It can’t be anything other than a wonderful day in America when we drive (or imagine driving) a full-size convertible with a dose of horsepower. Perhaps it is not as fast as modern machinery, but there’s nothing like manipulating something massive while shoving your right foot to the floor. Our Pick of the Day is a fine specimen of this sort, a 1969 Pontiac Catalina convertible with a surprise underneath the hood. It is listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Alsip, Illinois.
Nineteen sixty-nine was a year of redesign for the full-size Pontiac line. Though the prominent beak continued from 1968, put the two side-by-side and you’ll immediately notice they were quite different. Worthy of note was the use of Endura on the schnozz between the grilles — if you recall, that was the same material used for the rubber-like nose on the 1968-69 GTO. Despite the success with the Goat, Pontiac decided not to implement similar bumpers for any full-size or Firebird model (though it would happen with the latter for the 1970 model year).
Models continued to include the Catalina, Executive, and Bonneville, with the Grand Prix stealing away to devote its time to a new, more compact platform. Though more massive and a bit more “Coke-bottle” than before, the full-size 1969 Pontiac series was much the same underneath aside from a wheelbase length up by one inch (122 for Catalina, 125 for Executive and Bonneville). Engines started with a 400 two-barrel with high-compression heads rated at 290 horsepower, which was standard on the Catalina and Executive. If you wanted more power, you could move up to a 400 four-barrel, which wasn’t listed in brochures but may have appeared midyear for the Catalina and Executive, as only 3,981 were installed. Even better was the 360-horse 428, which also happened to be standard on the Bonneville (a nice upgrade from the standard 400 four-barrel from 1967-68). If you wanted economy, you could order the 265-horse 400 two-barrel with low-compression heads for any model. If you wanted the biggest Pontiac engine with the most horsepower, you would opt for order code L75, which was the 428 HO rated at 390 horsepower.
Though the 428 HO sounds like the makings of a beefy full-size Pontiac, 1969 also marked the official decline of the full-size performance Pontiac. Truth be told, Pontiacs kept on getting bigger and bulkier, eschewing the lithe designs of 1965-66 (not unlike most cars in the industry), and the sporty four-speed manual was no longer an option. In fact, a floor-mounted three-speed was no longer an option either, so it was either column-shift three-speed or TH400 automatic. Wide-Track Pontiac? That was a distant memory.
True, the Bonneville came standard with the 428, so it wasn’t quite rare, but the Catalina was not often ordered with the same engine — in fact, according to the GM Heritage Center, 3,729 Catalinas were built with this engine, but only 114 were convertibles. Imagine that engine in a Matador Red 1969 Pontiac Catalina convertible and you have a classic ragtop that is quite unusual (if not rare). “Big, bold, and unapologetically American, this beast commands the pavement with raw V-8 power and classic Pontiac attitude,” says the seller. Features include the 428, TH400 automatic, power steering, power front disc brakes, tilt wheel, aftermarket Craig AM/FM/cassette stereo, chrome remote driver-side mirror, and white power convertible top. Dig the Cragars! And if you don’t dig ‘em, you can find something more low-key and install the set of fender skirts.
The 1969 Pontiac Catalina certainly lacked the performance chops of earlier iterations, but that didn’t mean Pontiac forgot where it came from. Given this car’s 428 and a top that drops, you’ll swear you can hear a tiger growling — not a bad deal for $19,900.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
