One Pontiac, Two Owners: The Two Lifetimes Of A 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catlina

In the spring of 1954, Albert Thieszen returned after two years of college to his home town, the small, prosperous farming community of Henderson, Neb., full of “vim and vinegar,” as the old folks would say, and ready to take his place in the adult world. 

High on his agenda was to get a set of wheels for the traveling he had planned, so a visit to the General Motors dealer was in order. Grosshans, Inc., in Aurora, the next town up the road, handled all the GM brands except Cadillac. The unit that caught his eye immediately was a new Pontiac Chieftain Custom Catalina. He knew “Catalina” was the special name Pontiac had adopted for its two-door hardtop. 

GM had introduced the hardtop convertible body style in its Cadillac “Coupe deVille,” Buick “Riviera” and Oldsmobile “Holiday” models in 1949, and followed in 1950 with the Pontiac “Catalina” and Chevrolet “Bel Air.” All the hardtops were built by welding a steel top onto a convertible body, retaining the flat side-door glass and quarter windows. When a hardtop’s side windows were rolled down, there was an open-air feel shared with a “top up” convertible — no fixed pillar separated the front and rear. As of 1953, a curved, one-piece backlight had replaced the three-piece rear glass of the first Catalinas, which added to the airiness of the passenger compartment. 

The 1954 Chieftain Catalina that Thieszen focused on at Grosshans had arrived from the factory with a striking tan body finish two-toned with russet brown on the roof and below the stainless sweepspear. It was fitted with the ancient-but-dependable Pontiac straight-eight flathead engine and Hydra-Matic drive. Accessories included 7.10×15 whitewall tires and wire wheel covers; driver’s side rear view mirror; a radio; backup lamps; and the distinctive lighted Indian head hood ornament.  

The 19-year-old signed “Albert Thieszen“ on the dotted line and drove home in his new Catalina.

About that continental kit 

Shortly after the transaction, Thieszen took a job in Colorado and moved there. While cruising around Denver, he spotted another 1954 Pontiac with the rarely seen two-tone paint treatment in different colors from his. It also had a continental spare wheel kit on the rear. Thieszen had never seen that treatment before and had to run down the other driver to ask him about it. He learned that it was a dealer-installed Pontiac accessory. 

Within a very long list of optional equipment, Pontiac began offering the “Continental tire extension” for the 1953 models and would continue it for the next few years. Presumably, the kits were manufactured by an outside vendor and shipped directly to dealers for installation. 

The other driver recommended the Denver Pontiac dealer where he’d bought his car. The parts department had the accessory in stock, and soon Thieszen was sporting around Denver with a Continental tire extension on his Catalina.

Until 1954, all Pontiacs were built on the same platform. A chassis spanning a 122-in. wheelbase served all models, whether powered by the L-head inline six- or inline eight-cylinder engine, and all with the Chieftain model name. 

Four models in a new Star Chief series joined the Pontiac line-up for 1954. The Star Chief Deluxe sub-series consisted of a four-door sedan and a convertible, while a somewhat dressier four-door sedan and a Catalina two-door hardtop made up the Star Chief Custom sub-series. All Star Chiefs rode a 124-in. wheelbase and were fitted with the eight-cylinder engine. Longer rear quarter panels and deck, supported by an 11-inch rear frame extension, accounted for an overall length of 213.7 in., 11 in. longer than that of Chieftain models. Star Chiefs were built in a new GM assembly plant along with Buick and Oldsmobile A-bodies in Arlington, Texas.

Thieszen was still driving the Pontiac when he moved back to Henderson, married his high school sweetheart, Jean, and settled down to work the family farm for 48 years. Many other cars — and pickups — served the family’s and the farm’s transportation needs through the years, while the Catalina remained safely in the garage, emerging occasionally for pleasure drives, or to attend a local show.

The Catalina begins a second life 

Some 15 years ago, while attending a farm sale, the 1954 Catalina came up during a conversation with a fellow shopper. Thieszen admitted he had started thinking about selling the chariot that had carried him nearly 100,000 miles in the past 50 years. He definitely wanted it kept in the same original condition, and he hoped it wouldn’t move too far away.

“I know a guy,” his companion responded, “a guy who has some vintage Pontiacs and might be interested in another one.” Information was exchanged, and a short time later, Thieszen placed a call to George Skorohod in Lincoln, Neb., about 60 miles from where Thieszen lives. Skorohod has been in the automotive business, and hobby, for many years, with a “dry” gas station-turned-repair shop, a used car lot, towing service and a parts and salvage yard.  

The two men reached a deal that included a pledge that the car be maintained in its factory original configuration. Skorohod has complied since taking ownership. When an original hood hinge became damaged, he used his contacts to search out and buy another ’54 Pontiac, which donated the needed part. He kept the rest of that car just in case something else might need replacement. 

Most recently, he took the Catalina to long-time friend Keith Bouwens, who gave the well-preserved old girl a brand new coat of the original Biloxi Beige paint, two-toned with Picador Red on the top and below the side spears.

When informed of that development, 10 years after he had sent it down the road, Thieszen insisted that he had to see his life-long favorite car again. Skorohod complied, and Thieszen admitted, “It brought tears to my eyes” when the new caretaker rolled into the 2024 Henderson Car Show in the very familiar 1954 Pontiac Chieftain Catalina. Thieszen’s wife, Jean, had passed away, but another classmate, Virginia, who remembered the car well, was glad to stand in as many photos were snapped.

The entire close-knit community celebrated the return of a familiar sight to their streets!

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