Today we are back at motorcar portfolio in canton Ohio to look at the 1959 Pontiac Catalina two-door hardtop.  period correct ads, button switches and knobs lots of specs enjoy this one =) 
At the age of 9 dad pulled up in this 1959 Silver Star Chief 4 door Flat Top Hard top. I ran so fast outside and to the car our family of 7 jumped in and went to ice cream. IN those days we went for ice cream once a year. This car would hold 8 of us when we took 1 friend to the beach. 5 in the back and 3 in the front. Which would always be me in the middle front. I cried my eyes out when dad sold the car in 1971. We only had the car 2 years. Before we got the 1968 Country Sedan 9 passenger Wagon. That we kept until 1978 when we got our first New car.
THE 1959 Pontiac WAS one of the most BEAUTIFUL DESIGNS EVER FROM GM. It started a whole new trend with the WIDE TRACK. MY PARENTS BOUGHT A 1959 BONNEVILLE VISTA DOME. IT WAS A PILLARLESS 4 DOOR FLAT ROOF HARDTOP ! IT WAS STUNNING ! IT WAS WHITE WITH A CORAL ROOF AND MATCHING INTERIOR. I WAS 15 AND I WAS BESIDE MYSELF ! IT WAS A LOOKER WITH THE STYLE. THE TWIN FINS OVER THE TAILLIGHTS. THE NOSE THAT BECAME A PONTIAC STANDARD. WISH I HAD IT NOW !
I didn’t see who designed this was this a bill Mitchell design? I love the design I totally forgot to include the bubble top flat top difference kinds of roofs but honestly that might get it own episode one day
@@What.its.like. I thought it was Harley Earl that came up with the twin tail fins and design with the wrap around glass. It was also Motor Trends "Car Of The Year", but I think you already know that. I also forgot to mention how really beautifully designed the dash was.
Yeah I prefer this over the 1960 version the 60 is plain I love the fins and tailed design. This car was huge and just think this was that small version star chief and Bonneville were 7 inches longer.
In Canada they had a car called the Pontiac.Parisienne . It was a Pontiac body on a Chevrolet chassis. Could you do a video of that? They didn’t have the wide track so they kinda look knock kneed
Thanks for a very interesting look at this "blast from the past"! My third car was a hand-me-down from my great-uncle... a 1965 Catalina 4-dr hardtop! It was the "Ventura" trim level, and was white with a blue interior. It had the 389 with the 2bbl carb, a TH400 automatic transmission, air conditioning, AM radio, and could easily carry 6 people inside (including the driver). I once put a twin-sized mattress INSIDE the car which left just enough room for me to drive the car. The trunk was huge, and could hold 4 full-sized tires and wheels along with the spare. It was my "going off to college" car, and I upgraded it to: 4bbl carb with dual exhausts, AM/FM 8-track(!) stereo with 4 speakers, and a total of 7 horns (including an OohGa horn), and a device that would squirt water out of the grill! I drove it for 3 years before moving on to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Of all of my old cars, I wish I still had that old Pontiac...
In 1966, my best friend bought a used 1959 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, which ran & still looked great! We drove it to Florida, non-stop, when it was still legal to drive at 75 mph! It ran flawlessly at high speed & was so wide that a full size person could stretch out in the backseat, except the U.S. Govt. made Pontiac reduce that by 6" in '60 or '61!
That’s awesome 75 mile per speed limit.. I still think speed limit is the stupidest law out there on the freeway it makes sense in the cities in the neighborhood but on the freeway why would you have law that penalizes you for doing something fast.. if I was in charge I’d make minimum speed 60 on the highways and 85/90 on the Hwy and cops would patrol to make sure people only use the passing lane to pass if not they are getting fined
Good coverage on the instrument panel. It always seems so apparent that back in the day, Pontiac being just one step up gave so much more car than Chevrolet.
@@What.its.like. I totally agree, there. It was apparent that GM went all in on Pontiac in '59 to make it the best value on the road. This was the beginning of Pontiac moving up to 3rd place in sales for most of the '60s. They were also the style leader for GM, then.
GM as a corporation used nylon coated timing gears in many engines. As a parts person i was told it was to help quiet the timing chain and gear set. Still it is true that they eventually crumbled. The cam gear was aluminum overmolded with nylon, steel crank gear and high velocity (hi-vo) chain.
My father bought a 1959 Catalina four-door sedan brand new. It was my favorite car growing up. I did not recognize the steering wheel in your video as my father's had a deep dish wheel with the Pontiac emblem under clear in the center. It's what gave the interior it's pizzazz
All GM cars were completely restyled for 1959. Gone was the excessive crome & glitz!!! (except for the Cadillac & its fins). Once again you present a fun & informative video, great job!!! 👍👍
The nylon cam gear was to make for a quieter chain drive, which it did. But...definitely a consumable item that should be checked prob every 75k or so...well beyond the length of time people kept cars back then, now prob everyone changes over to an iron one eventually. My first car was a very heavily used '67 GTO (loooong time ago!) and its nylon gear broke a couple teeth causing the chain to jump timing...i was just a kid and had no idea what happened and had to give over a whole Jack in the Box paycheck to have it towed to a shop...if I remember right my dad took pity - not normally one of his emotions - and paid for the repair bill. If you ever hear a gear drive cam its quite something...like a supercharger whine
Great show, and car. Brings back memories of me growing up having an uncle that worked for the small Ohio town where I lived dealership there. He always drove around Pontiacs and my father was a Chevy man. I always noticed the fit and trim was better on the Pontiacs.
Lovely styled car. Back in the day gas station attendants usually knew where to fill gas in a car. I work as a ToGo server @ a restaurant. Ppl are always trying to remember car yr. I asked ONLY for make, model, color of car. ( So the "runner knows the slot # you're parked in to deliver food) The year is soooo irrelevant. I DID however have a guy said he had a '68 GTO. You Knowww I gotta be a "gear head" to know that was a Pontiac "Goat" LOL! Tesla owners always say color + Tesla. Not S model Twin Motors etc.
“Wide Track” was referring to them moving the wheels farther outward…it wasn’t related to the width of the car itself. Apparently it gave a more road hugging and better handling ride. Also, with the tri-power option, I believe they put a badge on the car stating so somewhere upwards and behind the front wheel opening.
The problem is we never get a good full view of the car on the street, nor does he drive it. C'mon let's a see the full 360 view of the car. What are you hiding?
Couldn’t get full view where car is parked, and couldn’t get this one out, sometimes driving isn’t the full story trust me I’d love to drive all these cars , but I’m just a regular guy who wants to keep this information alive and available =)
