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After doing the last three long hauls I realized that participating is what it is all about. But, participating in a old car would make it that much better. I've taken a '78 Trans Am, '92 Z28, '13 Challenger x2 and a '89 Mustang Convertible. They were all fun but nothing compares to seeing most of you guys/gals in that old car that i'm used to seeing at cruise nights and car shows. So, after this past year I said i'm getting the Catalina ready and going to start early.
It really is not much to look at other than it's a '63 Catalina and you don't see those around much. I never was into any Catalina other than the 65's but after seeing this one in Daytona it kind of grew on me. We bought it for my wife but recently she told me she wants another old VW bus and told me to go wild with it. I had to give up my old Dodge truck last year when we had to make the decision for me to stay home to homeschool my daughter (a long story). So, she thought it was only right since i'm really a Pontiac nut for me to have this car. All I could think about was the old Swiss Cheese Pontiacs. Although this car's 421 is long gone and a run of the mill sbc resides in it, the car is still a joy to drive. The 700r4 has been rebuilt and beefed up and I'm slowly getting everything in place. So with this thread I will update as I go along. I hope you enjoy it.
Here it is on the trailer in the parking lot of the race track last year. Got it home, pulled out the interior to find very solid floors with minor surface rust from where the heater core leaked.
Here are some pic's of the 52 year old floors
Notice the sand? The car lived in Tallahassee, FL all its life.
After that the car needed to stop, so we installed the brakes. It was the first time for drum brakes for me. I made some mistakes along the way but I got it. Had to buy a new drum cause one was bent and I found out that these cars like the organic pads better and that they do make a tool for everything.
Organic
Broke it trying to use pliers. Went and got the brake tool and it made my life a ton easier.
On the road, new brakes, tires and tune up.
Time for the old holley to go
Time for the old 2.64 gear to make way for the 3.23
And time for the old worn springs to go. I finally got them all out and new ones installed. That was a bear.
The mess of 50+ years of road grime, sand and dirt from the lower control arms
No, i'm not putting 26 inch wheels on it, the car has not settled yet
During the process of installing the front springs the bump stops disintegrated and the sway bar end link bolts broke. Summit racing and rock auto to the rescue. That will be the project for this weekend. My goal is simple. A good running car that is a throwback to the 60's race cars. For now, it will look like I just pulled it out of someones backyard.
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