Thanks so much for posting this. I had a 63 Cat years ago, and would love to find another. 63 Catalina's were not only VERY fast, they were one of the most beautiful cars ever made in America. It's sad to think that we'll never see the likes of these great cars ever made again.
Thanks for the video! The first car I remember in detail is Dad's '63 GP. Had a 405 HP 421, dual quad, 4 gear. It had power steering - that was it. First car I ever drove - at 10 years old - in 1965. It was a beast! Mom had a matching color '63 Bonneville coupe. Her car was loaded to the hilt, for 1963. Power everything, with a 4-speed auto [super hydramatic] and a/c. Very fond memories of those cars followed me to my adult years, when I stumbled across a '63 GP with a 421 and a 4-speed. Bought it and owned it until 2004. Miss it, still. I've owned several GM senior cars with 4-speed sticks, but miss the GP the most...
Wow....history in the making ! :-) Love it !!! This REALLY makes me miss my `66 Grand Prix, 421 tri-power HO (376 HP), 4-speed, had those nice finned aluminum 8-lug wheels, and a 3.42 Posi....that thing had some serious bark for a big sled :-) Never shoulda let that one get away....
i also have a 63 catalina 2 door hard top with a 389 in it.body work and paint is all done,painted it black and we put a superduty factory hood scoop on it.need to get it home and put it together.when it's done i hope it goes as good as your does.great video..
4 Speed Bernie, you are a GOD... This is one of the most fun to watch car videos I have ever seen. You should consider doing a regular show, you would make a great host.
Hello, Thank you for the note. I hear you; not my intent and since this vid was shot the door panels have been freshened up, a nice original dash pad installed, correct carpet laid, and the front seat has been restored using original materials. This Catalina received pretty good care over the years but there is always something to fix or polish on these original cars - and I can never seem to keep much gas in the tank...
These list of events are the reason the GTO came to be. In 1963 a Tempest/Lemans superduty won the first ever Nascar Challenge Cup a race that was the first of its kind and the last big racing event for pontiac and was a pivoting point in american automotive history. The Challenge cup was before daytona and right before racing for GM and Nascar was to become entirely different. This race was one that would include the best of the best racing teams from all over the world right in America there were Corvettes, Ferrari 250 GTO's, masseratis, and pretty much any car with a displacement under 427CI! and they had to be production cars with "production parts" The Tempest/Lemans I am talking about was a 421 superduty the car won the event and lapped the Ferrari GTO 8 times, and even beat Mickey Thompsons corvette with the "BBC Mystery motor" which was new he was running at the time. Pontiac racing was doing great in these last few years their cars had also won the Daytona 500 in 1961 AND 1962 which was the first car company to ever do so. These cars that raced were owned by dealerships and groups who were their own teams (thus the names painted on sides, racing sold cars)in these years 1959-1963 they were able to be very competitive and create a lot of awsome racing builds at these times. Jim Wagner was able to connect dealerships and racing and non dealership racing teams to Pontiac zone offices and they won races and sold cars at the same time! Among them are these notable gentlemen of those years: Smokey Yunick, FireBall Robberts, Marvin Panch, (these guys won it in 1961 and 1962 together. as well as Junior Johnson, 1960~1962 and many more outside of nascar. This was totally bypassing a ban that was set forth in 1957 Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) voted to cease all manufacturer participation in competition. The AMA ban was essentially a gentleman’s agreement calling for automakers to withdraw from active support of racing (which most did, at least officially) and to cease promoting performance or speed (which many did not)! In January 1963, GM chairman Frederic Donner issued an edict demanding that all divisions - by which he primarily meant Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobile - immediately withdraw from racing and abide by the 1957 AMA ban. Donner was well aware of the under-the-table racing support and he wanted it stopped. To continue his support for their dealers In response to this crisis, Jim Wagners wrote a memo to John DeLorean, with whom he’d developed a good working relationship, saying, “As ugly as it sounds, we need to take racing off the track and put it on the street.” DeLorean planned with him on a "super tempest" using the lighter weight newer A-Body cars and a engineer said "It'd take me 30min to swap a 389 into this this thing"(from the larger Catalina line of cars) poking fun a him and he did it and it was such a hit Wagner drove that car daily, and many people responsible for this project were sworn to secrecy until this was able to make it into a much larger production. A Buick engineer spotted a test car at the driving around the track and asked: "What the hell is in this thing"? the Pontiac engineer replied we are just trying some new axle gear ratios and transmission gear ratios... The GTO could not become its own car because it had a 389 engine and GM set limitations for their A-Body line of cars to not have anything larger then a 340ci engine. So in its first two years it was a special option for the 1964, LeMans and in 1966 due to the great success it was able to become its own model. But to many the car has always had its own heart and soul and has been its own thing since its creation.
