1964 Pontiac Catalina

Convertible Convertible

8 - Cyl.

Manual

834S24026

Clear

Gasoline

1964 Pontiac Catalina Convertible – “Maybellene” I am the third owner of this beautiful driver - prior to posting this listing I located and had a conversation with the original owner during the week of June 21, 2010 to verify some of the car’s details and information – he is still very much alive, and he and his wife (both in their 70's) now drive a ’64 fuel-injected red Corvette convertible (4.11 gears, 4-speed) around Spokane, WA dusting the kids out of stop lights! The car was originally sold on February 21, 1964 in Davenport, Washington for $3,169.44 as shown on the salesman's commission calculation sheet (see original documentation below). The odometer now shows just over 133,000 miles. I purchased the car from the second owner in Idaho through a broker based in Montana in May 2007 as an anniversary gift for my wife (the broker never titled the car – therefore, I am officially the third owner). Prior to its delivery to me, the car spent its entire life in the Pacific Northwest and now resides in Nashville, TN. The original owner installed a 400 V8 several years after he purchased the car from the dealer in Davenport, but he retained the original complete 389 V8. The second owner (a friend of the original owner) got the 389 along with the car when he purchased it and kept the engine in his garage. After I purchased the car, the 400 V8 was removed by the broker and the original Pontiac 389 V8 was completely rebuilt to factory specs in July 2007 and re-installed before I took delivery (all stock components were installed except for hardened valve seats to permit running unleaded gas - see details below). The engine originally had a two-barrel carburetor, but during the rebuild a stock Pontiac 389 cast iron four barrel intake manifold and period-correct Carter AFB four barrel carburetor were located and added. The car has a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed transmission (period correct – the original transmission finally gave out in 2009), NOS 1964 Hurst shifter, original AM radio, power steering, original 4-wheel drum power brakes, and an original 3.73 Positraction rear end (the original owner verified this in our conversation). The Catalina dash was replaced with a 1964 Bonneville dash and gauges by the second owner – I have the original dash. The car also has its original tilt Deluxe steering wheel, two-tone vinyl interior, and a rare 6-way power split bench front seat (no console & four-speed). The original documentation is as follows: Build Sheet, Owner Protection Plan (Protect-o-Plate), Owner's Guide, Dealer Shipping Record, Convertible Top Operating Manual, Cruise Control Operating Manual, 1964 Dealer Brochure, and the salesman's commission calculation sheet listing the original sale date, the original owner, the selling price and the commission ($40!). This is a really rare item – the second owner went back to the dealership to get this document. I also have a copy of the second owner's Idaho title. During the week of June 21, 2010 I spoke with the mechanic in Missoula, MT who did the rebuild work on the 389 engine. The shop keeps very good records, and because I had the invoice number he was able to report the following details: The cylinders showed some wear (which would indicate an original mileage engine that concurs with the original owner’s story) and were bored .030, then honed to .040 (apparently the shop owner wanted to keep the specs and tolerance as close to stock as possible while giving the cylinders a very clean surface for the new rings and pistons - his shop never does bores of more than .030). The crankshaft was ground to .020 / .020. The pistons and rings installed are Sealed Power (pistons: 288P; rings: E253K) for a compression ration of 10.5 to 1. Clevite rod and main bearings were installed. The camshaft is also new - a Sealed Power M641. New Pioneer pushrods and rocker arm assemblies were also installed. New hardened valve seats were installed to permit running unleaded premium gas (we have used Octane Booster with almost every tank of gas). Pioneer timing bolts were installed, along with a Cloyes timing chain. The engine was balanced before re-assembly. The total rebuild cost was $2,272 and can be confirmed with the receipt. I have put approximately 4,500 miles on the car since September 2007. The car has had one repaint - no date available - in original Skyline Blue metallic. After I took delivery of the car in August 2007, the following restoration work was completed: Four new coil springs and shocks (Monroe Sensa-Matic) - the original springs and shocks were still on the car! All new upper & lower ball joints All new upper & lower control arm bushings NOS 1964 Hurst shifter with linkage & bushings New Flowmaster mufflers Original 14" wheels and hub caps were replaced with 15" Cragar SS chrome wheels and BF Goodrich Radial TA tires - brake drums painted black Steering column rag joint (under-hood) Horns: 1972 Cadillac Hi/Lo horns (the original horns were not operational) - the sound will part water! New interior door panels New glass