dumb question.......did the aftermarket wheel suppliers in the 1960s offer anything in the way of custom rims for the eight lug Pontiacs?
As far as I know, they did not. All that was available were the factory 14x6 rims. However, today you can get larger 8 lug rims from BOP Engineering, in 15" and 16" diameters, as well as different widths and offsets.
................My 63 Pontiac Catalina Ventura circa 1965-6. Bored, cammed and chromed 389, 3spd, no ps, no pb, posi, all new exhaust, aluminum 8 lug drums and wheels. (yes the chrome made it faster). Bought it with the l. r. 1/4 smashed and repaired it. was fast as hell at the time , wish I had it now!...old polaroid picture found after 30 years.
I had a 64 Gran Prix about 40 years ago, 421 tri-power 4 speed car. Don't know what was in it for gears, but would bury the needle in 3rd gear. 4th was belly down tail out and haulin' ass. How did we survive with the tires we had back then? Still holds a special place in my heart!
This photo brought back memories from the 60's. A friend of mine bought a '64 2+2 with a 421 4-barrel, a 3-speed on the column and a posi rearend. It was red with a white top. Looked like this photo when he would let it go.
Here is an old picture of my 64 Catalina when I had it repainted when I got out of high school. I would like to get another set of wheels for it. Just trying to figure out what I want.
Wombat - the only dumb question is the one not asked. Regarding the 8-lug wheels, well, they were the custom wheels, and from the factory no less. Jeff K. - Can you comment on the Scarebird disc set up, i.e., quality, ease of installation, cost, etc.? I've never known anyone who has used them and I'd like to put some disc brakes on my '63 Cat. Thanks! My current '63 Cat 2dr Sedan is bone stock and all original: 389, Rotohydramatic, P/S, PB, A/C.
WOW,... Brought up some great memories; Our home was called the "Ponch Palace" by neighbors,...We owned a 61 Bonneville, tri power, 8 lugs and all the options except a/c. The other Bonneville was a 64, 4 bbl, hydro and a/c. A 65 GTO 4 speed, tri power rounded out the "collection". The cars were sold when i was re assigned to northern Calif,...Wish we'd kept that 61..... 4TTRUK
Here's my '62. It's currently in that ripped to pieces "why did I start this" phase of becoming a "Fireball Roberts" Nascar. These are early summer pics. I don't have anything recent. Trying to find parts for an American Pontiac in Eastern Canada has proven to be quite the challenge though. Even the Canadian cars are literally nothing but rust around here. Looking for old style trim attaching hardware, Buckets in any condition and anything 4 spd related if anyone has contacts around here.
guys, thanks! I knew I'd never seen any Cragar/ET/ARE, etc rims for the 8 luggers but given the prolific and incredibly diverse nature of the automotive aftermarket in the 1960s I thought it very possible I could have missed something !
Jeff - Thanks for the comments regarding the disc brake set up. I do have a few additional questions. I tried to send you a PM, but was unable to do so. I got a message that said you are unable to receive it even before I composed it. The message indicated that you may have to change your settings.
My car over the summer. Lowered it last year, now the 455/th400 is going back in after a full rebuild. This winter I'll be finishing the trunk and interior, maybe putting gp buckets and console in. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Must have been a very rare option; I certainly don't remember it. Details, please; I'm sure many inquiring minds, outside the Pontiac fraternity, would also like to know! (Also dig those factory headers..)
Great thread, here is my 61 Catalina ragtop, barn find project that I'm hoping to do, 389 4bbl AT, ps, pb, p top, p windows and p seat, I read somewhere it's called a Ventura option with the Bonneville style interior. Also a couple pics I ran across, and my fav from this thread.
My 62 Catalina Safari...right now snoozing in storage, awaiting some underhood work. Clean no rust, red on red, orig. paint/int/drivetrain car...rear bags, 3" front springs. Couple crappy pics...haha...
Jeff, I put 67/68 disc spindles on my 64 way back when before there were Scarebird kits, etc. The lower ball joint on the 64 is 4 bolt and did not give enough clearance with this spindles for turning. I cut the 3 bolt ball joint area off the 67 a arm and welded it to the 64 arm. I also used the 67 outer tie rod ends. I have a pic some where I can find and post up. Other than that little side track, the rest bolted right up and worked great. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
LOL. Cold here too. Merc window is stuck down so no Merc driving for me this week. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Ok Jeff, here is what I did in the end. The spindles and disc parts came from a '69 full size Pontiac now that I look back at my pics .not a 67-68 like I thought. When I first installed the discs, I discovered the '69 spindles wouldn't clear the lower 4 bolt ball joint like I mentioned earlier. So, at that time, modified the '64 spindle to accept the caliper bracket. I had to have the rear mounting ear for the steering arm machined down to half it's thickness. While it worked, I never felt good about that set up and worried about the strength. So, a few years later, I decided to modify the a arms to use the '69's 3 bolt lower ball joint so I could use the '69 spindles. Here are a few pics I took of the a arm modifications. One shows the '64 and the '69 lower arm next to each other to show the differences. Also, a few close ups of the cuts. I cut down the side a bit to be able to incorporate the spindle stop off the '69 arm. I was careful in my measurements to make sure that the center of the ball joint remained in the same place, so any difference in geometry would only be a result of difference in the spindles. It's been over 20 years since I did this, so I can't recall with certainty, but I am thinking the '69 spindle may have a smidge shorter bottom end which would tuck in the bottom of the tire a bit. Seems I wanted to get the tire to stand back up and compensate for the top of the tire tipping in from the lowering. Or, the spindles may have had the same measurements and I'm just blowing smoke .I'll never be able to tell you for sure. LOL
You could be right. Seems to me the upper joints were the three bolt on the later car, but I did not need to change anything on the uppers to make it all work on mine. I don't know what the improvement is going from the square flange to the triangular one on the ball joints is either.....but I do remember the three bolt ones cost a lot less. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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