Ah, a large Pontiac from the 1960s. Has there ever been a more glorious thing, especially decked out in teal paint with an interior to match? That’s what you’ll get should you spring for this 1965 Pontiac Catalina. It’s available here on ebay with a day and a bit to go, priced at $21,100, though you’re not going to get it for that. The reserve is not met. But if you do find the seller’s sweet spot, you’ll need to find your way to Indianapolis, IN to collect your winnings.
If those dog-dish hubcaps, chrome lower body molding, and chrome trim on the window surrounds don’t get you, nothing will stir that cold, cold heart. What a beauty of swoopy styling. Know, however, the dimensions before you commit to putting this car in your garage. The length is nearly 18 feet, and the width nearly 80 inches. This is going to be a job to park, in other words. But if what you’re doing with it is cruising it, you’ll be oh-so-happy perched on that cloth trimmed bench seat squeezing down on the gas pedal in hopes that the car’s 389-CID V8 will propel you in good order despite your curb weight being in the range of 3800 pounds.
On this car, some service parts have had attention, including the water pump, radiator, tires, and battery, but otherwise, this is an untouched, 20K-mile original. The paint is even the coat that Pontiac sprayed on back when the Beatles were still releasing new music on the regular. The seller, who has had the car for about two years, says that there are a couple of flaws in that topcoat, but that nobody has noticed at shows, and that with professional detailing, the finish has been brought back to a fine shine.
Apparently, this car had its original tires on it until just recently, and even now has the original spare in the trunk. But there’s little photographic evidence to back up that claim, and no word exists, nor photo, to show us that the underside is as nice as the top surfaces. It’s likely true that this one has good floors and a solid trunk pan, but you’re going to have to take a fair bit on faith if you can’t go see this car in person. Are you willing to make that leap? The car itself seems as good as it needs to be. The question remains what hopes the seller had in setting his reserve, and what kind of coin a willing buyer is able to respond with.
Nice, simple cruise ship from when cars were cruise ships. Love it! And nice write up Brian.
Those were the days. Pontiac Catalina and Buick LaSabre were 1st cousins to each other. In my 68 years this is the first 2 door sedan I’ve ever seen. These were your elder aunt/uncle grandparents cars more typically in 4 door models. Conservative reserved non-ostentatious but I got bank showy but I don’t need to flash it. Chevrolet Biscayne and Belair were fading into obscurity around that era.
Yup 2-door sedans are rare, mostly Bel-Air & Biscayne in this vintage. Years ago at a car show I saw a blue ’67 Catalina 2-door post, no chrome window moldings and a 3 on the tree! Can’t recall the engine. Remember when the big deal was an automatic in a pickup in the 60s, now people point out the 3 on the tree! Funny.
Off the subject car, but my neighbor in my small town in N. Mn. bought a new ’68 Impala Custom Cpe. Had a 327 and that darn 3 on the tree!
Awesome car here.
Where at in N MN? I am in Ely.
One way to tell if it’s all original body and paint. If the panels have perfect gaps and straight and align perfect. It’s not original. They never came out of the factory perfect. But almost every redo… People can’t resist making it as perfect as possible.
Everyone talking about bad fit and finish on the older cars apparently don’t have anything else to do. I’ve owned lots of cars from the sixties and seventies when they were just cheap used cars and the fit and finish was pretty darn good.
Well, I don’t mean to call you or the 18 followers out, but in another automotive publication, they had a feature called “I was there” and in it, contributors shared their automotive assembling experiences, and many would freak you out. It was not uncommon for the workers to have a 2×4 handy, and slam the door with the 2×4 in the way, so the doors would close. They also had the “reject pile”, where, if a line worker couldn’t address an issue,( in the 1 minute they had to correct it) it was sent to the “reject pile”, and a special crew fixed what was wrong. GM was particularly guilty of that, but coming from AMC-town, we had just as many stories. Poor fit and finish was the price we had to pay for cranking these things out 1 a minute. It was not uncommon for a car to come off the trailer, and right to the body shop,,or worse. Once, I read, a pickup truck was delivered and started, but wouldn’t move. Turns out, it had no transmission. Let the dealer mess with it. Once robots took over, fit and finish improved greatly. Robots don’t come in with a hangover.