Your test drive run-thru-the- gears cars are great. The best part, though, is when you refer to your wife as "Cupcake." You're a lucky man in that she loves the old rides, too!Merry Christmas from Dallas to you and Cupcake!
@JTAY121 Good to hear from you! You are right about the warranty being voided - 4 speed meant hard use, so no warranty. Bet ya got some good memories with that GTO...
I purchased a new 63 catalina white sport coupe 4 speed, bucket seats ventura interior. 389 4 banger. Love to have one today. A good find for you. Congratulations.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan. Dad worked at Pontiac Motors 30 years. Love the car, but you need to install a seatbelt.
I've owned lots of cars. My all time fave is my 1963 Pontiac Catalina Ventura, white with an auburn interior. I was in the army then and I bought the three-year-old car at a local Huntsville, Alabama dealer OMG, that car was gorgeous! I wish could have it back.
Thank you! Yes, I will be restoring the interior soon. Have no fear, I am taking very good care of her. Yes, considerably faster than the stock '66 Cat' 421 2+2 I had - and it was very healthy.
This is a little off subject, but I've had 3 GTO's. A '66, a '68 in the early '70's and a '67 in the mid '80's. In the mid-eighties I also had a '77 Grand Prix which was the last of the "big ones". Beautiful dark green with a lighter green interior. Bucket seat with a console and Rally II (factory mag) wheels. It was a real looker when I bought it. I bought it in New Orleans from an old man(always a good prior owner!) who had used Armor All on the factory floor mats! It didn't have much power though, as the mill was a correct 301 V8 encumbered with factory smog equipment and low compression. It was a nice cruiser, however and had Radial Tuned Suspension which it proudly proclaimed with a little metal plaque on the dash. Sold it at 117,000 miles. Great highway car with decent mileage for a large car.
That was very fun, I loved it! The first car I ever drove (not counting driving school) was 1963 Catalina. It didn't have Tri-Power and it was automatic. But I still have fond memories of it.
Reallly enjoyed the video. I grew up and my parents had a 1961 Bonneville Safari Wagon. I always loved it. I finally found one after 10 years of searching. Factory air, 389v8, runs like a top but needs to be completely redone interior and paint. It has a four speed, yes four speed, automatic which is the weak point of the car. But boy do these big Pontiacs go! I had never seen a 4sp manual vintage stock Pontiac in action, thank you so much!
Hello and thanks for the note! Glad to be an instigator of more 4 speed vids and great memories. I'll keep an eye out for your vid - Grand Prix with 428 & 4 speed - that's a helluva a great Pontiac - your '63 was also a helluva a great car!
Great vid, thanks! That's my dream Pontiac, 63 Catalina Ventura 2dHT 389 Threepower, 4 sp and black with a red interior. Awesome! Only thing I'd change would be adding dog dish hubcaps. And dream of a 421 lol! Spent years looking for a 63 Ventura 2dHT that would be reasonably priced but couldn't find one (4-sp wasn't a requirement) so I bought a 64 Ventura instead. Just a 389 2bbl but that will be changed at some point. Love the design on these cars, especially the dash! Drive safe!
the reason for the voided warranty was that this car was made from the factory to be raced! GM, Fomoco and Chrysler all did this to out do each other at the local strips.
We had a 63 Catalina with a 326 engine when I was growing up sad to say it was a 4 door. I worked at Mc Namara Pontiac in Orlando Fla in the early 70's. The 63 had a slim jim transmission and reverse was all the way down on the column shifter I think it was P N D 2 L R
Cupcake & Alex appreciate your approval. I'm along for the ride - they just needed someone to keep the ol' Pontiac between the lines and outta the ditch...
Hello, A very good buddy years ago was heavily into Corvairs - his favorite was the '66 Corsa - good power & no turbo hassles - I say hassles becasue he was a very good Chevy Dealer tech but most of the customers back then knew nothing about turbos - how they functioned or how to maintain them. Thanks for the note.
They will never make cars like this again. Good looking, fast, dependable, and comfortable. Only two things sound better than a four-barrel, 3- 2 barrels and 2 four barrels!!
63's shouldn't have the rear lights in the top of the fins. That's more of a 64 feature. I'd love to hear why they're in the wrong spot. Otherwise, incredible sounding car! I'm not hating ;) - Cheers
That car deserves a better owner. I would love to have a great car like that. I am not rich so I can not afford it. That car needs to have some money put into it. That is such a beautiful car. You think he could at least fix the seat.
Mexi blanket gone - seat has been fixed along with a few other deferred needs. Vid was shot back when I'd just bought this beauty. Still have it - one of my favorites of all time.
