The Packer Pontiac “Swiss cheese” Catalina. Photos by David Newhardt, courtesy Mecum Auctions.
It took more than just horsepower to push Detroit’s full-size cars into the 12s in the early 1960s – it also took some extreme weight-saving measures, perhaps none more extreme than Pontiac’s “Swiss cheese” approach. But it also took the talent of drivers and tuners like Howard Maselles, whose ultra-lightweight record-setting 1963 Pontiac Catalina will cross the block this month and could sell for as much as $800,000.
In order to shed weight from the Catalina in 1962, Pontiac introduced a series of aluminum parts – such as front and rear bumpers, front fenders and fender liners, hood, radiator support, splash pan, and radiator – chopping an impressive 159 pounds from the production car’s curb weight of 3,730 pounds. With a 421-cu.in Super Duty V-8 beneath the hood conservatively rated at 405 horsepower, these Catalinas were capable of mid-12 second runs at the hands of drivers like Arlen Vanke, Arnie Beswick, Hayden Proffitt and Howard Maselles.
The competition did not sit idly by, and by the end of the 1962 season, Pontiac realized that substantial changes to the Catalina would be necessary to keep the car competitive in 1963. Additional horsepower for the 421-cu.in. Super Duty V-8 came with the addition of new Mickey Thompson pistons that boosted the compression ratio from 12.0:1 to 13.0:1, a new camshaft grind working lighter valves, updated cylinder heads with larger exhaust valves, and a new a “bathtub” intake manifold. Just as the old Super Duty 421 was deliberately underrated at 405 horsepower, so too was the updated Super Duty 421, which “officially” produced 410 horsepower, at least according to the numbers published by Pontiac.
The big changes for 1963, however, came in the form of a crash diet that saw the Catalina shed roughly another 270 pounds over the previous year’s car, putting the 1963 factory lightweight Catalina at a truly impressive 3,300 pounds. To achieve this, engineers cut the car’s box frame to form a U-shaped frame, then set to work cutting approximately 120 holes in the steel frame to shed weight (and, presumably, leave the frame just strong and rigid enough for competition). It was this distinctive lightening that gave rise to the car’s “Swiss cheese” nickname, but the weight savings didn’t stop there. Like the 1962 cars, the new versions benefited from the extensive use of aluminum in front end components and the deletion of all sound-deadening material, and further weight savings were realized by deleting the front anti-roll bar (the lightweight Catalinas, Pontiac rationalized, would not be cornered aggressively). Big gains came in the form of thinner-gauge aluminum stampings for the front fenders, hood, and other non-stressed members, as well as the use of aluminum (instead of cast iron) for the exhaust manifolds. While this change alone saved 45 pounds, the design was not without its faults; if run too long, the hot exhaust gasses from the Super Duty 421 were capable of melting the aluminum exhaust manifolds. Just 14 “Swiss cheese” Catalinas were built, going to established Pontiac drag racers, including Mickey Thompson, Union Park Pontiac, and Maselles at Packer Pontiac.
At the hands of driver Maselles, the “Swiss cheese” Super Duty lightweight Catalina carrying the livery of Packer Pontiac (“America’s Largest Pontiac Dealer”) established itself as the NHRA C/Stock record holder in 1963, with a pass of 12.27 seconds at 114.64 MPH, a record that would stand until 1968. Sold by the team at the end of the 1963 season, this rare racing Pontiac was discovered by Super Duty collector Randy Williams in the late 1970s, and eventually subjected to a frame-off restoration by Pontiac expert Scott Tiemann that was completed in 2000. Williams only got to enjoy the car until his death in 2004; since that time it’s crossed the auction stage at least three times.
In 2006, it was offered as part of a five car “Super Duty” lot from the Randy Williams collection at Mecum’s St. Charles, Illinois, auction, but bidding stalled at $1,550,000. When the cars were split into five individual lots at that auction, they generated a total of nearly $1.9 million, with the Packer Pontiac “Swiss cheese” Catalina selling for $400,000. The car then crossed the stage a couple more times since then, first at Mecum’s Indianapolis auction in 2010, where bidding reached a high of $475,000, and then in 2012 at Mecum’s Dallas auction, where bidding went up to $570,000; it didn’t sell at either of the two auctions. For this year’s Indianapolis sale, Mecum expects the Packer Pontiac to realize a selling price between $600,000 and $800,000.
Mecum’s Indianapolis sale will take place May 13-18, and this car is scheduled to cross the stage on Saturday, May 17. For further details, visit Mecum.com.
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