[Keith Seymore]

Dad buys his first Pontiac:

"Over the years now Dick Jesse and I had become good friends even if I had not bought a car from him. When the '63 introduction date came along I went to Royal to look at the new cars and I went down to talk about buying a car.

"The car I wanted to buy was a '62 Super Duty with the aluminum package and it was a red exterior with a black interior. Jesse and I talked about it and he told me to wait on a '63; that he could have to sell me a '62 but he might be able to get a '63 at a better price.

"We were standing in the door to the service department, by Charlie's stall talking and Jesse was telling me about the '63 cars and program when Wangers walked up. When he heard what Jesse was telling me he told Jesse not to talk about it yet, that it wasn't to be talked about.

"A short time after this Jesse called and said for me to come down that he had a car for me. When I went down to Royal and walked around the Service Department and looked at the white Tempest Wagon and [Lemans] coupe sitting at the end of the body shop there wasn't anything outstanding about either car and, until he started the coupe, I thought he was serious. When he started the engine and the fenders started to shake I knew there was no way he could get me a car like that. He laughed and said that those were 'shooters' cars* and that the wagon was his. The only thing I got on him was that they had to build an automatic so that he could drive it.



* [the coupe being discussed was George Delorean's car]




"He said there was still hope. He had a car at Engineering to show me so we went to Pontiac Engineering on Joslyn [Avenue in Pontiac Michigan]. Dick already had it cleared through Security and we drove to the back of the parking lot and there it sat. It was a Nocturne blue Catalina with aluminum wheels and white wall tires and most important of all 421 emblems on the front fenders.

"Dick said that Pontiac really wanted to get the 370 HP 421 out and in a Catalina it was in 'B' stock but it was in the bottom of the class. The car we were looking at was a regular Catalina (production body and frame) with what he called a 'carryover' aluminum package: aluminum hood, fenders, deck lid and bumpers but the inner fenders and braces were steel. The car was light enough to be at the top of 'B' stock. But they didn't want it in 'A' stock as it wouldn't run against a Super Duty [Swiss Cheese] Catalina.

"My first thoughts were 'well, this is another wasted trip because I would never get this car, either'. But in less than a week Dick called and said that the car was at Royal and in the paint shop.

"Somehow in the process of getting the car for me Dick even contacted Jim Wangers. This was the first car to receive the Bobcat [appearance] package and people at Royal said that Wangers took a very personal interest in it. The painter in the body shop was the only person able to paint body color on aluminum wheels and get it to stay. This car received the ultimate Bobcat paint, along the rain gutters, along the side spear, silver in the grille and on the deck lid. The wheels alone were a work of art - painted body color with the ribs polished aluminum and the loops on the rims painted white.



Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj0M4...eature=related (thanks to Mike Noun)