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Pontiac of the Month

FBIRD69's 1969 Firebird

2024 March
of the Month

Tom Kennedy

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Everything posted by Tom Kennedy

  1. Terry, I won claim any expertise on this topic, but I am a hard core fan of Pontiacs, & have owned a ‘66 Catalina convertible for 45 years. There are some substantial mechanical differences in the ‘60’s models of US built & Canadian built Pontiacs. The only specific case of this “difference” I have seen has been in the ‘66 model years. The US built Catalina came with a standard 389 c.I.d. engine, and was on the “Wide Track” suspension system which had a noticeably wider stance between the wheels , while the Canadian built equivalent of the Catalina came with, I’m told, a 280+ c.I.d. engine of Chevrolet origin, and do not have the greater width between tires as found on their US built counterparts. im not sure how much further, if at all, these differences might go, or how important these distinctions might be in your purchase of a mid ‘60’s collectible, but I wish you good luck in your search.
  2. ‘Agree totally with Ringo & just about everybody else on this. A decent retro design could be produced, but GM isn’t bright enough to do it. Almost makes me glad that Pontiac became an “orphan” division. At least we’ve been spared having to watch it become one of the look alike “blobmobiles” being built today.
  3. Tom Kennedy

    TKX045

  4. Guilty as charged. Except for 2016 & 17, while the car was being restored, I’ve driven in it every year. it hasn’t been too scary in recent years as it was in the early days. A lot of “burn outs” & just plain stupid driving took place when the Cruise first started.
  5. Couldn’t agree more. I still remember the car a friend of bought that got hooked on Pontiacs. It was a ‘63 Grand Prix, burgundy metallic, with a white interior, & had a 389 tri-power with a 4 sod manual transmission. If they built one like that today, my order would be in right now! The problem, as usual, is MONEY. It would cost the manufacturer a bundle to set op to produce that car, & much as many of us would like to see them again, it is doubtful they’d sell enough of them to make a profit. It’s also doubtful they could even market such a car without loading them down with a ton of “emission control” equipment to make them meet current Federal requirements. It sure would be great to see some of those cars again though. I guess it just emphasizes the need for us to take special care of the ones we’ve got.
  6. Glad to find another Catalina lover out there. I still enjoy every minute I spend behind the wheel, especially on Dream Cruise Weekend.
  7. A big "hello" to all my fellow Pontiac lovers. I'm new to the forum, but a long time Pontiac owner & enthusiast. My own ride is a '66 Catalina drop top that has been in my family since purchased by my mother, new in June of '66. The car was driven by her for 10 years, (yes, sadly, including winter), then purchased by me in late '75. it has NOT been winter driven for the last 45 years, and my youngest son & i did a reasonably complete restoration on it during 2016 & 2017. I'll be posting some photos of the restoration project in the near future, in case anyone is interested. The car now has 51 K miles, (and a little change) on it), and runs better than when it was new. It is my personal opinion that; dropping the Pontiac Division was one of the biggest mistakes G.M. ever made. But toward the end, with the advent of the Aztek & G-6, the demise of the Pontiac brand was easy enough to see coming. Well, at least it has made the ones we own & love more valuable & significant than ever, so maybe it wasn't all bad news. Besides that; without Pontiacs becoming an "orphan" brand, we wouldn't have the membership in groups like this, or the wealth of older, well preserved Pontiacs to enjoy. Let's keep 'em rolling.
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