They were 14 cars that changed drag racing history forever. The vaunted swiss cheese Catalinas that Pontiac produced in 1963 were the most hardcore and advanced specialty drag car ever produced by a car company to that point in history. Management at Pontiac understood the value of being the quickest car at the drags. The tens of thousands of young men that attended drag races every Sunday, read drag racing newspapers, and spent their days talking about camshafts and who was faster than who were a target market for the brand which was on a mission to get out from under a stodgy image. When these cars hit the track they were immediately and utterly successful. No one had anything for them. They could run circles around the Fords and while the Chryslers had an outside chance, pound for pound, the combo of the Super Duty 421, a four speed, and lightweight made them true killers. The amazing thing about these cars was not that they were made but how long they stuck around. The vast majority of these “factory specials” had a lifespan of a season and by the next year a new model was replacing it or the cars were being outclassed by the competition. These cars, however few, kept popping up like bad pennies years after their supposed heyday was over.

The lives these cars led and the way they were hauled and raced, and hauled and raced, and hauled and raced, means that they should have been about beaten into submission or crashed, or just used up and discarded in pretty short order. The fact that the majority of them have made it to 2014 is stunning even if we’re only talking about nine cars. Another thing to consider is the fact that this project was handled completely in-house by Pontiac. Those 120 holed drilled into the frame to save weight? Done in a building owned by Pontiac using Pontiac employees. Can you imagine such a thing today? Yes, we have COPOs and Cobra Jets, and Drag Packs, but those do not include such robust modifications as drilling holes in the frame! Along with the holes came plexiglass windows, aluminum pieces like the hood, fenders, radiator support, exhaust manifolds, etc were used. Heck, they even used an aluminum center section in the rear axle. The engines were bad ass. 12.5:1 compression, Mickey Thompson forged pistons, a hairy McKellar camshaft, cylinder heads that moved more air than most anything else of their day, lightweight valves, and all the hot rod stuff you’d imagine.

This car is for sale and the asking price is $548,000. That’s ultra-rich guy territory but where else would you expect it? For devoted Pontiac lovers, this is a pinnacle car. Yes, there are other awesome and rare Pontiacs that can be collected but if you are looking for “it” in the Pontiac world, this is “it”. Arnie Beswick who worked on the car signed it with a nice note and the documentation of its racing history and strip action is there for all to see. We’re sad that we missed this era because when you consider how legendary small batch cars like this became without the internet or any of that stuff it really must have been magical. When a car like this came to your local strip, the hot rodding world stopped, and rightfully so. Sadly, we live in a world where everyone must know everything immediately and those days are largely gone. For half a million you can buy yourself one hell of a time machine, though.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE SOME PHOTOS AND THEN HIT THE EBAY LINK TO SEE THE FULL LISTING FOR ONE OF THE OLD SWISS CHEESE CATALINAS KNOWN TO EXIST

ONE OF NINE REMAINING REMAINING SWISS CHEESE CATALINAS HITS THE VIRTUAL BLOCK – SEE IT HERE