GMs At Mecum: Pontiac's "Swiss Cheese" Catalina

Truth be told, the Beach Boys probably never wrote a song about a Pontiac B-body. It may have been attributable to the fact that it was the Bowtie influence of the performance scene that inspired so much of drag race folklore. But in the midst of the Chevy 409's quarter-mile success, there was Pontiac's twist on the B platform, one that came along just before the end of GM's Super/Stock legacy.

Featured at the Mecum auction block this month at Indy is this rare specimen of Pontiac muscle, one of 14 "Swiss Cheese" Catalinas to run in NHRA's Super/Stock category, sporting a dual-quad, Super Duty 421 V-8. Extensively modified, the hopped-up Catalina is notorious for its modded, U-section frame and 120 "Swiss Cheese" holes drilled into the car's frame rails.

Incorporated into the 1963 drag race season, the SD Catalinas were equipped with Borg-Warner three-speeds, chasing a Posi rear differential with 4.30:1 cogs. Most of the cars, however, were converted to B-W, close-ratio 4-speeds with either a 4.56 or 4.88 rear cog.

Further enhanced with lightweight panels and other weight-saving components, the 410-horse Catalina ran 12-second passes at trap speeds of up to 120 miles per hour. An elimination of sound deadening materials, along with the car's 120-hole framerail setup and missing front sway bar, made for a 3,308-pound whip that put Pontiac in the game, even before the GTO.

It's one of the Pontiac performance world's rarest gems, and it will be featured at Mecum in Indianapolis on May 17th. Be sure to keep a lookout for this bad-ass, B-body!