Very very true Howard. And I say that not because I was there but over the years I’ve seen a few untouched, original survivor cars from the late 60s. Each one had glaring assembly issues. Be it runs in the paint, poor panel alignment, poorly hung emblems etc. That doesn’t mean a few cars didn’t come through built better but by and large the quality was poor for all manufacturers of the time.
I don’t know, but I’m a bit skeptical about all of these 60s cars that are hitting the market with the claim to be 20,000 miles Young! Remember what PT Barnum said, there’s a sucker born every minute and 90% of them live.🤣🤣🤣
My folks brought one home in gold. It was the most beautiful sleek car that showed how it was influenced by the Riveria of the previous year. Loved that car and was disappointed when he traded it three years later for a two Cutlass.
Wish GM would have used that roofline for 2 door hardtops on the top trim bodies like Bonneville, Caprice, etc., leave the fastbacks for just the sportier trims. Especially 67 and 68. Would have been nice to have a choice.
Not a fan of those dashboard layouts. You have to reach around the steering wheel to get at knobs.
To each their own opinion. I like the way the dash is laid out. I like how the gauges “pods” are mounted at an angle. A buddy of mine, his parents had a ’65 or ’66 Bonneville or Catalina. I don’t remember which. I have liked the dash layout since. I was about 14 or 15. That thing rode like a cloud! I am 70 now, and if my health wasn’t so iffy, one of these, a ’57 Buick Special, would be in my garage.
OMG, gorgeous. I have this exact car, only not as nice or even close. Mine is the exact same color only with a white top. My unit however was well loved as the original owner went overboard on a two door post car. He bought factory air, ps, pb, power windows,seat, tilt, headlight dimmer, skirts, trunk opener, and the grand option, a four speed Trans with a 3:42 posi. The car also has the big chrome factory tachometer and what they considered a Guage package. Unfortunately the car is a northeast rust bucket, especially in the trunk and rear frame area. I have kept it for over 25 years but its end is nearing as downsizing time nears. Love this unit, why oh why couldn’t mine have been this one.
I would love to have had yours. Sounds like a very unique car.
Try selling it, rust bucket or not. Where is, as is. Sounds like it might be a good parts source for the engine and tranny if nothing else. One mans junk anothers gold mine.
I do mot temember ever seeing
-( pr noticing ? )) one of these.
After a 18 year old couldn’t afford the $35 a gallon for gas for my 62 Thunderbird I got this car next wish I had this one now brings back memories Laying across the seat to roll down the window on the other side miss my battleship nice car
I was 5 years old in 1966 when my father bought an early lease return 66 Catalina two-door hardtop in September. It was desert beige with a gold interior. It was our first car with air conditioning, a fantastic feeling in Las Vegas. Right after he bought it we went on a cross country road trip to Pennsylvania to see family. I remember stretching out across that huge backseat, staring up at the night sky through the sloped rear window and marveling at the billions and billions of stars in the sky on those dark road trip nights. Memories I’ll never forget and cherish to this day. Wish I could find that car.
That 65 Pontiac was a great road car. I got one new from the dealer in Montgomery, Al. that I spotted in their storage area while my 64 was being serviced. It was a Catalina with Teal paint and a white convertible top and two tone teal interior. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen and I drove it home that day. Everything was power this and power that and it had Ac to boot which was a necessity since I was a traveling salesman and spent hours in my car covering Alabama and Georgia. I put a Playboy Bunny head on the front license plate and attached it to the car along with Bonneville skirts on the back wheels and 52,000 miles on the speedometer in 13 months. I hated to trade that car but it had to go with that many miles on it. I think I paid $4200 for the car.
I would have thought that at 52,000 miles in just over a year that engine would have been nicely run in, and most likely never switched off long enough to get cold, so the wear on rings and cylinder walls would have been negligible. There was a story here in UK a long time ago (about 1953) where 3 brothers owned a London taxi and each brother did an 8 hour shift so the engine never got switched off other than to do a service. After over 60,000 miles they figured that they had better have the engine overhauled but to their delight the Austin dealer only had to give it a dekoke and it was back on the road next day.
