1964 Pontiac Catalina

Bunkie Knudsen set Pontiac on the road that ultimately led to its greatest sales success with the simple formula: 'win on Sunday, sell on Monday.' Pontiac's engineers responded to the mandate with some of the most legendary vehicles of the era, reinforced by Pontiac's victories on NASCAR's ovals and on drag strips across the country. Campaigned by performance-oriented dealers like Jim Wangers and by a loyal cadre of individuals who further tweaked every bit of possible performance out of the Pontiac, trophies were earned nearly every weekend. The performance persona quickly propelled Pontiac into the stratosphere of Detroit's annual sales charts, and by 1962, it trailed only Chevrolet and Ford, and it stayed there for several years.

Among the most famous and thinly disguised race cars were the Super Dutys from the Catalinas and Tempest line. These lightweight and powerful vehicles ruled the drag strips, however, their performance legacy and ultimate potential were cut short when Pontiac's overt support of racing ended in 1963. Performance products continued, including a $291 package that transformed the standard Catalina hardtop coupe or convertible into the sporty 2+2. The package included a distinctive bucket-seat interior with a center console and unique 2+2 badging that helps separate the car from its more standard contemporaries. A mere 7,988 customers ordered the 2+2 package in 1964, a relatively small number considering that approximately 32,000 examples of its smaller and more youthful sibling, the GTO, were built.

The 1964 Pontiac
The 1964 Pontiac model lineup was comprised of the entry-level Tempest resting on a 115-inch wheelbase, the full-size Catalina and Grand Prix hardtop coupe on a 120-inch wheelbase, and the Star Chief and top-of-the-line Bonneville on a 123-inch wheelbase. The Pontiac Safari station wagons used a 119-inch wheelbase platform. The Tempest came standard with a 215 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine delivering 140 horsepower, the Grand Prix and Bonneville were powered by a 389 cubic-inch V8 with 255 horsepower with the synchromesh and slightly above 300 hp with the Hydra-Matic. The Star Chief and Catalina were equipped with a 389 CID two-barrel V8 with 235 horsepower (283 hp with the Hydra-Matic on the Star Chief and 267 hp on the Catalina with the Catalina). Pontiac's V8 engines had overhead valves, hydraulic valve lifters, and five main bearings. The Tempest engine had seven main bearings and a one-barrel Rochester carburetor.

The 1964 Pontiac Catalina
Pontiac had introduced a new generation of styling on the Catalina in 1961 that would continue through 1964, albeit with modifications made along the way, the most significant being in 1963. The styling updates applied in 1964 to the Catalina were minimal as designers worked on all-new sheet metal designs with 'coke bottle' profiles and fastback rooflines that would be applied to the full-sized Pontiacs in 1965.

The 1964 Catalina vehicles wore three-quarter length side moldings that traversed from behind the front wheel opening to the rear of the vehicle. They had Catalina front fender scripts, medallions on the rear fender, and the name 'Pontiac' on the left side of the front grille. The protruding grille, applied to Pontiac vehicles during the early 1960s, was a revival of designs first used on Pontiacs during the 1930s and early 1940s. The recessed split grille of 1964 Catalina was flanked on either side by stacked headlights. They had angled roofs, square lines, non-panoramic windshields, small hubcaps, and upward curving taillamps.

Catalina Engines
The engine and transmission offerings were unchanged from 1963 except for the replacement of the Borg-Warner T-10 unit with a GM-built Muncie four-speed manual. The 2+2 option package on the Catalina two-door hardtops and convertibles was new, adding bucket seats, performance equipment which included a heavy-duty suspension, and either the 389 or 421 CID V8. The engines available on the 2+2 were the same offered throughout the rest of the Catalina line. This changed in 1965 when the 421 CID V8 became the standard engine on the 2+2.

The Catalina came standard with the two-barrel 389 CID V8 rated at 235 hp with the synchromesh transmission and 267 hp with the Hydra-Matic. The 389 CID V8 was available in various states of tune, with compression settings as high as 10.75:1 and as low as 8.6:1. With its highest state of tune, with 10.75:1 compression and three two-barrel carburetors, the engine offered 330 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. The 421 CID V8 with 10.5:1 compression and a four-barrel carburetor delivered 320 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. With 10.75:1 compression and a three two-barrel setup, the 421 delivered as much as 370 horsepower. The Catalina 2+2 with the 370 hp Tri-Power '421' was able to race from zero-to-sixty mph in 7.l2 seconds and accomplished the quarter-mile in 16.1 seconds.

1964 Pontiac Catalina Production
The low-to-medium priced Catalina proved to be the 'sweet spot' within the industry, helping make the Catalina the industry's third best-selling full-sized car throughout much of the 1960s, behind the first-place Chevy Impala and second-place Ford Galaxie 500. The Catalina's success inspired other manufacturers to offer similar products, including Chrysler's 1961 Newport, Dodge's 1962 Custom 880, and Mercury's 1963 Monterey.

The Pontiac Catalina was offered in a vast array of body styles that included a two- and four-door sedan, two- and four-door hardtop, a convertible, and a 6- and 9-passenger station wagon. Prices ranged from $2,735 for the two-door sedan and rose to $3,300 for the nine-passenger wagon. The sedan was listed for $2,800 which was approximately $300 less than the Star Chief sedan. The four-door hardtop sold for $2,945 and was also (approximately) $300 less than the Star Chief hardtop. The Catalina had 84,457 sales of its four-door sedan while the Star Chief had much fewer, with 26,453 units sold. The Catalina four-door hardtop also outsold the Star Chief, with 33,849 sales compared to 11,200 of the Star Chief.

The two-door hardtop Catalina was priced at $2,870 and 74,793 units were sold, the second most popular body style in the Catalina lineup. In comparison, the Grand Prix two-door hardtop listed at $3,500 and 63,810 examples were sold.

The Tempest, Catalina, and Bonneville all offered convertible body styles, with prices of $2,640 (the Tempest LeMans was $2,800 and the Tempest LeMans with the GTO Option was $3,080), $3,180, and $3,580 respectively. The combined Tempest convertible production was 32,190 units. The Catalina convertible had 18,693 sales and the Bonneville convertible attracted 22,016 buyers.

Pontiac built a total of 257,768 Catalina vehicles in 1964, accounting for thirty-seven percent of the company's total production. Pontiac had built 400,549 examples of the Catalina in 1963, 204,654 in 1962, and 113,354 in 1961. Prices remained fairly consistent throughout 1961 through 1964, with the base price of $2,630 in 1961 increasing to $2,740 in 1964. The highest-priced Catalina body style in 1961 was $3,200 while the highest price in 1964 was $3,310.

Along with the 2+2 option, the Catalina was available with the Ventura trim package as an interior decor option, adding approximately $118 to the base price. It was offered only on the two- and four-door hardtop, and the convertible. It added the interior and exterior upgrades applied to the extra-cost decor group option plus a slightly more luxurious interior of Morrokie or cloth trims.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2021