Stored 40 Years: 1963 Pontiac Catalina
The early ‘60s Pontiacs are known for widening the front and rear tracks to push the wheels further apart from each other. Thus, the term “Wide Track” was capitalized on for years by Pontiac’s marketing folks. The Catalina was part of the line-up for more than 30 years, most often serving as Pontiac’s entry-level full-size automobile. This 1963 2-door pillared Catalina looks to be finished in Silverleaf Green and may be in exceptional condition, with the big 421 V8 under the hood being a huge plus. The car is located in Georgetown, Kentucky and offered here on Cars Online for $19,500. Thanks, Tommy T-Tops, for seeking this one out for us!
The 1961-64 full-size Pontiacs were new from the ground up. Annual updates were made, including 1963 when the cars gained vertical rather than horizontal dual headlights. The Catalina and the other big Pontiacs featured cleaner, squared-off bodylines and a split grille, which would become a trademark for Pontiac for years. The rear section of the cars had “Coke bottle” styling which helped extended the tracking of the back wheels even further. While a 389 V8 was the standard engine in the Catalina, a step up was the 421 cubic inch engine rated at 338 horsepower with a 4-barrel carburetor, which appears to be what’s under the hood of the seller’s car.
This 1963 Catalina looks like a restoration, but that word does not appear in the seller’s listing. We’re told the car was first purchased in Georgia and has spent the last 40 years stored in a garage in Kentucky. That may explain the mere 44,000 miles on the odometer. The body and paint look spectacular, factory or otherwise. The interior is said to be original and in great shape, but no photo is provided beyond the odometer reading.
We’re told the big V8 has been rebuilt along with the transmission, which appears to be a 2-speed automatic (with a 421?). Other mechanical areas that have been refreshed include the carburetor, radiator, fuel system from A to Z, and the entire braking system. The car is equipped with power steering, a posi-traction rear end and eight-lug wheels which look great. Pontiac built 234,500 Catalinas in 1963 and 14,000 of them were 2-door sedans like this one. This looks like a lot of car for the money.
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Comments
That engine bay looks pretty fresh for a 40-year stored car.
Well, I think I stand corrected after reading the description. I am gonna guess that the car was stored 40 years, and then the motor was recently rebuilt.
Also, Jesse, where’s the EDIT feature? I’m logged in, but no edit feature. I’ve mentioned this before, and have seen it recently mentioned by another member. Just askin’
Rex, if this was a comment made as an Early Access remark I believe you won’t have the availability for EDIT..
And the click here to reply function.
I think that if they’d at least painted the outside of
the wheels silver (or restored to original),it would make it
look so much better.
I agree. It was the first thing that hit me with this `63. I’d never paint the rims black.
Incongruous combination.
Green post car.
8-lug wheels.
Whopper engine.
2-speed automatic.
… like a Chevy with a headdress.
The two speed transmission made this faster in the quarter mile than the 4 speed or the other automatic. I had a 66 GTO with the 2 speed that’s how i know.
I’m a B-I-G fan of ’63 Pontiacs. This one’s built some excitement alright, nothing like a reproduction 421 sticker to get everyone all lathered up. Ask seller for PHS docs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cy25Fz1sVU&t=161s
I believe this car is equipped with a “Slim Jim” Roto-Hydramatic transmission, which is essentially a 3 speed version of the 50’s 4 speed Hydromatic. There were a few versions of the Roto in the early 60s in both Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles, but they are by no means a penalty box and successfully raced in Jr Stock classes throughout the 60’s and early 70’s.
This is one example where I find the Hardtop waaay more pleasing to the eye than the two door coupe, and those wheels are only missing trim rings. If you spent the time restoring those rims, you might leave that to the next owner too as they will eventually leave an indelible mark in that paint.
Overall a cool and rare car, and not unrealistically priced. I hope to see it on the Pure Stock drag scene soon!
That trans is the roto hydro 4 speed same as a caddy with left and right drive detentes. Not a powerglide.
