In this episode of Big Muscle, host Mike Musto takes us back to the days when wagons ruled mall parking lots and crossovers were not a twinkle in engineers’ eyes.
Owned by Mike Artman, this 1964 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon was originally an ambulance. Today it’s a restomod with a massive 468 cubic-inch big block sitting under its unsuspecting hood. As Musto discovers, the car has no problems doing a proper burnout; however, it does have issues coming to a halt. With manual brakes all around, Musto urges the weak-legged to avoid driving this Catalina or else risk rear-ending, “everything you come across.”
The wagon itself is a total sleeper, but cut springs and bigger wheels give it a menacing look over a stock Catalina Safari wagon. Nevertheless, it certainly looks tamer than the bite it actually produces. Plus, it still has a working siren from its days as an ambulance. Awesome.
Comments
My parents bought a ’64 Catalina Safari new when I was eight years old. It was the worst car my family ever owned — left us stranded several times and I don’t think there was a part that didn’t rattle — and soured the whole family on GM products for decades. At less than two years old they were referring to it as “the heap.” It was cars like this that set GM on a long downhill slide in market share.
Mundane question about an awesome car: I see it has shoulder belts. I’m sure it came from the factory with just a lap belt. I’d be curious to know what the owner did to install a more modern shoulder belt setup?