69 Catalina Rescue

[mrocketscience]

Well, I talked about this a little in my 57 Wagon thread but I'll start a new one for this. We dragged a 69 Catalina convertible out of the mountains yesterday and it's resting comfortably in my driveway now. A close family friend passed away recently and wanted us to have this car. It's been sitting covered up under a lot of pine trees for 15 years with a busted oil pan. Here's a few photos. I won't have time to do any work on it for a bit, but at least I have it here. It definitely needs some work, but at least its complete. Although I've never seen this many rodent droppings in one place before.

[milner351]

Giant heaping piles of luxo drop top cruising potential!

[mrocketscience]

It does have a lot of potential. It's not rusty at all, floors are good(I'm surprised!), And I'm hoping the engine will run fine after fixing the oil pan, and freshening up all the wires and hoses, points, carb, ect... Plans call for cosmetics, new top. new carpet(really full of rodent poop) fix the bench seat upholstery, finding a good deal on used rims and tires. It's going to need paint also. The body is in good shape except for a large thick bondo spot between the passenger side rear wheel well and the door. So, after the 57 wagon gets back on the road, I'll start looking at this thing.

[JOES66FURY]

Giant heaping piles of luxo drop top cruising potential!

what he said....


Neat!

[Beagle]

WIN! WIN! WIN!

If I were able, I'd yell GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL for a minute or two.

[SuperBuickGuy]

WIN! WIN! WIN!

If I were able, I'd yell GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL for a minute or two.

why can't you?

[mrocketscience]

LOL! It _might_ be a WIN, we'll see ;) I wasn't sure I wanted it at first, but I'm really warming up to it. I can see it's not as bad as I first thought. With the right wheels and tires, I think it's gonna look really cool. I'm not sure how wide I can go on the rims, maybe 8 inch? It looks to be the same body as an Impala and I know somebody on here knows something about Impalas, right?
Here it is in it's new parking spot..

[Scott Liggett]

Very little of that of that totally bitchin Poncho is the same as a Chevy. Think BOP. 8" wheels won't be a problem at all under those bulging fenders.

Oh yeah.......HOOD TACH!!!

[JOES66FURY]

These cars look super classy in white and they also look great in red, what are you thinking for a new color?...I have seen some pretty wide rims on these cars, I imagine with the right off-set 8" would be no issue....

[mrocketscience]

The original color of the car is a medium metallic blue and I'm thinking of going with that. The paint thats on it is a really cheapo spray job that was done who knows when and it's coming off in spots. For wheels, I'm really thinking some 8 inch Rally wheels would look pretty nice on it. Maybe even with white letter tires. We'll see what I can scrounge up.

[JOES66FURY]

some wide steelies with pverty caps FTW!

Cant wait to see what you do with it!

[Huskinhano]

I was looking forward to seeing this. Lucky you! Glad to hear it's in decent shape with very little rust. Looks like a 400 2V, they make a ton of torque. We stuck one in my friend's 65 GTO that he bought with a blown motor for $125. Yup, that was a very long time ago in HS. Anyway the 400 2V and 4.56 gears and 4 speed made for some very interesting driving!

[Thumpin455]

Seriously cool ride, it definitely needs some attention. That thing is screaming "I want a 4" crank in this 400!" Also it should have 5 x 5 wheels, not 5 x 4.75, so finding a set of Rally IIs for it might be a bit tougher. However later Impala SS wheels should bolt on and give you lower aspect ratio tires and better handling. Not much else off a chevy will fit it. I would love to have that in my yard, it would get a 455 or 428.

If you decide to put a 4 barrel on it, can I have the two barrel carb? Been thinking of setting up a Tri Power for E85, and I need some carbs to test. Stock Qjet intakes are just as good as aftermarket intakes, and they are easy to find. Even the EGR manifolds run good, you dont pick up anything by going to a Performer over a stock one. Just FYI.

[mrocketscience]

Oh, it doesn't have a 5 x 4.75 bolt pattern? I guess I better check then. I'm a Ford guy, what do I know, right? lol... I'm going to try and get it running as is with the 2 barrel, but a friend tells me he has an Offy 4 barrel manifold I can have so I might swap for the 4 barrel. If I do, I'll hook you up with the 2 barrel.

[Scott Liggett]

It should have 5x4.75. I thought they went to 5x5 in 71 like Chevys.

You can get 15x8 Pontiac Rally II's. Look stock, but wider.

http://www.cokertire.com/wheels/rallye-wheels/pontiac-style-rallye-ii-2.html