series): A 248. 9 cubic inch (4, 079 cc) L-head inline-8 "Silver-Streak" engine producing 103 horsepower.

• Transmission: A 3-speed manual transmission with a column-mounted shifter.

• Suspension & Brakes: Independent coil springs in the front and semi-elliptic leaf springs in the rear. It utilized standard hydraulic duo-servo drum brakes on all four wheels.