This is a sturdy looking frame

"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
11/07/2018 at 13:50 • Filed to: Swiss Cheese, Catalina, Factory Drag Racer

For a full-sized 1963 Catalina. Yes, that’s factory. Specifically the one in ttyymmnn’s Good Morning post. Note also that it’s a channel, not boxed.

This car also came from the factory with cast aluminum exhaust headers. It was not built to run a million miles...

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DISCUSSION (26)

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 13:52

Those are real speed holes.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 13:54

Sooo many spe ed holes

WilliamsSW > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/07/2018 at 13:55

Yup - Pontiac was NOT half-assing it.

vondon302 > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 13:56

Hole saw lightness!

vicali > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 13:56

Crumple zone 100%

WilliamsSW > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
11/07/2018 at 13:56

Supposedly 120 or so - plus removing one side of the box.

WilliamsSW > vicali
11/07/2018 at 13:58

These cars were bad enough without the holes...

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 13:59

DAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!!

WilliamsSW > vondon302
11/07/2018 at 13:59

“here, take this and go to town”

Kinja'd!!!

WilliamsSW > shop-teacher
11/07/2018 at 14:05

I’ve known about these cars for years, but it was only a few years ago that I saw one for sale (huuuge $$$ - over $400k) and realized just how *BIG* those holes are, and how many there are.

These cars would probably collapse quickly if driven on bumpy roads.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:05

Well, except if you got in a wreck. That’s about how much of you they’d find.

But hey! You could get a 421ci with 405HP in it!

My bird IS the word > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:07

And I thought my car had bad torsional rigidity

WilliamsSW > Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks
11/07/2018 at 14:13

That 405HP was dialed up to ~500 or so with a few mods, too.

The Z11 Impalas that were built at the same time had super stiff front springs, Slinkys for rear springs, and had somewhere around 58% of the weight on the *rear* wheels. That wouldn’t be a lot of fun in the curves, at all. I presume the Super Duty Pontiacs were equipped similarly.

vondon302 > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:14

I think I need a smaller one there’s not much left.

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kanadanmajava1 > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:18

I don’t think they were even designed to run a full mile:

“Even the exhaust manifolds were made of cast aluminum, which had both an upside (dropping 45 pounds of weight per pair) and a downside (melting if the engine was run, or even idled, for too long). ”

WilliamsSW > My bird IS the word
11/07/2018 at 14:19

Just imagine the stress on that frame when it’s doing an 11 second 1/4 mile.

WilliamsSW > kanadanmajava1
11/07/2018 at 14:22

Nope - they were designed to do a burnout, stage, then 1/4 mile at full throttle, then cool down. That’s it.

As I noted to someone else, the weight distribution and suspension setup would make this car a nightmare on any curves.

My bird IS the word > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:23

This looks like some R oger P enske bullshit

WilliamsSW > My bird IS the word
11/07/2018 at 14:25

Pontiac drilled those holes. Really.

My bird IS the word > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:29

This is really weird considering this predates pontiac’s business strategy shift towards performance.

WilliamsSW > My bird IS the word
11/07/2018 at 14:39

No, it really doesn’t - that began when Knudsen, Estes and DeLorean took over Pontiac in the late ‘50s. Pontiac, as well as Chevy, Ford, and Dodge/Plymouth were all heavily involved in factory racing - including drag racing.

These cars (only 14 built) and the Z11 Impalas (~60 built, I think) were the last gasp for factory drag racers before GM pulled the plug in 1963. Back then, Chevy, Pontiac, Ford, Dodge and Plymouth were building the performance car reputation - the cars just looked different then, because they were just purpose-built race cars without any additional fluff (like radios, heaters, graphics, etc...)

My bird IS the word > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 14:57

I always heard it was post-GTO. there may have been competition before that, but it wasn’t until 64 that they committed.

WilliamsSW > My bird IS the word
11/07/2018 at 15:10

It was a different sort of performance back then - none of the brands were really trying to *sell* performance cars, per se. They were backing race teams to win - with the expectation that people would see 421 SD Catalinas win on the weekend, then show up in the showroom and buy a 389/automatic Catalina (which looked no different from that SD Catalina really ).

Pontiac and Chevrolet were doing that - to my knowledge, Cadillac, Buick, and Oldsmobile really weren’t at the time (maybe Olds was in NASCAR?)

My bird IS the word > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 15:13

I didn’t realize this was for a purpose built racecar

WilliamsSW > My bird IS the word
11/07/2018 at 15:19

Oh yeah - Pontiac only built 14 of them. Besides the frame, they had all aluminum front body work, cast aluminum headers (wtf?), and a solid lifter 421. I’m sure they would have built more if GM (and Ford) hadn’t put a stop to factory backed racing.

The regular Catalina had a boxed frame, no holes.

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW
11/07/2018 at 15:54

I’ve known about factory lightweight drag cars as well, but yeah ... seeing those frames like that is a real eye opener!