1966 Pontiac Catalina 2+2

Poncho Muscle is Fun

Don Anderson’s 1966 Catalina 2+2

Story and photos by John Gunnell

Throughout the late ‘60s, Pontiac Motor Div. remained America’s number three best-selling automaker. The company built its post-1957 image on the youth market appeal of full-sized performance cars. Under-the-table factory support of drag racing and stock car racing helped move big, “brutaful” Pontiacs out of showrooms. In the mid-‘60s, muscle car sales gradually transitioned from monster motor big cars to the midsize car niche where the GTO ruled the roost.

A big-block 21-cid Pontiac-built V8 was standard in the 2+2. Pontiac big cars continued to come on two wheelbases (as they had since 1958). From 1965-1969, the smaller stance—which measured 121 inches—was used for Catalinas and all Safari station wagons regardless of trim line. The larger 124-inch stance was reserved for Star Chiefs, Executives and Bonnevilles.

Sporty luxury, smooth performance and high style were the keynotes of Pontiac’s larger cars during this five-year period. Playing off the glory of the Super-Duty high-performance models, big-cube multi-carbureted engines and 300-plus-horsepower ratings continued to be offered. However, 0-to-60 mph acceleration suffered due to added weight. The big-boat Bonnevilles were super cars to drive on superhighways, but rarely did much at a drag strip. The opposite was true of the Catalina 2+2, which became Pontiac’s full-sized performance car.

As one of Pontiac’s top full-size collector cars of this era, the Catalina 2+2 has a mystique of its own. It came—on either hardtop coupes or convertibles—as a prepackaged group of equipment. Individual options could also be added. For 1966, small changes were the rule. An industry-first plastic grille was among them. A two-stage exhaust system with resonators was also new. Added options included manually inflatable Super-Lift air shocks, Strato bucket or Strato bench seats and head rests. The 2+2 package included all-vinyl upholstery, louvred fender trim,

2+2 badges, a 421-cid V8, a three-speed transmission with a Hurst floor shifter, heavy-duty shocks and springs, chrome engine parts, full wheel discs and special fender pin striping.

With a weight in the over-twoton range, the 2+2 with the Tri-Power 421 HO engine and four-speed gearbox could hit an incredible 95 mph in the quartermile. Pontiac installed the 2+2 option on 6,383 Catalinas in 1966, but Pontiac’s records do not indicate how many cars with the option were Sport Coupes or convertibles. Of the total, 2,208 cars had manual transmissions and 4,175 had Hydra-Matic drive.

Car enthusiast Don Anderson, of Chicago, decided he wanted a 1965 or 1966 Catalina 2+2. He wanted a nice turn-key car he could take to the Pontiac Oakland Club International (www.POCI.org) convention and win awards with, so he scoured the club’s Smoke Signals magazine looking for a 2+2. Anderson had two cars on his radar and he wound up buying a white 1966 Sport Coupe.

The car was restored with 83,570 original miles. It had the base 421-cid 338-hp V8, Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission, black vinyl bucket seats, black carpets, a black vinyl roof, quick-ratio power steering. 11-in. power drum brakes, a special 2+2 console, 8-lug aluminum drums, a factory tach, a remote-control left outside rearview mirror, a heater and defroster, Rally Gauges, a rear defogger, a visor vanity mirror, tilt steering, Soft-Ray tinted glass, a hazard flasher, front and rear floor mats, a remote trunk lid release, bright door edge guards, a rear radio speaker, white sidewall tires and a Safe-T-Track rear axle.

The seller had a thick file on the car. He said he bought it 6-8 years earlier. He found it in a magazine ad and had driven it

Don Anderson got the “Pontiac Tiger” with the car.

Dual exhausts were standard, but the base 21 and 21 HO have different exhaust manifolds, so be careful when ordering engine pipes.

only about 2,000-3,000 miles. Documents indicated that the car had been kept in Pennsylvania until the late ‘70s. The seller got it from an Ohio man who brought it from Pennsylvania.

The owner said that the car was repainted in the year that he bought it, but that it had already been repainted when he bought it. He drove the car home from Ohio to Wisconsin and it began running rough in Milwaukee. He then installed new spark plug wires and the engine ran fine afterwards. No other major work had been done to the car. The engine started quickly, ran smoothly and quietly and did not smoke and or get hot. It seemed to be a good honest car.

Anderson wanted everything on the car working. He decided to replace the old dual exhaust system with new stainlesssteel parts from Waldron’s Exhaust (www. waldronexhaust.com). Anderson wanted fender skirts. A set of NOS fender skirts was purchased on eBay. 2+2s without skirts have bright metal moldings on the wheel opening. When skirts are installed, these moldings are removed and different moldings that run across the bottom of the skirt are used.

Anderson ran into problems with the original oil pressure gauge sending unit shorting out. He learned that Inline Tube (www. inlinetube.com) of Dearborn, Mich., makes a black plastic washer to replace the fibre washer used by the factory, which often deteriorates. The plastic washer sells for a few dollars and more often than not, it fixes the problem of the sending unit shorting out..

Anderson also had the engine painted. He installed a new hood insulation pad, detailed areas under the car and got a new

cover for the spare tire (since the factory broadcast sheet said the car originally had one).

Anderson took a bus trip to Wisconsin, test drove the 2+2 for the first time, loaded up some parts, cleaned the car and then drove it to Chicago. Shortly thereafter, he drove the car to a POCI annual convention in St. Charles, Ill. to see how it would hold up in points judging. He won a Silver Award in Stock Class.

After the POCI convention, Don took the 2+2 to D & M Corvette (www.dmcorvette. com) in Downers Grove, Ill., to have additional work done. D & M carried out a number of cosmetic and mechanical upgrades. An original radio was located and installed. The left-hand remotecontrol outside mirror was fixed (Don is still looking for a right-hand one). The transmission was adjusted to reduce the harsh shifts. Another company did some upholstery work.

When the car was taken to the POCI and GTO Club Co-Convention in 2013, it won a Gold Award in Stock Class. Owning the 2+2 made Don a Poncho enthusiast of the first rank. “I like both Mercedes and Pontiac shows,” he told Muscle Car Plus. “But Pontiac events are just a lot more fun.” Catalina was considered a “small” full-size car and the 21 gave it muscle.