61 Catalina

[Wickersham Humble]

You make me want to move my '61's to the top of my build list!!

Question; why do you paint the suspension in a lighter, contrasting color?  Was that original on the drag car, or ??  

Interesting that PMD used the 'infamous' X-frame with Chevy, et al, until '59 or '60, then went to the rectangular, perimeter version.  The X, like the 3X2 carbs, began with Cadillac.  I have an Offy 2X2 intake for my 215, but am now running a Rochester 4GC 4-bbl. on an aluminum Olds manifold.  The 2X2 has no chokes, runs synchronized linkage; for racing, I guess -- would look good on a street rod.

I like my '61 'Tampax' but wish it were a Catalina/Ventura coupe!  Wick

[meechum68]

So, on the original .. no idea .. from what I have seen on the frames for any of the Poncho's from 59-62 black, even on the 6 swiss cheese ones ( I think it was 6, slept since I read up on them)  I figure on this build, I wanted to really have a nice clean undercarriage, and I am planning on do a bit more detail work on the bottom side, I usually cop out and paint flat black on all the things, but this one, just really feel I need to do better. 

Plus if I decide to show it, it will look really nice. 

The other is, I have a model club meeting once a month, and wont make the next til Jan, I will have this one done, and will take it to the meeting and let them all the really awesome builders see what this guy can do. 

 

[Wickersham Humble]

Mike, not questioning your choice!  Our clan had a new '62 Catalina 9-pass wagon, and I can't recall anything about it's chassis, despite working on it numerous times at the Texaco station where I labored -- including putting on 'Pacemaker' glass-pak mufflers in '64.  My anniversary gift to my Mom and Step-dad, oc, the previous one being baby-moon hubcaps! ($5.00 per set, with attachment clips; House of Chrome ad in HRM; now the clips cost $12 each!!!)  Naturally, Xmas of '62, I bought all my sibs (including step-sisters) Revell model kits, which I expected them to let me assemble; all MoPars!  Still have two of 'em!

My AMT annual was a B'ville which I 'customized' and thought I'd converted to a Catalina.  Stripped and put back to stock as much as possible before the chassis shortening adventure, etc. still not finished.  I was thinking black/gold Yunick style, but a street machine.  I also have an original annual '64 Goat hardtop kit, unbuilt; thinking of doing it in PMD blue-green engine color, but using the Revell chromed 421 'parts pak' mill....  gauche?  I did my old annual B'ville as a GP, painted my version of Nocturne Blue in honor of my late bro-in-law's '63 Catalina HT, 389/4-speed which let  he go in favor of a black Firebirdy 400; I preferred the Cat!  I took my first driver's license test in our old '55 model 870 8-pass wagon with the Chevy rear fenders they used in that year and '56.  I surreptitious tried the tail-lites on my '55 Chevy, and the reverse; fit perfectly, but looked ungood.

Happy season!  Wick

[meechum68]

I would love to get a wagon, love them big ole girls. 

And that's pretty cool about the kits! 

Should finish that man! 

[Kutnplastik]

On 11/17/2025 at 4:55 PM, Wickersham Humble said:

If I were to hike out to my shop/office, I could tell you what Pontiac called the maroon that most of us used the Chevy name for, 'Honduras'.  Popular!!  I had my '51 Ford club coupe cherried out and sprayed that color, minus the blue toners; was working part time for the body shop owner, etc.  Very bright, 'cherry' red; loved it!

I gave a substantial portion of my pint to my nephew, who does very spectacular builds, and can get about five more kits (should I want to load up my shelves to that degree with red cars) out of the can.  JE can be catalyzed or sprayed from the can mix.  One of my '61 kits will get a coat, one might get Fireball's Yunick garage gold and black.  I once interviewed Smokey Yunick for an article in Special Interest Autos Mag, colorful as advertised!  When we finished the chat, he said 'What magazine was that?" and I told him.  Said "Never heard of it!!"  Oh well... 

