1969 pecking order

[north]

Rainy morning so I thought I'd document the fullsized 1969 Pontiac pecking order.

Cheapest big Pontiac was the Catalina, standard engine was a premium fuel 290 hp 400 2bbl with a 3 speed on the tree. wheelbase was 122" and overall length was 217.5"

It came with dogdish hubcaps, a hard plastic two spoke wheel. Standard equipment included carpeting, wheel opening moldings and lights for the trunk, ashtray, lighter and glovebox. Taillights had two bulbs and the grill was molded plastic.

Seat upholstery was cloth and vinyl

[north]

The first step up was the decor group option on the Catalina that delivered a soft touch three spoke steering wheel, extra sound deadener, pedal trim, bright drip and window frame moldings and deluxe wheelcovers

[north]

Next was the Ventura (technically an option on Catalina but marketed as a separate model). It was basically a nicer interior trim level with fancier door panels (that included lower carpet and wood trim) and all vinyl plusher looking seats.

As you can see in this picture the Ventura trim level did not include the decor group option, decor group was offered separately.

[north]

Next up is the Executive model. The primary changes include:

Longer wheelbase (125") and extra rear overhang for a total length of 223.5"

The same interior trim as the Ventura along with the above mentioned standard decor group and a clock.

Still no changes to the drive train

[north]

The next model is the Bonneville. Here the changes are numerous:

Standard engine is a 360 horsepower 4bbl premium fuel 428, standard transmission is still a 3 speed manual on the tree.
Exterior trim changes include fender skirts, lower full length extruded aluminum side moldings, unique die cast grill, larger three section tail lights, added rear bright trim and an Endura rear bumper protector
Interior changes include molded door panels, front center armrest and plusher seat padding

[north]

Finally is the Brougham option on the Bonneville. It brought velour biscuit style upholstery (leather on convertibles). power windows, rear seat armrest (except convertible) and rear cigar lighters (late production only) and interior and exterior identification.

[north]

Pricing (for 2 door hardtops) was as follows:

Catalina: $3,164 ($3,258 with decor option)
Ventura: $3,279 ($3,373 with decor option)
Executive: $3,456
Bonneville: $3,688
Brougham: $3,961

[north]

Wagons followed a similar pattern with the following variations:

All wagons used the Catalina 122" wheelbase and were three inches longer in rear overhang than other models for an overall length of 220.5". Bonneville wagon came as a 3 set only, all others were offered as a two or three seat. The Brougham was not offered on wagons.

Catalina wagon had the same trim as mentioned above except that all vinyl upholstery was standard.
Ventura wagon had the same trim as other bodystyles
Executive wagon had the same trim as other bodystyles but did not use the longer wheelbase but had exterior woodgrain styling as standard equipment
Bonneville wagon had had the same trim as other bodystyles but did not use the longer wheelbase. It had a carpeted and chrome trimmed load floor. Interestingly the Bonneville did not have the woodgrain exterior styling

Pricing:
Catalina: $3,519 ($3,644 three seat)
Ventura: $3,624 ($3,749 three seat)
Executive: $3,872 ($4,017 three seat)
Bonneville: $4,104 three seat only

[TXSTARFIRE]

Thanks for the interesting information! Out back I have a 69 Executive wagon that came with a 428. It had a hand written line sheet in it. Always wondered about that. I will have to see if I can find it. There is alot more info available today than there was 40 years ago.

[SD455DJ]

That's a great history lesson North! Thanks!

Dennis

[muscle_collector]

thanks for all the info. got a question that surprisingly being into these cars for over 50 years i cant remember ever hearing the answer. so question is was it a date thing or what??? that made some of the 428 bonnevilles get the 428 emblem in the grill and some didnt have it?

[Cammer-6]

thanks for all the info. got a question that surprisingly being into these cars for over 50 years i cant remember ever hearing the answer. so question is was it a date thing or what??? that made some of the 428 bonnevilles get the 428 emblem in the grill and some didnt have it?

MC are you referring the 428 emblem on core support?
Or core support vs grill?
From what I remember the visual call outs were keyed with the upper horsepower 428 models(that would have 4 bolt mains).

