59 Catalina

idrivejunk · July 11, 2017, 09:52:28 PM

Here is another project from the shop I work at, one I know will be interesting to follow whether I get involved or not. Been mentioning it here and there but figured a thread just for it was in order because it is a show quality build to-be. Gets a new aftermarket frame and modern goodies but I believe it will be red again in the end.

Several factors have complicated my trusty pic posting routine, and as time allows I will back-fill this story with any previous pics I can find. But it came back from being blasted today, safe and sound. So now... tick tock says the clock... its awful hot and humid out these days. SOP is to sand the exterior with 80 after blasting, maybe some cleanup scuffing elsewhere, lots of cleaning and wiping then epoxy on the metal that will stay.

Here she is, needs work. Yes I let out a barely audible groan during this quick walkaround and reminded myself its a Pontiac. I love (lots of later model) Pontiacs! Looking at it in bare steel, I see different metal than the 60 Chevy I just did, just about everywhere. But I bet those will be the parts I work with. Dunno whuts available for these but I'm getting better at making stuff. Reckon we'll see in due time. Thanx for passin'' thru!

kb426 · July 11, 2017, 10:31:36 PM

It looks better than the chevy. Am I missing some ugly spots?

idrivejunk · July 11, 2017, 10:49:46 PM

Oh its definitely better. Boss says the Biz was the rustiest one we've done. I am just mainly concerned about pans I sure hope they are available because I'm not seeing much that the Chevy parts would work for.

Rrumbler · July 13, 2017, 06:04:28 PM

'Nother one to watch, a blast from the past.

When I was in the Navy, '61-'62 or thereabouts, I was an E-3, and didn't have two nickels to rub together, but a feller can dream. I was wandering about in the University neighborhood of San Diego, and came across a neighborhood used car lot. The guy had two Pontiacs, a '59, and a '60, both Catalina 2 door hardtops. The '59 was navy blue with a white top, and the '60 was wine red; honestly, I don't even remember the interiors, but the '60 had a warmed up engine, and they both had four speeds. Well, I was wound up in the '59, and the sales guy was just hangin' out jawin' with me when a couple, older folks, probably in their fifties, took an interest in the '60; the man made the comment that with that four speed, that thing would probably tow pretty good. The sales guy said yep, it had plenty of power, and kind of winked sideways at me, asked if they would like to drive it. They took him up on the offer. They got into it, and when the man started it, he took note of the rough idle and commented that it sounded as if it needed a tune up; the sales guy just smiled. When the gent pulled out onto the boulevard, he stopped, made sure it was in first gear, and romped on it, probably thinking he would see what the granny gear was like; boy did he get a surprise. It is a good thing there wasn't any traffic on the boulevard, because that fella got that Cat sideways in both directions, and wound up heading the wrong way before he got it stopped. They got out of it right there, and just walked away without any comment, seemed to be a bit shaken up. The sales guy asked me if I would like to drive the '60, and I took him up on his offer; got it back on the right side of the street, took it down the road and back, loving every minute of it. When all was said and done, the red Cat was back in it's spot in the lot, safe and sound, and the sales guy, knowing I couldn't hack the prices of the cars, offered me a cuppa joe and a donut, and we shot the breeze for a while before I walked on down the street.

kb426 · July 13, 2017, 06:09:30 PM

Good story, Rumbler.

idrivejunk · July 13, 2017, 09:52:46 PM

That is a grr-rrreat story and masterfully told

I was rooting for a third pedal from the moment I saw it. But it had a lake under it instead. But tri-power! It gets an LS swap and custom Art Morrison chassis according to the plan.

This thread was kinda bare and thats a good kickoff. Still have not asked if we are getting floors that are for a Cat. I could make whatever work, I suppose. They are feverishly preparing for the DP90LF. It took me 3 days to prep the Chevelle by myself. I marked some cuts over the floor bracing and they cut them out to aid in blowing out all the residual blast media. Found a couple pics of when it was still red. Barely. Had disc hubcaps, dice, and skirts when it came in, and it was a leaky but running driver.

idrivejunk · July 15, 2017, 03:38:10 PM

Apologies for the broken pics in the first post, guys. I may be able to fix that with a PM. Just letting you know replacement pics plus more are coming soon.

idrivejunk · July 15, 2017, 08:26:04 PM

OK guys the pics are coming at ya now. The new way is time consuming as heck though!

I would like some opinions on the photo size. Is it too big? The next step down is about a quarter this size.

I am uploading at full size but can edit them to be what they call extra large.

If you are viewing on a PC and they are wider than your screen, try holding the ctrl key and tapping the minus sign a time or two to unzoom the whole page. Plus sign zooms. I am using the aspect ratio of an old TV and they are a bit wider than my monitor. If nobody has an issue, I'll keep on like this

One more post should bring this story current. Coming right up.

kb426 · July 15, 2017, 08:35:58 PM

It's the end of the day. I'm tired and looking at the pic of the crud on the trans and all I can do is laugh! Maybe argon disables your brain cells from solid reasoning.

I have no doubt that car will be special when your shop is finished.

idrivejunk · July 15, 2017, 08:47:10 PM

That gets the pics current but not the story... Epoxy primer was applied Friday but I didn't get a pic. Thanks for looking, this should be a cool build :!:

idrivejunk · July 15, 2017, 08:51:36 PM

Quote from: "kb426"It's the end of the day. I'm tired and looking at the pic of the crud on the trans and all I can do is laugh! Maybe argon disables your brain cells from solid reasoning. I have no doubt that car will be special when your shop is finished.

I laid low today enough for both of us.

It would have been a nifty car with a trans swap and not much else but they are going whole hog. Fix your brain like I do... fire up your loudest one and go slay a few bugs before the sun sets.

idrivejunk · July 19, 2017, 09:36:01 PM

Epoxy pics-

kb426 · July 19, 2017, 10:18:54 PM

Do you have a roller die for the bead roller that will match the floor panels you have to cut out? I've made some special dies to do that in the past.

idrivejunk · July 19, 2017, 11:25:59 PM

I think all we have is what came with the roller. Improvisation may be required. The pans and other metal research has not gone very far yet, I found out. Supposedly floors for that car are available. The trunk pan might be like this one on a bubbletop Chevy. The way I see it theres enough we can do before we gotta have pans yet so I am not worrying yet. Much.

Heres this project's latest blog entry in case you would like to visit it. The words may be different than this thread but the pics are same.

http://chevroldsmobuiac.blogspot.com/2017/07/catalina-in-black-primer.html

idrivejunk · July 25, 2017, 10:30:25 PM

Have I ever said how much I like to chop :?:

I do. Got my hands on the Cat today, at least part of it. I have separated the trunk lid skin and shell and will be making a new flange for the shell without disturbing the folded perimeter of the skin. See the whole story here-

https://chevroldsmobuiac.blogspot.com/2017/07/catalina-repairs-trunk-lid.html