Those Mysterious 1953 Chevrolet and Pontiac Restyles

The 1953 redesign for Chevrolet and Pontiac has always bothered me.  The idea we were given was that this was all-new, yet there were similarities to the 1949-52 bodies, plus a vague hint of other similarities.

I suppose that someplace out there is a definitive discussion of the 1952-to-1953 transition.  But all I seem to read has it that either (1) the bodies were new, or (2) they were some sort of facelift.

When all else fails, as it seems, I resort to photos to try to make a case, and I'll flesh that out in the captions below.

First, a few items: I compare 1953 Chevys and Pontiacs to some 1952 Oldsmobiles and Buicks for reasons that will become apparent.  Chevrolet wheelbases remained constant over the 1952-53 transition at 115 inches (2921 mm).  Pontiac's grew from 120 inches (3048 mm) to 122 inches (3099 mm).  The 1952 Buick Special shown below had a 121.5 inch (3086 mm) wheelbase.  The Oldsmobile Supper 88s wheelbase was 119.5 (3035) and the Ninety-Eight's was 124 inches (3150 mm).  Unless noted, the images are of cars listed for sale.

Gallery

1952 Pontiac Chieftain 2-door sedan, Mecum auctions photo.  Chevrolet 2-door sedans were similar, though had shorter hoods.  Both brands' General Motors A-bodies had two-piece windshields 1949-52.

1952 Buick Special 2-door sedan.  This is a GM B-body introduced for the 1950 model year.  Windshields were one-piece.

The restyled 1953 Pontiac Chieftain 2-door sedan.  Its passenger compartment "greenhouse" is essentially identical to the '52 Buick Special's including the one-piece windshield.  The C-pillars on the Pontiac are slightly thinner, but all else looks the same.  However, the fender design is a carryover of the 1949-52 theme, the actual shaping having changed a little.

1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door sedan, Barrett-Jackson photo.  The greenhouse is the same as the Pontiac's, but the rest of the car is stubbier.

1952 Pontiac Chieftain 4-door sedan.

1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe 4-door sedan.  Again, these are from the final year of the 1949-52 A-body.

1952 Oldsmobile Super 88 4-door sedan, Barrett-Jackson photo.

1952 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight 4-door sedan, factory photo.  These two images show examples of 1952 B-body 4-door sedans on cars with different wheelbases.  The greenhouses are the same, but the 98's chrome trim around the C-pillar makes them seem a bit different.

1953 Pontiac Chieftain 4-door sedan, factory photo.  Again, the Pontiac '53 A-body greenhouse is virtually the same as that of the '52 four-door B-body's.  The difference is that the Pontiac rear door is not as wide as those on those Olds's.

1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door sedan, Mecum photo.  The same applies to the '53 Chevy 4-door sedan.

My conclusion is that General Motors used the core elements of its 1950-53 B-bodies as the basis for the "redesigned" 1953-54 A-bodies.  The passenger compartment was the most costly to engineer, so by keeping it the same aside from minor C-pillar differences, the A-bodies were comparatively cheap to develop.  This might have been motivated by the knowledge that a totally redesigned A-body would definitely be coming on-line for 1955 or maybe even as early as 1954, so a large expense to freshen 1952 Chevies and Pontiacs didn't seem worth doing, even for the wealthy corporation that GM was in those days.