Yup, it should have the Roto Hydramatic, intended to be a cheaper to build, less complex 3spd 4stage(!) alternative to the ‘Controlled Coupling’ 4spd Hydramatic. It was the 4spd that was popular in drag racing, nick-named ‘DC Hydro’ and introduced ’56. The Roto is a different animal and you cannot install the 4spd in place of the Roto without heavily modding the transmission tunnel – hence its ‘Slim Jim’ name.
The Roto turned out to be a complete disaster of a transmission, feared for its tendency of leaking (a lot) much due to its high operating pressures and strange behavior even when working as intended due to its slow ‘dump and fill’ principle. Initially intended for Olds fullsizers but due to their low volumes GM needed another division use it to justify its development costs. Hence it was installed in Olds fullsize and Pontiac GP+Cat ’61-’64, Bonnes and Star Chief got the 4spd Dual Coupling Hydramatic shared with Caddy.
I’ve always heard to shy away from any Roto car and only way to fix its problems is to replace it with a TH trans. With that said
there are units that seem to work flawlessly, some owners claim to be very happy with it and report extremely good MPG. As late as last summer I spoke with the owner of a ’63 GP 421 Roto car, and he reported NO issues with it after 17years of ownership. As I own a ’64 Bonne Safari I’m of course biased when I say I prefer the ’64, but I gotta admit this green looks great!
My research says that Rhett is correct. Hollander’s Junkyard Interchange Manual lists two automatic transmissions available in a 63 full size Pontiac. There was the three speed, which I believe this one is. There was also a four speed Hydromatic that goes back to the 1950’s. Hollander’s says that the two interchange if you change everything including the torque converter.
the odometer is uneven so its over 100k on the odometer .
Funny what everyone says that odometers have been turned over our turned back because they are not perfectly lined up. Just tap the top of the dash and they all line up perfectly.Why some do that is the nature of the beast. I had a friend that would take any odometer and put what ever number you wanted it to read. You actually spin them forward to the number you want.Always wore gloves to keep the fingerprints off. He would charge $25 a car and worked everyday of the week doing it.Not sure were he is now but maybe making license plates for the great state of ????
He might still be doing that service for all the “low mileage” Grand National’s that are popping up all the time.
Hopefully he raised the price though.
Keith,
If he was doing it for car dealers before 1 January 1968, it wasn’t illegal! Dealers did it to many of the better low mileage examples on the lot, they set the odo back to zero and said the car was reconditioned! [Sometimes the only reconditioning done to a car was the odometer!]
When I think about what they used to do, it reminds me of the opening scene of the movie “Used Cars!”, where the camera slowly zooms in on a speedometer, only to see about 50,000 miles suddenly roll off the odometer!
Yes Used cars with it is a red car Rudy. This would have been in the early 70’s when this man made his living.. Actually put himself thru college as metallurgical engineer. Nice guy and always just asked what number do you want it to read.Every used car dealer used his services no new car dealer.
If he did wind up doing time he’d’ve probably been out by now, learning how do “reconfigure” digital odo’s..
Rite on Mike. It is has rolled over.
Nice looking car
Amazing to see this. Back in the day in 2009 when scrap prices were at their peak I remember seeing a car like this in the scrap yard. Looking like someone bailed on their Poncho collection there were several gems that were fresh and about to be crushed. The 63 was exactly as above. A 63 Post Cat with 8 lug wheels and although the front end sheet metal was removed but laying near it. The motor was also a 421.
The car had a Colorado tag on the rear and was solid. I know pretty well. Tried to buy it. The typical once it’s behind the fence it will never leave. That was the time when people were driving their cars in across the scales and removing their plates. Remember seeing many nice square body Chevy trucks.
YES Please.
Mobster dream car. You could fit 4 bodies easily in that trunk.
Nah-out in Vegas anyways they all had Caddy’s save the one or two goodfellas that drove a Lincoln…
There are little lines in each side of “D”. It’s a 3 speed automatic which were terrible for performance. You can redline in first and second bogs down. Much better if it had a 4 speed. Still a nice car.
