Pontiacs were beasts at the track in the early 1960s.
They were a force on the roundy-round at NASCAR tracks like Daytona and Darlington plus they were top-rung competitors at NHRA ¼ mile tracks.
Jerry Sutherland
The Pontiac SD (Super Duty) 421 was built for one thing—domination. Pontiac fitted a 421 cubic inch, high-compression, dual four-barrel monster (465 estimated horsepower) under the hood and then invited competitors to walk the walk at the track.
Stuart Green and his brother Kevin knew about this 1962 Catalina years ago and every time they saw it, they asked the owner if it was for sale. Stuart said he saw it in a motel parking lot at a car show, so he stopped and told the owner, “you’ve gotta sell me this car”. He told him the same thing every year at the same car show. His persistence paid off ten years later when the owner admitted his wife “didn’t want to drive a standard anymore”. Stuart told him, “I’ll be there the next day”.
That’s when the car became part of the Green fleet and that’s when they had a chance to assess what they bought. This was an SD 421 tribute car, so the Catalina started life with a 389 under the hood and an M-21 4-speed.
The previous owner said the current 421 was the real deal–but Stuart is a detail guy, so he pointed out that real 421 motors had two frost plugs and this engine had three. Stuart dug deeper on the numbers and learned the engine was a 428 from a 1967 Pontiac station wagon.
It does have 421 cubic inches because the 428 was de-stroked to match the displacement of an SD 421.
The Greens weren’t crazy about the Cragar mag wheels on the Pontiac because they thought the cars looked “too blingy with mags on it” –they didn’t fit the overall theme of the understated Catalina. They replaced them with dog dish hubcaps and redline tires to give the Pontiac a more business-like look. That was a good call because the black car looks menacing with the new-look wheels.
The M-21 4-speed was also a casualty because they weren’t sure how it would stand up to a thumping big block, so they replaced it with an upgraded aftermarket 4-speed to handle the horses. Stu admits it, “has a lot of wheel hop when doing a burnout”, but it’s still a lot of fun to drive.
The Pontiac has 3:35 rear gears, so it’s not a terminally revving car on the highway. Stuart reports it runs at about 2700 rpm at 70 miles per hour, so he’s not breaking things when he’s behind the wheel.
There are header cutouts, but Kevin confessed he “doesn’t like the sound when they’re open”–so they’re rarely open. The driving experience is typically at 60 miles per hour-ish because both Green brothers reported it had a light steering feel and it took a million cranks on the wheel to make a turn.
Stuart admits he was patient when he was in pursuit of this ’62 Catalina because he knew if he became the next owner, he’d never regret it.
That’s how the story ends…patience paid off.
Jerry Sutherland
By: Jerry Sutherland
Jerry Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer with a primary focus on the collector car hobby. His work has been published in many outlets and publications, including the National Post, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Regina Leader-Post, Vancouver Sun and The Truth About Cars. He is also a regular contributor to Auto Roundup Publications.
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