I thought I would post this here, just to keep it centralized.
Hello everyone, a month and a half ago brought home a 1967 Pontiac Catalina 2 door. Which makes me ever so slightly insane. But, there is a story here. I thought you all might be interested. I was at that start of planning a Lotus 7 scratch build. From welding the frame through racing it. There have been a few iterations of donors and exact dimensions, but it was going to be a
Locost. That plan was was egged on every time I saw a Solstice or a Cobra. Then, my wife suddenly wanted something more....concrete, which led to awesomeness.
First a bit of background: Way back in 2006, God smiled upon me, guided my wife out of consulting and into the employ of a car manufacturer. Given the number of questions she had, I suggested we buy an older car and slowly work through it. You know, for the educational value . And she went for it. We were living in Dubai at the time and sadly only had a car port. Between the heat, humidity and dust, there was to be no car. We then moved to South Africa, where we kept an eye out for a victim, but given the import duties on parts and scarcity of interesting cars; I channeled my Man interests into blade smithing. A little over a year ago we returned to the US after a decade abroad and for the first year we barely mentioned the car. Turns out this was a wise move, since we only were in Atlanta for 11 months. In January we were relocated to Bowling Green, KY. And we made a condition of buying a house that there be a 3rd garage bay for a project and a fenced in yard for the dogs.
Since my Wife wasn't so keen on a scratch build I got onto Craigslist and the HAMB. At first I was looking at a '53 Pontiac shell in WI. but that was a lot of work and driving for just a shell. Then I was looking at a '42 Chevy Business Coupe, but it was pricey and had no engine. Then, I spotted Gabby. It was close by, and reasonably priced. I called and arranged to test drive it. It.Was.Fantastic. I was smiling for days. We closed on the house and the next Monday we bought the car. I still bought a welder, but a scratch build was on hold indefinitely. Not even a roadster build could match the sheer crazy of a '67 monster. I mean, no joke, the car is 18ft long!
Here are the 3 pics off of the CL ad that caught my eye. The angry chicken front, the swooping lines and the long trunk line.
It ran, it was local, had a clear title, and was reasonably priced. But here is the part that will probably raise a few blood pressures here, lol: we have never worked on cars. Oh we know about cars, and we know how things work, but we have never done it. I can tell you that intelligence, passion, the ability to follow instructions, and connect dots gets you a long way. So we aren't put off by the work, or having to figure everything out. I mean, seriously, how hard could it be?
Every project needs a vision and a plan or else it wallows in bad primer hell and never gets done. Our vision is two fold. 1.Get the car into safe, daily driving condition; learning every step of the way and have a blast doing it. 2. Start into a larger scale restoration, with classy and correct upgrades along the way.
There is a small time issue as well, we simple aren't sure how long we will be living here or where we will be assigned next. We assume we will be here in Kentucky for 2 years. So, we don't want to do a frame off restoration and be left with a mess should we have to move suddenly to China or where ever. The longest we want Gabby out of commission is during the engine rebuild, which is planned for the winter or 2013/14. Long term, we would like to have disk brakes up front, an updated suspension, and a rock solid engine that can move her with a delightful noise.
The start? Well she has drum brakes on all 4 corners. The pedal is very stiff and there simply isn't the corresponding braking action. (yes they are drum brakes, but I know they can work better. right now she needs a 1/4 mile to stop.) So we'll be rebuilding the drums and cylinders first. Then the suspension with new shocks and (if needed) new coils. Right now when you turn left, out the right you can see the ground. A lady her age shouldn't have the indignity of wallowing like that. After that, new wheels and tires. The ones she has barely hold air and are cracking. I know this will need 15" wheels, but she really needs modern shoes. A V8 like the 400 deserves better then the trailer tires she has now.
Then she will be insured, registered and hopefully driven a bit while we get ready for the engine to come out. As I pulled her into the garage, she spit some oil out of the left hand exhaust. That has me worried, and thinking the engine might come out sooner then winter.
Update: she is insured and registered. I drove her to get a full fuel tank the other day, in the rain no less
So here is what I do know about the car. It was made in NJ in the first week of December. It was bought in 1967 driven a bit, and then sat in a car port for 30 years in NY. The wife of the owner finally passed in 2002 and the kids gave to the red cross. They in turn sent to be crushed for scrap metal. Luckily a guy at the yard bought it for next to nothing and changed the oil and occasionally drove it. At the time of that sale in April 2002 the milage was recorded at 24,800 miles. He recorded milage and basic maintenance. The last log was an oil change in June 2008 at 35,860 miles. It came with him to KY where it moved to the last owner, who wanted to hot rod it, but ended up raising 2 of his grandkids and had no time or funds. And yesterday, she had her title transfered and drove to our new home. And that is where we are now. I'm told that the 37,600 miles are all original. That's pretty good for a 46 year old car. I do not know if the engine was ever rebuilt, but it's looking rather nasty, so the assumption is not.
I want to know more about her. I *think* she is a 400cid/6.6L with a 2 brl carburetor. I know she is a 3 speed, the TH350 I assume. She's a B body. She has a bad paint job at the moment, but is the original color underneath it. There is AC and PS, no brake booster. Can anyone fill in anything based on the plate in the engine bay?
Update: I have some of that deciphered now, but not all of it.
I hope you all will stay with us as we start this exciting journey as we learn, grow and reconnect with American automotive history!