The B-O-P design 2-speed ST-300 automatic (not, I repeat, NOT a Powerglide!) was available on ’64 -’69 Pontiacs in the Tempest, LeMans, GTO and Firebird.
Nice Cat!
Not the ST300 here with reverse in the far right detent.
Good looking car. Nicer if it’s ‘real’, per PHS papers.
’63 was my favorite year for big Pontiacs, not a wasted line on the whole car.
The 421, is not, an HO
Had a 61 Bubble top Poncho that had a,”Slim Jim” trans. It was trouble and could not be fixed by Ammco with several attempts by the next owner.
Not new. AAMCO can’t fix anything. That’s why they have been sued so many times.
RPOL80, I believe you are right, methinks the HO designation was for the tripower cars I remember that decal being on mine.
Also, how do you know that’s a 421 as all the pontiac engines of that era were all the same dimensions whether 326, 389, or 421!
What’s wrong with it just the way it is. Very nice Pontiac
@ Frank B, Your also right. If it not an HO, don`t say it is, or put stickers on saying it is. There are several clues that it is not. Maybe just looking, its a 421, 340HP. Need to check block Numbers, as in 11B.
Comments are spot on re: odometer incorrect. Why rebuild an engine with only 44,000 miles? I regularly put 250,000 miles on my cars with nothing more than oil, filter and plug changes.
Never a timing chain or even an accelerator pump in an older car?
How about a fuel pump in a 95′ or newer? That’s amazing!
Do the laws of physics cease to exist in your driveway?
Some cars dont require a lot of maintenance . I own a 99 Audi A4 with a 1.8 that has over 400,000 mi. and other than normal maintenance , Plugs, oil, brakes, and a few T belt changes every thing else is original. Including fuel pump, transmission alternator and shocks. engine has never been apart…
Pontiacs of that era were notorious for having oiling system issues. “Turn it on, wind it out, blow it up, GTO” is how we sang it back then. 340s, Boss 302s, and Z28 302s joined the Poncho motors in time.
Pontiac did not have any oiling issues.People had issues with changing there oil back then.The same oil system that was in 63 model year is the same as the last pontiac v8 ever assembled . Nothing changed.
My 64 421 HO Bonneville convertible tri – power, Muncie M21 4 speed and 4:10 rear with the original air cleaner had a dual snouts.
The dual snouts air cleaner you refer to was exclusive to 3×2 setups in B-body Pontiacs only, and in ’64 both snouts were on the passenger side.
Now for the transmission; if that really was an M21 in it I’d be more than happy to see docs or pics of the setup. It’s regarded as an accepted fact that the only 4spd manual installed in ’64 B-body Ponchos was the T10. However we also know that Chev would start installing the Muncie sometime late winter ’63(Feb?) so it’s strange that Pontiac waited to the ’65 model year to start installing Muncie in their version of the B-body
I agree. My 63 421 Tripower GP had a T10.
ACZ – so did early ’63 Chevs and the correct transmission for ’64 big Pontiacs should be T10.
My question was more; can anyone document an OE Muncie installed in a B-body Pontiac prior to the ’65 model year…? To my knowledge it didn’t happen but if someone could prove me otherwise I’d be happy to update myself
I can’t help with that, sheriff. My 62 Pontiac wagon had a Muncie, but I put that in there to replace the original 3 on the tree.
Local sheriff I was the second owner and purchased the car in 67. The original owner told me he special ordered his car and what it had including the 4:10 rear and the aluminum case Muncie with the 2:20 first gear. He said it cost him over 4 grand back in 64. His father had his own construction company so I guess money was no problem for him back then. I had the car dyno tuned running all oem parts no cams , headers etc. except for Thrush mufflers and mechanical linkage on the carbs. This car was my DD. In 69 I ran at National Speedway and turned 13.9 @ 103.5. Sold the car in 77 when our 4th kid came along.
Clean machine. And long! Very nice looking.
No interior pics, no underside pics…no sale. What is shown is very nice, especially that 421!! Yeah, baby!! It’s a screamer. But, I’m not looking to buy just an engine. Show me the entire car.