[MOJO Catalina]

Well, I got what I consider to be the "deal of the century" on a 1960 Pontiac Safari Wagon... 84,680 Miles on it.



Now get this: The guy told me a friend of his had a GTO and he was gonna sell him the engine and trans for $400 and then scrap the rest for $400 so If I wanted it I could have it for $800...

Of course, the GTO guy wouldn't be able to use this engine and trans in his car but I didn't argue with him.. I just agreed to the price and thanked him for not crushing the car.

I put some tires on it yesterday and dragged it home will my tow bar, all four tires rolling. Worked great!




The floor pans are shot, doors flapping from rot and the back corner/bumper's bad but she's a 3 seat wagon with roof rack and safe-t-trac rear, radio delete, manual steering and brakes...

A2 engine code... which says it's just 215 HP 425E with 8.6 compression.




The engine spins 180 degrees but then hangs up.. I'm thinking stuck valves..

I have an A1 engine from a '60 Ventura that was rebuilt about 2000 miles ago.

Will this engine work well in my wagon even though it was coupled to a Hydramatic?
Not too much torque for this clutch and trans is it?

This old gal may never be a show car but I want it to been as cool as it can be.

Suggestions and opinions are welcome and encouraged but, NO it's not for sale!

[Steve Barcak]

Happy for you, nice color too!.. and a posi with a stick! I should say you gort a great deal and glad you plan to save it. The Ventura engine will work just fine, bolt 'er in.
I would suggest a dual master cyl and look into a disc conversion, seat belts, should harnesses.

Would you post a pic of the dash? Have not seen a 60 delete plate before.

[MOJO Catalina]

Photo of dash w/radio delete:



Not real pretty.. should be slick I think.

I'll definitely do a dual master.. I also have a power steering pump/box set-up from the Ventura I may install if it's an easy bolt in.

[stevep]

Great find!

[MOJO Catalina]

I saw the "old lady" who owned this car yesterday and she said she used to have to pull her brother out of the snow and sand with the car... She never got stuck anywhere she said.. The tires that were on it that are flat now, were both were snow tires and both were worn slick.. Posi style!

[MOJO Catalina]

Originally Posted by Steve Barcak

Have not seen a 60 delete plate before.

My Catalina 4dr sedan has one, too.

[MOJO Catalina]

Originally Posted by MOJO Catalina

The engine spins 180 degrees but then hangs up.. I'm thinking stuck valves..

I pulled all the spark plugs last night and filled the cylinders with trans fluid. Today I took off the valve covers and tapped all valves with a hammer a few times. I rotated the crank a bit and then did it again. I then tapped the pushrod side of the rockers, rotated some and then repeated it a few time to free up the lifters. Now she's spinning freely.. So well in fact that I put a battery in, put it in reverse and turned the key to engage the starter. She drove backwards under her "own power" for the first time since 1977 (even though it was just battery and starter propelled).. I then put it in 1st gear and moved her back.. Heavy Duty Starter seems to be working just fine!

Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon I'll be driving my "new" wagon around the property..
I wonder if the brakes work? Haven't checked them yet..

[Txbobcat]

You got a deal. Hope you do a nice resto on this. Very seldom ever see these anymore.

[bryansMtngto]

Looks like a great project car. and great Price. Wife and I are talking about trying to find a wagon for our next project. That way she could use it to haul her gear to gigs and look kool. She has a dodge Magnum wagon right now. Awsome car shame Dodge stopped making them.

[MOJO Catalina]

Thanks Guys.. I'm going to use this thread to update progress. Hopefully there will be a steady stream of reports...

Well, I replaced the plugs, wires, distributor cap, coil, points and rotor...



Poured gas down the carb and hoped it would kick over but no dice.. I must have some valves stuck open or some dead lifters... She's looking alot better though..









I had a radiator and some other parts from a Ventura parts car that I saved for this project...

I can't believe that some people would just let a car like this sit and rot in a field.