Solosolo UK yes the car was run in well and traveling on what Interstates we had back then gave it all road miles. It didn’t burn any oil and not one leak ever developed anywhere. I lived in Florida so every time i went home I added another 1500 miles or so and Georgia and Alabama had a lot of open country between cities and it didn’t take long to rack up the miles. During that time I was in the Georgia National Guard in Atlanta since that’s where i spent most of my time.In 1970 I was on my way to a Guard meeting at the Fulton County Airport when I noticed a car coming up on my tail pretty fast. As it passed me on the expressway I had a good look at it and it was my old Pontiac. A couple seemed to be all dressed up and maybe on their way to church. I had added a yellow pin stripe along the fender tops all the way along the car and there they were still looking good. I knew for sure it was my old car. No smoke coming out the tailpipe either. I washed and waxed that car every weekend if the weather was ok and it stil looked as good as ever. Probably still running around that city somewhere.
I assume this is an automatic; I can’t tell from the pictures nor the article.
Sorry, Bailsout… My apologies!
I hit ‘report comment’ instead of ‘reply’!!
I see a 3spd auto on a picture…
Bailsout I think most of the cars were automatic during these years. It had got to the point where you ordered a stick if you wanted one unless it was a very inexpensive model built for some sort of business. People still felt that a stick gave better mileage and in the fifties it did. My 64 LeMans was a stick on the floor and gave good mileage while I had it but the tranny was giving me problems with shifting like the syncros were worn at 32000 miles and it was leaking tranny oil too. That’s when I traded it. The new automatic’s in the 60’s were way better on mileage by then.
I got 2 yrs on you and I’ve seen a Buick sedan only. wish I could have got to check out. I think factory racer on 2 dr post !!
being a pontiac guy id love to have it being a 2 dr post……missed out on a 65 2 dr post couple yrs back….was a little rough in the quarters but good trunk and floors no motor no trans 3 on the tree but swaped to the floor at one time…..but i do have a 63 buick lesabre 2 dr post plain jane ole girl….man steering man brakes…..only one ive seen that was a post and not a hard top….in person
Great car and so rare to see the Catalina in a 2 door post. Love it it would fit in my garage
I was fortunate to have a brother 10 years my senior and growing up in the 60’s he knew the coolness of big block G.M. cars. 74 472 El Dorado, 67 GTO 2dr. sedan 400, 4bbl. 4speed . His last project before an untimely death was a 62 340h.p.
Corvette, but the car I will always be hold’n to was his 62 Pontiac Catalina 2dr. hard top 421 4bbl. 4spd.. that was a machine…..
My Dad bought a white ’66 Bonneville, 389 with the skirts – what a beautiful combination of performance and design from the “Wide Track” folks at Pontiac. I loved the dash/gauges, and the old emergency light knob under the dash, to the left of the driver, with the high beam button on the floor that you kicked on with your left toe. Booming bass from the rear speakers, with the AM jocks playing the best of the ’60’s hits. I also remember the 26 gallon gas tank…though it would probably make a bigger impression on me today ay $3.75/gallon!
I used the same car, a teal 1965 Pontiac Catalina 4 dr sedan, for drivers training, and for taking my drivers test. The car was a beast, and I was penalized 6 points for failing to parallel park it after two tries. Two more points were deducted for failing to use my turn signal when pulling away from a curb. After that I was totally focused. My final score was 92. Thanks for the memories.
My goodness what a gorgeous car. The song “Love Boat” comes to mind, involuntarily.
What am I looking at? The first car that came with separate radios for the driver and passengers?
I bought a 65 in the mid 80’s. Same car only blue. 389 2 barrel, auto. Pulled the engine a few years later for a 68 GTO replacement. Motor ran like a top for five more years until my stepson blew it up drag racing. Always a Poncho fan.
My older brother has a 65 Bonneville Convertible with the 421– 4 speed, 8 lug wheels, and my mother had a 66 Catalina 9 passenger wagon with the 389. The Bonneville with the 421 was extremely fast, but the Catalina wagon with the 389 was no slouch either and could hold it’s own against some muscle cars in the area.
My older brother had a 65 Bonneville Convertible with the 421– 4 speed, 8 lug wheels, and my mother had a 66 Catalina 9 passenger wagon with the 389. The Bonneville with the 421 was extremely fast, but the Catalina wagon with the 389 was no slouch either and could hold it’s own against some muscle cars in the area.