Buying a vintage car part for posterity

You know you’re a certifiable car nut when you start buying parts for vehicles that you don’t even own, but would like to…someday. Like purchasing a pair of jeans two sizes too small in the hopes of losing the weight required to make them fit, some of us will buy a car part for a model that we’d like to own, so it can serve as inspiration for the future.

Such is the case for this Pontiac gauge cluster that was standard in 1964 Grand Prixs and Bonnevilles. I’m a fan of all of Pontiac’s early to mid-1960s Big Cars, but especially Grand Prixs, with my preferences leaning toward the 1963 models, but I also like the ’64s…and the ’65s, ’66s and so on.

As soon as I saw this cluster, I instantly felt like I was in a 1964 GP—or a ’63 since it’s similar, though not the same as the cluster in that model. I quickly surmised that, at the very least, it would make a good display item and its price was right.

I also reasoned that since this cluster was standard in multiple Pontiac models (unless the optional accessory gauge package—same bezel different gauges in it, or A/C—bezel replaced with a different one for the vent, were ordered), there are plenty of them out there, so I’m not buying a really rare part and keeping it out of circulation for those who need it to finish a project. Some validation of my reasoning lies in the fact that the cluster didn’t garner much attention while it was for sale.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my purchase. There’s some light pitting and streaking on the chrome bezels—it’s certainly a “driver” piece—but the fuel, clock and battery gauge faces still look great. Thanks to its all metal constriction, it has aged well and is quite heavy, especially when compared to clusters that were installed in Pontiacs just a few years later.

It will serve its purpose well as a display item and an example of how, many components were really built to last in the 1960s. Maybe it’ll even lead to a ’63 or 64 GP when I hit the lottery-someday. That’s after I get the ’73 GP I’ve promised myself for years.

Have you ever purchased a part for a car that you didn’t even own yet but hoped to in the future? Tell us your story.