The Pontiac Catalina bowed for the 1950 model year as a trim level on the Pontiac Chieftain. The Catalina took its name from the custom popular among auto manufacturers of naming cars after beach towns such as Bel Air, Ventura, and Malibu, to name a few. The Catalina moniker would later be used for the Pontiac Star Chief, a pillarless hardtop with top-of-the-line appointments, and an open, airy feel.
In 1959, Pontiac dropped the Chieftain and Super Chief models, choosing to make the Pontiac Catalina a model of its own. The Catalina was built on the new GM B-body platform, with thin A-pillars, wraparound windshield, and great outward visibility. The grille was split in the center, with each half home to dual headlights arranged horizontally.
The Pontiac Catalina had an extensive list of available options, despite being the most affordable full-size car the division offered. The interior featured standard Morrokide luxury vinyl with cloth inserts, dual ashtrays, lighter, and glovebox snackbar with cup indentions on the door. The floor came covered in rubber mat, but full carpeting was optional.
The 1961 model year brought a refresh for the Pontiac Catalina, with flatter windshields, sharper body lines, and a new Torque Box perimeter chassis that made for better interior space and side-impact protection. The Catalina was five inches wider than its GM corporate cousins, but the new chassis resulted in a three-inch shorter wheelbase and overall length.
1962 brought some styling changes for the Pontiac Catalina, with softer lines and a new roofline. The wheelbase grew by an inch for the hardtop and sedan. The standard engine was the 389 fed by a two-barrel carb, rated at 215 horsepower, and paired with a three-speed manual, four-speed manual, or a Hydramatic automatic transmission. Optional 389 engines could be had in 230-, 235-, 267-, 283-, 305-, 318-, 333-, or 348-horsepower configurations, with a multitude of different carb setups and compression ratios. There was even an available 421 Super Duty rated at 405 horses.
Comments
Beautiful! I love the old Ponies!
Rock solid stock! Perfect!
Gorgeous car! Great color. Oh, if only GM (and Ford/Lincoln) still made cars.
In the past I’ve commented on how GM can’t seem to stick with a model/names and thus (I believe) it confuses the buyers and they end up losing them. From what I read in this article, it seems GM was doing that same name swapping stuff back then too.
Welcome to Wide Track town…….a great ad campaign.
Where are the 3 – 2’s ? Looks like a 2 bbl. on it now.
It says the 3-2’s are included in the sale…
I have no complaints about this Pontiac Catalina: a good example of GM’s designs at this time. But if I am not mistaken this car is 212.30″ Long and 79.60″ wide. Today, I don’t think many of us would want a vehicle this large as a daily driver today.
doubletime: Have you looked around as you drive? Have you seen the huge pigs all over the roads with one or two people in them? Next time you drive, take a count of the Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon/XL, Escalade/ESV, Navigator, Expedition, etc. Just for comparison:
Escalade 211 inches / ESV 226.9
I personally don’t want a huge vehicle where I’m at not, but it’s evident that many people do want large.
Perhaps it was the lack of competition, perhaps it was the can do attitude but cars were beautiful back then. No one , absolutely no one is going to say “wow, that Honda CRX is gorgeous” . It’ll Never happen unless the guy is blind or something. I think it was the 65 bonnieville that set the streets on fire with serious good looks. It and the 63 riviera, 66 tornado . When I see a Camry, I instantly fall asleep.