My bro had made a deal about 1966 for a very nice '61 Cat bubble-top, and went to the bank to get the money (about $1200, back then) and another salesman had let a local hillbilly drive it in his absence; of course the hick took it to our 'Dead Man's Curve"... and rolled it!  Bro almost duked the salesman out!  SUCH a pretty design!  I have a '61 Pontiac coupe, ('Dawn Firemist" but came out more cinnamon) but it's a Tempest, the Buick alloy V-8 model, very rare as Buick didn't want to cough up it's engines to another division!  Can't afford a big Poncho hardtop nowadays!!  And I looked for about 3 years!   Wick

Family car then was a '62 Catalina wagon, not bad.

My son had a 62 Tempest… I was sad when he sold it…

[Wickersham Humble]

Our '62 ragtop was pretty nice; had once been advertised for $19K; I got it for $12K; did some improvements and sold for $15K.  White on white, a nice driver, too!  A local (old skool) wrecking yard crushed five of 'em this year; I got a lot of parts (cheap enough) but couldn't rescue the remainder.  Oh well..

Wagons are neat; we had a '55 Nomad back in the '80s, but bills, bills... Gypsy red, PowerPak 265 with O/D, a bit tired but a spectacular ride.  I tried to buy a '56 Poncho wagon that had belonged to my wife's family -- big nostalgia -- back then, but owner wouldn't sell.  It was a stick-shift, too, but one of those weird 'selector shift' trans, of which I had some experience in a friends '56 hardtop.  We finally gave up and bought a '58 bellhousing to fit a Chevy 3-speed OD with Hurst Dual-Pattern.  Biggest drawback to wagons is the squeaks they develop (of course with headers, pipes, that becomes secondary!) and often leak around all those doors.  Even our Nomad leaked like a U-boat around the liftgate; terrible flaw!  The rain gutter was ON the gate, not protecting it.  I had a chance to ask Carl Renner, generally credited with the original design of the Waldorf Nomad why Chevy didn't fix that, and he said "Oh, but we did -- in 1958!"  Even those are worth something now!

My bro bought a new Vega 'Nomad' Kammback, which was a really nice road car; we had to borrow it for our honeymoon in '72 because 'friends' had RF'ed our 240Z (filled it with puffed rice!) to the extent it wouldn't be ready for a three-day fling 'on the road'.  It has A/C, too.  He got rid of it before the motor grenaded, luckily.  Sorry he had to vacuum out all that cereal!

Favorite wagons: 1954-55 Stude Conestoga (what a great rod that would make with LS, etc!) any of the hardtop wagons, any woodie (if one needs an endless project), Volvo wagons, and toss in old Suburbans, etc.  Family Trucksters!  Best, Wick, hard at work on my new kits!!

 

 

[meechum68]

2 hours ago, Kutnplastik said:

My son had a 62 Tempest… I was sad when he sold it…

Hmmm this gives me ideas for my Tempest I have in my stash. 

Love the color. 


 

[Kutnplastik]

2 hours ago, meechum68 said:

Hmmm this gives me ideas for my Tempest I have in my stash. 

Love the color. 


 

Thanks. Color is Cadillac White Diamond and the roof is candy burple over Crystal Beth flake base.

[meechum68]

Got it on it's wheels.  Still debating on giving the interior a bath, if it is decent after the 2nd coat then I will roll with it. If not, in the tub it will go. 

 

[meechum68]

So a little mock up! 

Aside from the decal's my thought process is: Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday. (Which if I recall, is the old stock car lineage)

[meechum68]

Color on the seats!  

Engine is mated to the transmission.  Soon will be prime for it and the intake/belt assembly. 

 

[Mike F.]

Coming along nicely. I enjoyed building mine, even with the kit issues.

[meechum68]

Thanks and nice Catalina! That yellow looks great!

I got the engine in prime, and have a couple more interior bits to paint, then I can assemble the interior tub.