[MOJO Catalina]

Here's the walk-around movie..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hASxfMc4zXU

[twooldgoats]

Nice car. It looks like a fun project!

Jim

[MOJO Catalina]

Another odd thing about this wagon is that it has never had a side view mirror of any kind on it. No holes.. I guess that was not mandatory DOT requirement and was a factory option in 1960? Anybody ever seen another car without a side view mirror?

[60 SHARK]

LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE A FUN PROJECT! IS THERE A REAR SWAY BAR. ALL US SAFARI GUYS WANT TO KNOW. MOST ALL OUTSIDE MIRRORS WERE DEALER INSTALLED OPTIONS, AS WELL AS THE ROOF RACK. REAR POWER WINDOW IS STANDARD FOR THE NINE PASSENGER ( NINE PASSENGER OPTION ONLY IN BONNIE AND CATALINA ) IF YOU FIND THE REAR BUMBER STEPS, I NEED SOME NEW ONES TOO, IM STILL HUNTING. IF YOU HAVE DONE THE BRAKE MASTER CHANGE OVER BEFORE LET ME KNOW WHAT WORKED. I AM STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WILL WORK WITH THE 60 LINKGE. A INSPIRING PROJECT. I WILL BE FOLLOING YOU. I LL HELP ALL I CAN.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by MOJO Catalina

Anybody ever seen another car without a side view mirror?

They are uncommon but they're out there - my '61 Bonneville doesn't have outside rear view mirrors.

[MOJO Catalina]

Originally Posted by 60 SHARK

IS THERE A REAR SWAY BAR.... IF YOU FIND THE REAR BUMBER STEPS, I NEED SOME NEW ONES TOO... IF YOU HAVE DONE THE BRAKE MASTER CHANGE OVER BEFORE LET ME KNOW WHAT WORKED.... I WILL BE FOLLOWING YOU. I'LL HELP ALL I CAN.

Yes, rear sway bar and posi rear...



I have not done the MC changeover on either of my '60 Pontiacs but want to do both of them for sure.. Can anybody point us to a thread or website that covers that?

Thanks for the help offer..
Anybody have a or know of a not-too-expensive 4dr or wagon parts car with decent doors, floors and rear sheet metal within 100 miles of Charlotte NC?

..and hey, post a photo or two of your wagon..

[MOJO Catalina]

Still no luck getting this car to fire up.. Looks like I'll have to take the intake manifold and valley pan off and see what's going on in there.. I do have compression in al 8 cylinders..

[stevep]

All 59-60 wagons had a factory sway bar. Plenty of early 60's cars had no side mirrors.

Maybe it got parked because the timing chain jumped, if 60's had a plastic gear.

If you have spark, fuel and compression, it SHOULD fire up.

[61 vent]

My wagon started up after 30 years Mojo, my biggest problem was resetting the timing and dwell after I pulled the distributor to pre oil the engine. Glad to see another oldie and a wagon to boot back on the road soon.

[MOJO Catalina]

I have spark and compression. I pulled out the new plugs and 6 of 8 are totally clean and don't even smell like gasoline. I'm thinking the intake valves are not opening due to collapsed lifters or bent pushrods.
I'll be pulling the valve covers tomorrow and loostening up the rockers to see what's happening. The lifters spring back when tapped with a hammer so I believe they would open if the cam/llifter/pushrod/rocker/valve sequence is working properly.
If I can't tell anything from there, I'll dig into the engine a bit deeper like taking off the intake manifold and valley pan.

As far as the timimg gear goes, I saw that my '60 Catalina 4 dr sedan with A1 engine had a metal gear when I changed the timing cover gasket and oil seal so I guess this A2 engine does too?

If I can't get this 8.6 economy engine poppin' proper, it's gonna get the heave-ho to make way for the 10.25 A1 with 3x2's..
But I'd like to get this car going under it's own original power plant.