Sporting a prominent beak and Wide-Track design, this 1966 Pontiac Catalina Station Wagon rests in a remote location outside Blacksburg, Virginia, lying in repose beneath a pall of barn dust. Listed here on craigslist.org, the full-sized wagon seeks a new owner for the first time since entering the seller’s family in 1968. Parked since “about 2005,” the big wagon comes “as is.” Minimal rust sticks out to catch your eye, but the mechanical bits could offer some challenge after a 15 year slumber. At the asking price of $6900, you’ll have to love this catch to take the bait. Thanks to Tyler W. for spotting this white whale.
Some wagons of this era feature rear styling as an afterthought, but not the Catalina! Bumpers and rear quarters blend to tastefully bracket the tailgate like parentheses. Bumpers and trim add some bling. The roof rack promises to secure the largest Christmas tree, or fold the rear seat and stuff it inside.
While the Bonneville topped the wagon line in ’66, this Catalina still carries the full-size flag with classy design and trim. High-mounted factory air conditioning ducts promise cooling for front and rear. What looks like an aftermarket dash cover likely conceals cracks and other imperfections. The seats were reupholstered at one time in a mixture of vinyl and cloth.
Assuming the 389 cid V8 is original, it’s probably the 290 HP version according to lov2xlr8.no, and the seller claims it’s been rebuilt at least once since ’68. Along with AC, power brakes and steering ease the job for Mom or Dad.
Built during a time when many drivers considered pickup trucks rather commercial, full-sized wagons of this vintage can pull a travel trailer just fine, or tow your GTO! Station wagons enjoy a narrow band of faithful followers today, so success of this sale may come down to whether such a buyer lives nearby or doesn’t mind trolling a ways to land this white whale. Picture this wide-track wagon fully restored and sitting in your driveway; what’s your first destination?
Pall, don’t hear that word anymore – perfect!
If you guys are sick of hearing this from me, let me know and I’ll shaddup. Dirt floor garage since 2005 ?? No pics of the underbelly.seems a little pricey, but if you think its for you,, looker over. Great grocery getter or parts hauler. Good luck!
Cheers
GPC
Totally agree. Dirt floors are deadly to cars.
We had a very nice 65 Catalina wagon. Like this one, ours had air and made a great camping vehicle in the summers. My parents would take the tent and my brother and I shared the wagon. Dad would tape mosquito screen over the back window when it was warm. If I remember correctly it had a fold-down tailgate that we used to set the Coleman stove on for cooking.
The 389 is dependable. Biggest worry here is the rust.
My dad bought a new white 66 Pontiac big wagon. I was 10 years old. It had maroon interior and an option I have never seen again, a full length black rear mud flap with white Pontiac crest. We only had a year. He was frugal. No air. In 67, he bought a new Catalina with the new for 67 400 engine. Great cars. Great memories. That wagon held far more stuff than any of today’s useless SUVs.
It’s overpriced. If it was running and cleaned up it might be in the ballpark depending on the amount of rust. As it sits I think he’s asking at least double of what a realistic value would be based on the level of uncertainty, but who knows, all it takes is one person willing to pay that price.
Steve R
I like Pontiac and wagons, but this one raises some flags for me -” it was parked but I dont know why” , Engine has been rebuilt at least once maybe twice , its been repainted and the seats are reupholstered in velour. That and where its been sitting I would say its not worth the money
Imagine this with a set of 8 lug wheels! A bit overpriced for what it is though. Always a big fan of the big Pontiac’s heat/AC controls!
Yes….8 lugs, fender skirts, crate motor, bucket seats and a console.
And then it would look as ridiculous as every other car.
Lovely Poncho longroof, but in such an unknown condition and possibly smelly interior I regard it as overpriced but it doesn’t look like a bad project. I own a more posh ’64 Bonneville Safari and the ‘opposed C’s’ taillight treatment was a fascinating returning feature on various Pontiac models (even the ’64 ‘Pontiac’ Beaumont) during the 60s, and I find it sad it wasn’t utilized more!
The real pain with an early 60s Poncho fullsize is that they came with a couple of now obsolete transmissions. Fortunately for a prospective buyer the tranny here would be the much more common BOP TH400. Parts availability for Ponchos of these years is not anywhere as good as a comparable Chevies, but it’s getting there
Other than possible rodents calling it home and not knowing why it was parked, very cool ride. Those old wagons could haul a load. Photos don’t show too much, but the A/C compressor belt is on. Big plus, find a 455 and go through the transmission and enjoy the ride! Would hope the price isn’t firm.
