One week ago, I covered this 1963 Pontiac Bonneville convertible and waxed on about Pontiac’s ownership of the “exciting sixties”, both before and after the GTO’s ’64 introduction. Continuing in that vein, today, courtesy of Zappenduster, I have a 1963 Catalina convertible for your review. Perhaps the little brother to the Bonneville, it still exudes the sportiness that was at the heart of Pontiac promotions in this era. Having cooled its heels in a heated garage since 2009, this drop-top Poncho is located in Stuart, Iowa, and is listed here on Facebook Marketplace for $10,000, firm.
Pontiac scored a number three position in the great domestic auto production race of 1963 with a total output of 590K units. Despite that positive showing, they were still 935K vehicles behind number two, Ford. Anyway, the Catalina, Pontiac’s bread-and-butter model, led the charge with 235K examples, of which 18K (7.7%) were convertibles. Catalina body styles included the usual suspects with two-door hardtops, convertibles, and sedans, as well as four-door hardtops, sedans, and station wagons – oh, to have that choice today!
The seller is direct in his assessment of this Catalina, especially when he notes, “Some cons of the car are that the top is shot and would need to be replaced, and the frame has rust! The doors still shut nice and smooth, but the frame will need to be repaired or replaced to drive it safely. The qtr. panels also have Bondo in them.” Frame problems, hmm…uh oh!
The interior features new carpet, while the rest of the environment appears to be original. The bright blue vinyl upholstery, the driver’s side of the front bench seat, in particular, is looking shaky, but everything else still presents pretty well. Even the translucent portion of the tiller isn’t cracked into bite-size bits, as is often the case with Tin Indian steering wheels from this era. Aftermarket A/C has been added, but there’s no mention of its operability.
Standard Catalina power in ’63 was a 267 gross HP 389 CI “Trophy” V8 engine, and that appears to be what’s behind this Pontiac’s distinctive split grille. This one runs and drives, and the seller states that the following items have been addressed: “New tune-up, plugs/wires, points, new brake master cylinder & wheel cylinders. Rebuilt carb; fuel tank was cleaned out & new sending unit installed.” An automatic transmission is in place, and in this case it’s a Roto-Hydramatic – not one of GM’s more stellar designs. Regardless, there’s no mention of transmission foibles, so maybe it’s not an issue.
So, there are some positives here: the folding top mechanism, with its new cylinders and pump works (though the dash switch doesn’t), and the floors are sound, but that frame business and the less-than-desirable transmission set this Catalina pretty far apart from the previously reviewed Bonneville. I dunno, I’m not feelin’ ten large for this ragtop, how about you?
A/C car here but the frame rust does not look good.