Hello from new member

Steve Anderson

Steve Anderson

Member
Hi folks I'm Steve Anderson,
I thought I'd sign up to the side and learn a little more about this Pontiac I got! So I picked it up about a year or so ago, and I'm just learning about it seems like a pretty interesting car. I have a deep passion for late 50s GMC pickups, I have a bunch of those but this is my first car, potential project. It is a 1959 Pontiac Catalina 2dr sport sedan model, 2bbl 389 / Hydramatic. I picked this car up because I had a few Old-Timers tell me that a late 50s Pontiac steering gear box with the power steering option would interchange with a late 50s GMC pickup, however this car was a couple years newer for that application, so I've been doing some research on it and I've become very interested in it. Looks like on all the engines from 1959 that these cars came with the reverse flow version of the Pontiac 389, however this car has an early 1960 conventional flow motor in it, and I'm wondering if it was possibly Factory equipped with this motor. It's dated January 8th of 1960 which is pretty dang early in the year, so I was thinking maybe this car might have been built as late as maybe January of 1960. This car has been parked since 1972 it appears to have all original stuff in it, the hydramatic transmission, power steering and it's also got air conditioning! I don't see any evidence of anything that could have been changed, so it's got me very curious. I'm looking for other ways to possibly date the time this car was made and any help on that would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you guys for letting me introduce myself and I'm looking forward to meeting some fellow Pontiac enthusiasts!
 
Thanks for the reply! I'm not having much luck uploading images to the thread. If you want, I can send some hi-resolution pictures to your email, please email me at matchless429@yahoo.com, and I'll send them to you. The car is on my profile photo as well. Thanks again!

Steve
 
I'm not having much luck, all my pictures are too big, they exceed the 1mb requirements. I will work on resizing them. If you would reply to my email I can send you some good pictures of this car. Thanks again,

Steve
 
Welcome Steve. Paint.net makes resizing really easy.
Or you can just take lower resolution shots.
 
Here are your pics, sorry I don't know much about the Pontiac, but someone else may know.

20160518_213718.jpg
20160519_141709.jpg
20160519_141701.jpg
 
Wow, thank you Indy cars for posting those pictures for me! If there's any other information that would be helpful such as the VIN number or any options or anything like that please let me know, I will continue to work on learning or getting software to post more pictures of this awesome car. I work in the oil field a lot so my service is very very limited most of the time.
 
Thank you for that info, I decoded the VIN recently, I'm mainly wondering if some of the later 59 Pontiacs may have come originally with the conventional flow 389 intended for the 1960 year. This one has a motor dated Jan 8 60, which was only the 2nd week of January. Probably a dumb question but I was curious if any of these 59 models could've been assembled that late? Any imputed would be appreciated, thank you!

Steve
 
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...tech-you-may-not-know.11663/page-2#post-55277

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/some-pontiac-related-links.4125/#post-42587


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_V8_engine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_V8_engine

Pontiac 389 V8 Engine


The Pontiac 389 V8 was first introduced in 1959 and would become one of the most popular engines of the muscle car era. The engine evolved from the Pontiac 370 in which the stroke was increased. There were a lot of changes to the 389 during its eight year production run which gained the engine even more notoriety. Most experts agree that the 389 was one of the key factors in starting the muscle car wars of the 60s.


One of the first major changes for the 389 came in 1960 when Pontiac stopped using its �reverse flow� cooling option for the powerful V8. From 1955 to 1959, Pontiac had used a cooling system (and some GM motors still use it today) where the coolant was sent to the heads first and then down through the block. The idea behind �reverse flow� was to keep the heads cooler because of the large problem with engines in the 50s burning up and warping the valves. By 1960 GM had started using harder and more reliable valves and seats for their engine heads which let them do away with the �reverse flow� cooling method. For more information on �reverse flow� and why Pontiac stopped using it check out this interesting site.

The 389 was also the first engine by Pontiac to come with the S.D. (Super Duty) option. If you are lucky enough to find a 389 S.D. engine then you will have quite an impressive setup such as a four bolt main engine block and a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods. These Super Duty 389 engines were mainly used for NASCAR racing but a small amount of them offered for sale to the public in order to meet NASCAR standards.

Another impressive version of the 389 introduced in 1959 was the Tempest model. The Tempest 389 engines were also known as �420-A� motors and came with higher compression as well as better performance options. These engines were available up through 1962 and produced up to 348 horsepower which was the highest power output a factory 389 engine would ever see with the Tri-Power carb setup.

The 389 Pontiac motor also has the coveted award as being the first engine used in one of the most famous muscle cars of all times, the Pontiac GTO. The GTO is considered by many automotive enthusiasts to be first real muscle car on the block even though it�s a discussion that could be debated. By the end of 1966 the last of 389 engines rolled off the assembly line to be replaced by the Pontiac 400 but it didn�t leave without leaving a lasting legacy on the automotive world that will never be forgotten.

Today, engine parts for the 389 are in abudant supply especially if you are looking to push up the factory horsepower. Most any performance auto part stores will have quite a nice inventory of carburetors, headers, cams and many other engine parts that can really give your 389 quite an increase in power and performance.
 
Thank you for your help and posting these pictures! I work a lot so I don't have hardly any time to get to it. In short, I think this is a really cool car, and I would love to fix it up, however there are some extensive rust on the rear trunk weather seal lip, and on the rear quarter panel lower sections, and it doesn't look like these panels are available, so they may have to be fabricated. Of course, it needs all new floor boards and trunk floor, it's sat for 45 years with the window down. Can anybody tell me if these early wide track two-door Pontiacs are worth restoring? I think it definitely has some valuable Parts on it anyway, a complete 1960 389, Factory air conditioning all intact the compressor spins like new almost, and a clear title! Thank you guys again for your help
 
I'm trying to help you with information but you're not acknowledging anything, is there any particular reason?
This model was raced periodically in NASCAR (check museum). There is a salvage yard theater Ames pulls parts from. The owners are early wide track nuts. Funny that I've been searching for a 68 Catalina rear bumpers but I have found 2 1960 bumpers in very good shape.
Worth it to restore? That depends on you and your patience to stick with it. It's junk yards and collectors with these cars parked in their perpetual back yard graves. The parts are out there, you just have to commit to be Sherlock Holmes and make contacts. Late '50's early '60's big iron Pontiac motors and drivetrains believe it or not is very plentiful, you may have to fork over some good cash for speed/performance parts. Interior parts - well there are books on restoring interior trim and parts. There are several Pontiac bone yards near me, let me know what you want or to not bother.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top