Acute Pontiac aficionados will discover one thing fascinating about this explicit Lot Pictures characteristic.
That’s as a result of on the surface it’s a Catalina—however on the within, it’s sporting the inside of the extra upscale Bonneville. The automotive’s twin id is a results of its former profession as a stripped down drag racer and its resurrection as a full dimension avenue rod.
We’ll clarify extra about that nuance in a second…first although, some historical past.
Each the Catalina and Bonneville first appeared as trim ranges on the Pontiac Chieftain and Star Chief fashions earlier within the Fifties—however in 1958, the Bonneville broke away into its personal mannequin and, in 1959, the Catalina did too as GM up to date its full dimension lineup.
And it was throughout that 1959 B-body shuffle that Pontiac revived the long-lasting break up grille styling that may quickly develop into a typical sight at dragstrips all through the nation. (The break up grille itself truly has its origins in pre-war Pontiacs.)
The 1959 Bonneville and Catalina additionally helped introduce the “Huge-Monitor” wheelbase that moved the wheels barely outboard—an engineering tweak that delivered a noticeable enchancment in dealing with and performed an enormous half in establishing Pontiac’s efficiency picture throughout the Nineteen Sixties.
Suffice it to say, when this tough-looking 1960 Poncho roared into the Summit Racing Retail Retailer car parking zone close to Akron, Ohio some time again, we wished to listen to much more about it.
Full disclosure although:
This automotive seemed very, very acquainted to us. That’s as a result of it’s owned by retired Summit Racing worker and pal of OnAllCylinders Terry Ballenger. So through the years, we’ve noticed this explicit Pontiac at loads of automotive exhibits and occasions throughout northeast Ohio. We usually draw back from utilizing Summit Racing worker automobiles for Lot Pictures options however, once more, he’s retired and his automotive is superior…so we didn’t do a lot hand-wringing right here.
Terry’s owned the automotive for the reason that early Nineteen Nineties and says the Catalina was transformed right into a drag racer at one level. Fortunately, the automotive wasn’t fully hacked to bits within the course of. That mentioned, there was a ton of labor finished to carry it again to life as a boulevard cruiser—and it begins with that meticulously-fitted upscale Bonneville inside.
Look inside and also you’ll uncover a remarkably stock-looking cabin, with a lot of the OE Pontiac sprint, upholstery, and trim in place. (Terry did add an aftermarket tachometer and a few Stewart-Warner gauges to maintain a extra correct eye on the engine.)
Look even nearer and also you’ll see the dash-mounted clock, which Terry explains was a brilliant, tremendous uncommon choice from the manufacturing facility.
Underneath the Poncho’s hood is an upgraded 455 bored 0.030 over to make it 462 cubic inches. It’s received Tri-Energy and a stable curler cam, backed by the unique manufacturing facility four-speed handbook shifter.
In reality, Terry tells us that four-speed makes his Catalina fairly dang uncommon, with only a shade over 700 produced with the handbook transmission in 1960.
The Catalina additionally wears the coveted eight-lug manufacturing facility wheels that combine a bigger brake drum with the rim to enhance braking energy—one other contribution to Pontiac’s rising efficiency aura.
As alluded to earlier, we’ve seen this automotive everywhere, and Terry’s not shy about racking up the miles in his classic Pontiac B-body, so we didn’t need to take up any extra time chewing his ear off within the car parking zone. We mentioned goodbye and he rumbled down the highway.
As for the Bonneville and Catalina, they remained on the full-size GM B-body structure by a number of generations. However in 1982, Pontiac discontinued its full dimension line, and solely the Bonneville title survived by transferring onto the midsize G-body platform.
By the late Eighties, the Bonneville migrated to a brand new front-wheel drive chassis the place it endured till the nameplate was retired in 2005. Quickly after that, your entire Pontiac marque was shuttered in 2010.
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