Oh, no! This otherwise extremely nice, original 1970 Pontiac Catalina sedan has been the victim of a nasty bump to the rear end—and consequently carries a branded title. What would you do with this classic that’s too nice to automatically deem a parts car, but not necessarily valuable enough to justify the cost of repair? Thanks to aptly named reader Rusty for finding this little conundrum for us here on craigslist out of Land O’ Lakes, Florida with a $7,900 asking price.
It’s worth pointing out that, even in perfect condition, $7,900 is all the money for this car. Our seller, Jerry, seems almost more interested in trades than cash, although there, too, he comes across as pretty ambitious (a Rolex? A DeLorean?). Maybe he’d be willing to throw some cash on top of the car for the right trade.
It’s also worth looking at this boo-boo again, though, because the buyer’s got to make a considered decision here before parting with any hard-earned jukeboxes or yachts or what have you. Remarkably, the bumper doesn’t look that bad and could probably be straightened and rechromed, but I’d be concerned about damage to the frame—and 1970 Catalina sedan quarter panels don’t just grow on trees, either, you know. There’s a pretty good bend in that trunklid, too.
Still, the rest of the car is just so nice. It’s got an interesting mix of equipment, too; it’s a pillared sedan, not a hardtop, but is pretty loaded for a Catalina, with a vinyl top, air conditioning, and the 400-cubic inch V8, newly an option in 1970 with the substitution of a 350 as the standard engine. Just 60,120 miles show on the odometer, and the car is said to “run perfect.”
In addition to being willing to part with kind of a lot of green, the buyer of this clean but crunched Catalina had better like the color green, too—it’s inside, outside, and on top. Everything inside looks seaworthy—as long as the green doesn’t make you seasick—although it looks like there might be a little tape patch on the driver’s seat. No such problems out back. The shoulder belts clipped to the ceiling are a neat touch peculiar to these first few transitional years between the 1968 mandate for shoulder belts and the widespread adoption of three-point belts (and the not-unrelated demise of hardtops) by American manufacturers in the mid-70s.
So what would you do with this Catalina? The 1970 full-size Pontiacs are pretty unique cars, a one-year-only neoclassical update to the 1965 platform before a completely new generation was introduced for 1971, and they’re hard enough to find that, if you really wanted one, you might consider this wounded beast. The flip side, of course, is that that rarity would make finding necessary parts for a repair a major chore. Are any of you a true artisan of steel, ready and willing to bring this Pontiac back to its green glory—and, most importantly, whaddya got to trade for it?
Would have probably totaled any new car today, sending 3 of the occupants to the hospital. The old Poncho took it in stride. This was no big deal years ago, and we would continue to drive this until something mechanical gave out. I’m sure a modern frame shop could pull this back, but it won’t be cheap. A little steep on the asking price. Be hard to get that for an undamaged one. They were great cars.
Probably would’ve totalled a new car and had all the occupants walk away.
You’re right, this car sustained less damage than a modern car would have. The rear structure of a modern car would collapse to absorb energy and protect the passengers. Someone was probably carried away from this one in a neck brace.
Green, auto and a Pontiac. Yum. I’d have to pay to get it fixed, then show it and take video of “2 doors or crush it” snobs collapsing when this thing gets a crowd at a car show.
Ram a fully loaded garbage truck into the other rear quarter at about 40mph and call it ‘art’.
Is this guy nutty? 8000 dollars for a base Catalina 4 door sedan with a salvage title with a hit in the rear so hard you can see the frame sticking out? 8000 would never happen even if the car was not wrecked. Come on now….
I agree, he’s out of his mind. As someone said above, it’d be hard enough to get that price if it weren’t damaged. Nice car, it’s a shame. It’ll probably sit outside and go to s**t. Then someone will get it for peanuts, pull the engine and tranny, and junk the rest, or try and part out anything still useful. All because the current owner thinks it’s worth it’s weight in gold. He must see dollar signs flying around in the air every time he thinks about it. Another word for that is “delusional”.
Did one or a similar one in perfect condition go for big $’s on Mecum or Barrett-Jackson recently? Only reason I can think of for asking so much for it. How much would it cost to make it if not perfect at least attractive? And what would you end up with? A car worth how much?
I agree. this car, in its present condition…$4,000.00 tops….considering all the work that needs to be done. BTW, the headliner isn’t all that great and carpets need replacing.
The carpets look like there was standing water for a long period of time. I’d check for leaks around the windows or the inner cowl, due to leaves causing that area to rust through.
This is at best a $1,500-2,000 dollar car. The damage is too extensive to fix compared to the cars value. This is something you drive around until it needs its first major repair, then part out.
Steve R
I assume there is a zero too many in that price.
It’s a wreck, and even for parts there’s no rarity in what you can pull off it, to support that asking price. Given the likelihood of a ‘rebuilt’ brand if you do repair it, the full value still wouldn’t be in the car.
That’s a real shame. Saddens me to see any older car get accident damage.
Oh yeah, price is WAY out of line.
This car was crunched a VERY Long time ago!’
What’s up with the carpet, anyway? Looks nasty when compared to the rest of the interior. I think he’ll get offers around $2K. 8? Eh, No.
