[muscle_collector]

nice ride

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-...item4608389e54

[goatless]

That is a nice clean wagon!

[elefantrider]

That is a pretty high optioned Catalina, with 9pass, 428, and power windows. The nose is in good shape, it looks like it has been repainted but difficult to tell the quality of the job from these pics. For someone that doesnt mind yellow!

[elefantrider]

More pics here:
http://photobucket.com/69catalina

[elefantrider]

Here is another one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...-/280961033615

[stevep]

Originally Posted by elefantrider

Here is another one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...-/280961033615

I think that this car was for sale in Norwalk 3 years ago for 8 grand and I could do it at the time.

[elefantrider]

I like the second one better, for one thing it is a bonnie and is very original too. More pictures at http://www.greasepit.com

[elefantrider]

Originally Posted by stevep

I think that this car was for sale in Norwalk 3 years ago for 8 grand and I could do it at the time.

8 grand is a good price for one in that condition. Rust looks minimal on the photos but I'd want to see more under car pics. Is a lot of tan, too bad the interior isn't black.

[Todd Kozak]

Bonneville wagon is nicely optioned but looks too much like a hearse with the cordova top.Mayfair one looks pretty nice. There was a Liberty Blue bonneville wagon for sale last year, that one looked great.

[elefantrider]

Didn't see the blue Bonneville wagon, but they look great with blue on blue interior. Anyone have pics of it? There was a blue Cat wagon but not a Bonnie. I dont think blue was a popular color on the west coast, all you see is yellows, tans and greens out here.

Mine has a Cordova top with Rally wheels and it don't look like no hearse, but sportier and smaller than it is. Color and wheels is everything on these, and in my opinion there isn't a nicer looking wheel than the Pontiac Rally.

[Todd Kozak]

Yes, it was Blue on blue with Rally II's and wood wheel, somewhere in Washington state. Rallys look great , I agree. Hearse comment was my opinion of the ebay car, it probably had something to do with the wheelcovers too, yuck! What kind of fuel economy numbers does your wagon pull down elefantrider?

[elefantrider]

Jim, I would have liked to see that one. Sounds like mine but in blue, nice! How much were they asking? Maybe someone here bought it and will chime in with pics.

Fuel economy is actually not bad on the freeway. I filled up an empty tank with 10 gallons and did 100 miles pure of freeway, including up the steep grapevine. Windows down the entire way. I still had plenty of fuel left, about 3 gallons. I figured I averaged around 15MPG on the freeway. Around town it is much below that. The difference is extreme, I would say 7MPG or less around town! You can almost see the needle go down as you drive.

It fun to drive with the 428 small valve, high compression motor. I just need to remember to keep my foot out of it, or it will ping in summer on 91 octane. If I drop the compression ratio during a rebuild, it would get worse fuel economy. What do you think?

[Todd Kozak]

I think it sold for around $8000. That ole' 428 uses the gas! I was considering a full-size wagon like the yellow car for summer vacation driver but I'm having second thoughts now! 87 octane here is almost $4 a gallon and I can't see it getting any cheaper.

[elefantrider]

Not sure but I think the 428 is still more fuel efficient than a 455 or 400. They are pretty heavy, not sure I'd want to drive one with a 400. I use mine for a pickup replacement and going to the cruise ins. It gets as many thumbs up as my GTO, maybe more! More fun than driving a pickup and I can lock my stuff and haul the family too. The power rear window is fast and works great!

Unless you have your own gas station, you don't want to drive one every day that's for sure. City mileage might actually be a little better, I don't drive it in the city enough to know. I thought 15+MPG on the highway was great! Was expecting less than 10mpg. I do have tall 75 series tires on it though. One thing is sure, you need to use good gas. 87 isn't going to do it. 69s are great, there are better looking years but the 69 has a lot of improvements. The cross flow radiators really help keep them cool even in 100+ heat.. 68s are cool too, and some even came with 8 lugs for a more classic look.

[goatless]

I've never calculated the mileage accurately on my wagon, but I KNOW it does a LOT better than my 2008 truck, which is surprising since they're pretty close in weight. I think mine gets close to 18 MPG on the highway and averages around 15 overall. The trick is staying out of the secondaries.

[Ben M.]

My '67 wagon that I put a 350 2bbl in with 2.56 gears would consistently get 18-19MPG on the highway (a friend borrowed it and put almost 600 miles on it in a month and told me his fuel costs). Around town it did about 13-15 depending on how nicely it was driven. Had no problem moving itself and a full load around either, so I would imagine a 400-455 sized engine wouldn't do much worse.

[elefantrider]

I will need to rebuild my 428 someday but haven't made the decision if I drop the compression down with custom dished pistons or not. It runs fine until you get into the secondaries. I think the compression ratio is like 10:5.1 stock. Might have the distributor man slow up the curve in the distributor. The percentage difference in price between 87 octane and 91 isn't that great, so am running 91 for now. Cheaper than a rebuild with new pistons to lower the compression.. But I will likely need to do this if I want to tow with it, and that is the plan.

Station wagons have a lot less wind drag than pickups, so I'd expect that to be the reason why they are more fuel efficient. If you live in an area with a lot of curves, they are a lot more fun to drive on real roads. I have been thinking of ways to improve the handling a little, and hear that adding a rear sway bar helps.

[Todd Kozak]

Listing on yellow wagon was removed after auction ended. Why does that happen to some but not others?

[elefantrider]

It's still there:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ponti...-/300780875973

[Todd Kozak]

Likely had his buddy shill bidding on the car. It was a 'sale' at 7600 and now its starting at 8500. What a jerkoff. I bid 7300 in the first auction but when the seller plays games, I'm instantly not interested.