Pontiac Fisher Body Strike

[37coupe]

Yes, the Fisher body plant went on strike against GM for 44 days: Late 1936 till February 11, 1937

The United Automobile Workers had established several local unions by 1935 that had few members and little power. The Flint Sit-Down Strike turned the UAW into a very powerful national union. Flint was the only General Motors plant in the United States with dies to produce car body parts for Buicks, Pontiacs, and Oldsmobiles. A strike was planned and scheduled but the union organizers heard that General Motors planned to move the dies out of Flint. Organizers quickly held a meeting and decided to strike that day by sitting down at the work place.
Workers organized themselves in the factory even electing a "mayor." Women brought food and passed it through the windows. When the police broke in and shot tear gas into the factory the men threw hinges at them and the women outside the factory broke windows to let in fresh air. Many recreational activities were organized to entertain the workers and many songs were written to help pass the time and create solidarity within the work force. The strike eventually spread to Fisher Body #4 significantly reducing the production of the necessary automobile body parts.

On February 11, 1937 General Motors Corporation and the United Automobile Workers signed an agreement recognizing the UAW as the sole bargaining agent for the workers.

The coupe door seals are melted as well as the rubbers on the front and rear bumpers. There is no fire damage to the interior and no sheet metal damage to the untrained eye. The side window glass is distorted where the heat distorted the plastic in the glass. (safety Glass)

I will be uploading photos as well as a step by step restoration of the vehicle. I am looking forward to input from fellow members, for their expertise.
For example... The wheels on the left side have left hand thread lugnuts, while the right side is right hand thread. Never would have imagined that.

[Larry]

I did some more checking and see that the '37s began production on September 28, 1936 and ended productuion August 17, 1937. That gives about 47 weeks of production.

By doing a little math you can figure that of the 153,826 sixes built in Pntiac, MI it would average out to about 3,273 cars per week. Your car being number (CA)4882, or the 3,881st one built, means that it would certainly have to have been built in something like the second week of production.

Tapping the bodies from the Fisher plant could mean that the actual body was made even earlier than that. Regardless, it would sure seem (with a good margin) that your '37 Pontiac was assembled well before the late-'36 Fisher strike.

You may have the earliest '37 Pontiac in existance!