Yea you guys hit the nail on its head. Not worth it for an undamaged one. Got a 69 Catalina a few years ago for free and passed it on to a friend for nothing. Think its trickle down from the BJ and Me Cum syndrome. Would be a great parts car if you were doing a 70 cat. for about a thousand. SMH..
Cheers
GPC
I want some of what he’s smoking…wow..
Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Nevada, Maine, Vermont, and Mass.,,”cause these times they are a changin”
That’s got to be a replacement bumper that was mounted to the damaged mounts. These are kind of interesting looking cars and might be worth a little if it were a coupe or convertible. A base four door, no. In this condition a parts car. Sure, it could be repaired with another quarter panel but unless you can do it yourself you’ll just be throwing your money away. In this condition, maybe a grand. To the right person.
Yea Jose think the frames gotta be bent with a hit that hard..
Cheers
GPC
When bumpers were bumpers!
2 too many doors, save the front end and any other worthwhile parts and crush the rest. I have never cared for 4 door sedans, spend the money on a 2 door hardtop.
Dial 1-888-Arson “R” Us
2nd Generation Bustle Back Cadillac Seville. Car & Driver wrote they came Pre-Vandalized from the factory.
12 years later,Pontiac built an EDSEL !!
As you point out, $7900 is the value of this car with the damage repaired. Real value of the car is $7900 minus cost of repairs, which might make it a $300-400 car. The seller is in his own dreamworld if he thinks it’ll bring that money as is. OTOH, if he does sell if for $7900, give me the name of the buyer. I have some ocean front property in Colorado to sell him.
Everyones first thought was, does it have the 455, after that , eh. How much um … no .
If I read this right says it had a 400 but now has a 350…..
Cheers
GPC
The CL ad says the car has a 400. In Nathan’s write up he only says that the 400 was now an option and that a 350 was the standard engine for 1970.
That’s a pretty ambitious price without the damage. They were great cars but they don’t bring big money. I think you could find a used quarter without too much trouble but the cost to replace and repaint could easily run $4,000 or more. You will need a rear bumper and deck lid and if you re-chrome the bumper you will spend at least $1,000 on that.
I’ve had a car written off with less damage than that he’s dreaming like to get an opinion from a panel beater although today with the new body straightening equipment it could come up quite good although it looks like it’s been like that for a while with the rust in the bare areas and not having the original engine $1500.00 would stop me
This car was written off by the insurance company, that is why it now has a salvage title. No where in the CL ad does it say that the engine is not original.
Seller sounds like a low-level hustler. Trade for a Rolex? This is a $4k car without the damage. Strange how the bumper and trunk lid are not as crunched as the fender. Was someone backing up real fast with the trunk open?
This must be a joke post on Craigslist to see what people say about it.
A totaled car cannot be worth anywhere in the 4 digits.
The parts, especially in that color, are not in very high demand.
Parts are parts boys. That’s all this old injun is now.
This car has been running on Tampa CL forever. Like all CL sellers in FL, their prices are too high, their products aren’t worth the price, and they aren’t smart enough to come down in price in order to move the merchandise.
Did he hit his head in the crash?
Looks like a casualty of the daily driving
wars on I-4! Believe it or not, a lot of folks
drove these smashed up cars daily due
in large part to the fact that many Floridians (At least here in Polk County)
were priced out of the new and late model used car markets. All this happened back in the mid ’80’s when
wages were very low, and many people
had no real choice but to drive cars like
this one–some of them even worse than
this poor Pontiac. Used to see wrecks
like this one motoring down Havendale
Boulevard most every day back then.
Missing fenders, dented doors, and
no window glass were fairly common
sights at that time as no bus service
in Winter Haven in those days. The
wildest thing I ever saw was an AMC
Hornet wagon with a 5-gallon jerry can
duct taped to the roof with a hose
running down the driver’s side A pilar
and into a hole in the hood to the
carbeurator!! Made me wonder if I
was in downtown Havana Cuba, or
in Winter Haven, Florida! Most of
this was desperation on the part of
Havenites who simply could not afford
to buy a decent car. But times have
since changed, and I now see many
new cars on our streets and as for this car, I just saw an ad for a body shop
here in town that could save it. They
claim that they can repair almost any
accident damage done to any car.
If I could get it for say, $200-$500, I’d
buy it, let them fix it, and let them use
it in their next TV commercial! It
certainly would be quite a coup for them.
And Rex, you’re right, folks charge too
much for an automobile here in Florida.
No wonder they can’t sell ’em!!
Pull the trim, gut the interior, sell it all off, chain down the motor mounts, weld the doors shut, and proceed to dominate in the demo derby.
This car can and should be restored. A decent body shop could fix this 1 2 3. A really good body shop could salvage the trunk lid from the photo provided. It’s all about it being a labor of love.
Labor of love doesn’t pay the bills. Cost to fix would exceed the value.
Get a body saw, cut the damage out, bevel and hole pinch a seam, and learn and practice welding while fixing it. Good practice for that GTO restoration one day. Frank’s Pontiac Parts has all the parts to fixi for under about $850.
Obviously the price of the car has to be lowered to a reasonable price first.