Very close to me, so I could offer to check it out if someone is seriously interested.
This is a great location for cars, up in the mountains so pretty dry air and snow/salt is rare so local cars are usually in very good shape. (Recently bought a local $1000 2003 Civic and it had factory paint and not a speck of rust!) Of course this wagon could well come from elsewhere and who knows what the storage has been like but at least there’s a good chance that it can be pretty nice if it truly has been local to here!
Made the run from Blacksburg, Virginia to DC many times when I was in college. I don’t remember snow/salt being “rare” in the mountain passes. In all those years I was caught in snowstorms multiple times Oct-February and recall following a salt or sand truck along interstate 81 and up through the New River Valley. This wagon is sitting low in the rear, I wonder how the rear springs are holding up?
Beyfon, I’d like to take you up on your offer to go look at it. Let me know if this is possible, radio208 at comcast.net. Thank you!
Hey George, those full length mud flaps
were all the rage on GM wagons back then. Used to see ’em on a lot of cars like
this in my hometown in the late ’60s. We
had a ’67 Impala wagon with one attached to it. As for this car, I really like
it. You’ll get to know the guys at NAPA
really well as parts can still be found there. The only bad thing about the 389
was the knack it had for snapping timing
chains. I dated a girl in Junior High whose
father replaced 3 of ’em before trading the car off for a Buick. Nice find though.
Remember riding in a new one of these, sitting in the rear facing 3rd row seat, getting car sick by the mile. Couldn’t voice my discomfort to the driver who was about 20 feet away with his back to me. :-) Terry J
Mentioning the roof rack reminded me of an old friend whonwas going to NH in the famliy Country Squire wagon(ster) with the family picnic table tied to the roof. They never ueard it blow but when they did a pee stop, it and the rack were gone. He said his dad drove back another 2 hours looking for it or an accident with a picnic table sticking out of it. They never found it. This is nice looking if solid underneath. I miss seeing old beefy wagons..
Beyfon, I may take you up on that.
My father brought home a powder-silver one with a blue interior in the summer of ’67. Loved that car, and it made a hell of an impression. Twenty years later, I wound up buying a ’66 Bonneville convertible in ’96, wrecked in ’00, acqired an identical replacement which I still have. I’ve been looking for one of these for years.
I too however would prefer to see some underbody photos before pulling the trigger. I have no problem wrenching on anything, particularly these, but a cheesy floorpan can be a nightmare, especially under the cargo area.
Waiting for a response from the seller.
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Where’s Bruce….this is right down his alley and maybe a state over or two…..
Stillrunners, I just saw the ad,tonight{Thur} been flooded out of our mountain top home for the past 4 days.I live on a mountain top but the creek down below gets rough some times and floods.Wish I knew more about this wagon Bruce.
Really nice comfortaly looking old car. I,d have to check it out good though. The car could have been parked on plastic and maybe it hasn,t been sitting on dirt for long. Hope the floors are in good shape. Maybe the guy couldn,t get someone or wasn,t able to clean the inside and outside out for some reason. It does seem over priced a good bit. I like these body style. I,ll watch this for awhile. Its a couple of hundred miles from me. Been awhile since I have been in that are. Last time I drove through their. A car loads of guys tried to make me pull over. I made it into Blacksburg and tried to buy a gun. Even back in 77 you had to watch yourself. Good luck.
I talked to the seller on Saturday, he is working on getting and (hopefully) posting underbody photos in the Craigslist ad. He was surprised that his ad was mirrored here.
Beyfon, if you are in earnest, let me know what you might need to go down & check this car out, mostly the underbody. It has a typical rust spot on the driver’s side radiator support (under the battery – not a critical issue, but if it’s bad, the rad supports can be found, and they bolt in).
Bob, yes I’m only 15 minutes away. I am in no way an expert on these particular cars but I’ve owned more than 300 cars over the years so I think I know how to tell what’s good and what’s bad. I can ping the seller and set up a time to go to see it. At least you’d get an unbiased opinion.
I’d be interested to know what you find. I’ve been looking for one of these in blue with A/C for many years, however, with my wife’s Mustang convertible along with a ’72 Camaro and a ’64 Corvair in the garage, we have no room. When I was nine years old my parents bought a new ’66 Catalina wagon. Blue with a blue interior, vinyl roof, and a luggage rack. Kept it until 1973 when Dad traded it in for a ’73 Grand Safari. A local painter bought it and I used to see it around town (Cumberland, Maryland) with ladders attached to the luggage rack. I really miss that car. It was the first car I ever drove. Good Luck!