channels & weatherstripping New rubber door bumpers An original 1964 Pontiac tachometer, installed where the factory would have put it - on the dash, to the left of the steering column - since the car had no console Restored bright blue seat belts (1966 Pontiac) with stainless steel buckles - three sets in the back seat, two in front (the originals were a darker blue, with plastic buckles, not in good shape) Several NOS and very good condition trim parts added (chrome trim body pieces, gas door guard, front Pontiac badge, etc.)) 4 original stainless steel wheel well moldings located, purchased and completely restored to show quality (it took two years to find these moldings - very rare - these are NOT being remanufactured) New convertible top switch NOS 1964 rear view mirror - very rare (the car had an incorrect late '60's mirror when I got it) NOS Pontiac tissue box (on drive tunnel under the dash) - I have never seen one of these before or since NOS tail light bezels and lenses NOS front parking light lenses Battery / battery cables (June 2010) Alternator (June 2010) NOS horn relay switch All other routine maintenance parts (points, plugs, plug wires, oil, oil filters, etc.) were purchased from Ames Performance, ebay or O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. My son and I have done most of the minor work - all other work has been done by a master old car mechanic (30+ years experience) in Centerville, TN. I have taken great pains to retain the car's originality as much as possible when replacing parts and components. There are a couple of small items that will need attention: the wiper switch needs replacing - I have not been able to find an original two-speed switch - and the heater core needs replacing - it sprang a small leak in 2009, and I disconnected it from the water system - we never drive the car in winter and didn't need the heater anyway and we never drive the car in the rain - so these are optional repairs. I have some additional parts not yet installed that will go with the car (NOS antenna mast, restored 1964 jack, etc.). This car is just a great driver that impresses like a show car. According to the original owner, she was the Queen of High School Proms and football games in the ‘60’s in and around Spokane, WA - she carried a lot of cheerleaders onto the field at homecoming games. She was also the family vacation car and made one round trip from Spokane to San Francisco and back – the three kids rode in the back seat all the way! I frequently volunteer to go to the store or on errands - she is the Ultimate Grocery Getter in fair weather - she never goes out in the rain. She stays out of the weather under a large carport under a very high quality car cover (a Noah cover from Griot's Garage) that will go with the car. The top stays up unless we are driving her to avoid wrinkles or problems with the plastic rear window - it is in great shape. The car is a mostly unrestored original with the exception of the listed repairs - she has never been disassembled as confirmed by the original owner. The car retains its original unrestored front and rear bumpers and grille chrome (see photos) - there are a few surface scratches, but no pits anywhere. The headlight bezels are original and in excellent condition. The front grille is in unbelievablely good unrestored condition. There has been some body and frame work done over the years and there is some surface rust in the trunk (see photo) as might be expected for a 46+ year old car, but as the photos show she is very nice looking and has a rare combination of features. The car has had one convertible top replacement (by the original owner) and retains the original snap-down boot – ’64 was the last year of the snap-down boots. Most of the early '60's convertibles have newer slip-on boots - a real pain to remove and replace - this boot snaps on and off in a flash. There is one small tear in one corner - otherwise it is in great shape. The trunk is absolutely HUGE - I can make our every-six-weeks run to Sam's Club in the car and put EVERYTHING in the trunk - it'll hold four sets of golf clubs four bodies (!!!) The car gets comments and compliments everywhere she goes - even in traffic, windows go down and women holler and ask to go for a ride! Most people have never seen a car like her - kids under thirty think she's from another planet. People who were in their teens and early 20's in the '60s go crazy over her - the old school look, the 4-speed, the color...everybody's got a memory or a story - that's what these old cars are all about. There are very few big Pontiac convertibles running around out there - Pontiac made only 18, 693 Catalina convertibles in '64 (as compared to 84,000+ 4-door sedans) - not many were 4-speeds, and even fewer had bench front seats instead of buckets. I hate to sell her, but I've got one Pontiac too many (the other one is a '68 GTO) and at almost age 60 I am lightening the load. Please e-mail me with any questions - thanks for looking, and have a great holiday week-end - happy bidding! Somebody's gonna get a sweet ride for the rest of the summer and into the fall - any tailgaters out there? <