Pre Sixties: What type of vehicle do you have?
Mike Campbell: 1951 Pontiac Fleetleader Deluxe

Can you give us some history of your car or truck? Where did you find it? How long have you owned it?
I purchased the Pontiac from a gentleman in the Ottawa area in June of 2016. The car was built in Oshawa and sold in Toronto at the Old Mill Pontiac on Bloor St. (Now called Old Mill Cadillac I believe) to a woman named Dorothy that also lived on Bloor St. in Toronto. When I purchased the car, it came from the 4th owner and the original extended warranty paperwork was still with the car. At the time of purchase, it was completely stock with less than 47000 Miles on the clock and needed nothing to get it on the road. I lowered the car immediately after purchase and drove it for the summer before the real work began that fall.

What work has been done? What work have you done?
The first order of business was to install full air ride suspension. As I began collecting parts for the suspension, I had the luck to find a 401 Buick Nailhead with matching transmission so the entire drivetrain was now getting an overhaul. The front suspension is Mustang II with a couple tweaks and power steering. The rear suspension is a 2-link holding onto a posi Camaro rear end. To get the rear of the car as close to the ground as possible, I cut out most of the trunk and raised the rear wheel wells to make room for the tires and gas tank when the car was aired out. The air bags are controlled by manual toggle valves mounted below the dash with analog gauges to keep track of air pressures at each corner. With the new rear end in it was time to get the rest of the drivetrain sorted. I filled all the holes in the firewall and swapped the Nailhead and transmission into its new home connecting the rear end to the transmission with a 2-piece driveshaft from an S-10. I wanted to keep the exterior and interior of the car looking very original and because I believe that a lot of the paint was original, I simply scuffed the paint from the belt line trim down to give it a satin/gloss two-tone effect. I had the carpet done in a matching shade of green to keep things subtle on the interior (basically the only part of the build that I didn’t do myself).

Do you have any work planned for the future?
I still need to paint the firewall as it is still in bare metal because I simply couldn’t decide on a colour for it and I need to finish the upholstery in the trunk.

What’s a favourite memory with your car or truck?
Cruising with my daughter. I sold my first classic, a 1957 Chevy pickup, that I also put a ton of work into to buy this car because my daughter was born and I wanted something with a backseat to be able to take her along. It was an awesome decision because she loves riding in it with me and in the summer when we’re headed out somewhere there’s always the question asked, “can we take the green car?” There is something about cruising in an old car that’s relaxing and I think she has logged more miles in that car sleeping than she has awake.