[muscle_collector]

no just the one on the front grill like this one

[JimFB400HO]

Enjoyed your information. That Catalina post brought back memories of my Dad's green '69 Catalina. I loved driving that car.

[einstein]

I learned how to drive on several cars, one was a 69 Brougham 4-door hardtop.

Been a long time, and there are no photos of that car to trip my memory, but I'm thinking the 428 small emblem was on the radiator support.

[Cammer-6]

I learned how to drive on several cars, one was a 69 Brougham 4-door hardtop.

Been a long time, and there are no photos of that car to trip my memory, but I'm thinking the 428 small emblem was on the radiator support.

Parted out a 69 low HP 428
emblem was on the core support
none on grill
Pretty sure I still have that emblem

[north]

At the beginning of the model year the Bonneville had no 428 emblems anywhere (in 67-68 and earlier if you ordered a 428 on any big Pontiac you'd get rocker molding 428 emblems, a rad support emblem and if equipped with a console another one there. In 69 the Bonneville had no 428 emblems anywhere at the start of the model run (i suspect it was because the 428 was standard rather than optional) but around January or February they added one to the grill. If you ordered a 428 on one of the models other than a Bonneville at anytime during the 69 run they installed 428 emblems on the lower rear of the fenders above the rocker moldings (they were much smaller than the 67-68 sized ones. no 69's ever had a rad support emblem and since there was no console option in 69 there was no interior emblems.

Also new for 69 was that the regular 360 horse 428 used on the big cars no longer came with the chrome dress up. Instead, it used the same painted valve covers and the standard 4 bbl small snorkel air cleaner. The 428 HO came with chrome valvecovers and the large single snorkel air cleaner with chrome lid (as seen on the 68 GTO and the 68-69 Firebird 400).

[muscle_collector]

i like the look of the 428 emblems on the fenders however they were pretty rare. back in the mid 80's there was a guy who officed in the building i did and he had a 69 catalina he bought new that was pretty well optioned and it had the 428 emblems on the fenders. he very rarely drove the car and it was mint condition white with dark blue interior. finally one day i pulled in the same time he did and we talked about the car. he told me about ordering it and popped the hood and it was a HO i liked to have died as 69 was the only year HO i didnt have. selling was totally out of the question and then one day i never saw him or the car again.

[muscle_collector]

thats not the white HO im talking about is it

[north]

No, the white Cat has a 428/360. The HO is in a Bonnie.

[SD455DJ]

Here is a local '69 428HO Catalina with less than 30,000 miles all original still. It is owned by the nephews of the original owner, who also bought Dan's 455HO T-37 brand new to race in NHRA stock classes. The Catalina has the TH400 and 3.42 Safety Track rear end, Liberty blue with dark blue vinyl interior. It has the 428 emblems on the front fenders. Dan's Ventura optioned Catalina with the 360 hp 428 also has the fender emblems. Neither have the 428 on the radiator core support.

Dennis

[north]

nice photos, looks sharp with the Rally's and blackwalls. No red lines were offered on 69 big cars.

[SD455DJ]

These polaroids are from 1970 of the 428HO Catalina. So cool!

Here's when it was new in 1969.

Dennis

[north]

Sort of speaking of peaking order (but not really), I found last year an NOS AC Catalina dash woodgrain insert. I finally got up the courage to install it in my white Cat ragtop today. The old one wasn't bad but was sunfaded and the lettering was a bit thin. The scary part is that these inserts are press fit into a groove in the 57 year old fragile dash-pad, to remove the old one you have to yank it out and then cram the new one in hoping you don't crack or rip the old vinyl padding. Being a red dash-pad helped the odds since they seem to stay softer than the more brittle black, blue and green ones. Anyway all went well and it came out beautiful, while I was in there I installed a new center AC vent too.

[north]

Here is the before and after picture.

[north]

I did this last year also on my Bonneville ragtop, after a 15 year hunt I found a Brougham insert for automatic AC (2 holes instead of one). I got lucky that time too, no cracking as the dash-pad was still soft. In both cases I did it outside with the dash pad nice and toasty in the hot sun.