Right off the bat, I don’t mind admitting that I have a borderline unhealthy attachment to Mayfair Maize 1965 Catalinas. After all, a Ventura that looked very similar to the above 2+2 is my “one that got away,” the car that keeps me up at night. If I had let a Tri-Power 421 get away, I may be beyond help at this point.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll take you back thirteen years, to when I was a 23-year-old looking for a winter car. I wanted an old car to drive around, so I drove three hours to look at a 1965 Catalina Ventura Sport Coupe for sale. It was a 389-2V equipped hardtop with 8-lug wheels(!). It had zero rust, one tear in its black interior, and a dent in the quarter. I’m pretty sure I could have taken it home for under $3000. I didn’t have much money at the time, and it felt like it would have needed some engine/suspension work. I decided to pass, and it’s probably good I did, because subjecting that sweetheart to the salt would have been one of the dumbest things in the world.
That was the last time I saw that particular car, for better or for worse, but this attractive 2+2 edition floats around Michigan car shows and the Stanton Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Race just to taunt me year after year. Even Uncle Tom McCahill loved the 2+2s, considering them to be neck and neck with the Riviera as the best looking car of ’65. Since the one I passed up was Mayfair Maize, I have a sweet spot for that color, and it seems like that was a featured color for ’65, considering that several of Pontiac’s beautiful advertisements featured a 2+2 in that yellow hue.
Speaking of advertising, I don’t think anybody in the 1960s could hold a candle to Pontiac’s. As a collector of antique car ads, I am lucky enough to have observed them all. By 1965, many advertisements were banal and lifeless, but Pontiac was smart enough to employ Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman to illustrate their ads throughout from the late ’50s until the early 70s, and they’re works of art. Every single one of them is beautiful; head and shoulders above the rest. The ad copy was usually intriguing, as well. I wonder if Jim Wangers was the principal writer for these. (A few more F & K Pontiac ads here)
By comparison, the 1965 ads for my beloved Buicks almost universally used a photographed car in front of a plain white background; even a pretty model thrown in couldn’t help much. It’s no wonder so many people bought Pontiacs in the 1960s.
Under the hood, the 2+2 option meant that the lucky owner automatically got the 421-cubic-inch Pontiac instead of the 389. The standard 4-barrel was rated at 338 horsepower, while the Tri-Powers wielded 356 or 376. This 2+2 runs down the quarter mile in the mid-14s or so, which is not too bad considering its bulk; it looks like a big, beautiful, yellow aircraft carrier moaning down the quarter-mile. This one’s even air-conditioned!
It seems like GM dusted most of their magic on the exterior of the 2+2, as the interior is standard GM, with a longitudinal speedometer and fairly nondescript dashboard. The 2+2 had buckets (and this one had a console with a vacuum gauge on it), but regular Catalinas would have been bench-seat equipped. As an aside, I think a vacuum gauge is underrated. Having one permanently mounted inside the car is an outstanding tuning tool for someone who’s ever messed with an old car’s carburetion.
While I like the tri-gauge pod in the center of the dashboard, the interior is a bit ho-hum. I think that, in this time period, the coolest dashboards had to belong to the full-size Chrysler and Mercury.
photo courtesy of www.330gt.com
Car and Driver thought enough of the 2+2 to test it against a Ferrari 330GT 2+2 in its March 1965 edition. It actually proved itself better than you might expect, but Pontiac did have a reputation for providing “ringers” to the car magazines, so that may be an invalid test.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t return to the 8-lug wheel. The pictured Catalina 2+2 and the one I passed up both carry this option, and I think it’s the best looking wheel of all time. The finned center section is actually the brake drum, and the wheel surround bolts to it. Try finding a new drum for that at your local parts store!
The 2+2 only lasted through the 1967 model year, when it became clear that full-size muscle cars were not the sales force they once were. After all, Pontiac was selling all the GTOs they wanted, so the 2+2 became somewhat superfluous in its lineup. For four model years, however, Pontiac created arguably the best full-size machines of the Big 3, maybe the rightful heir to Chrysler’s 300. And they look glorious in Mayfair Maize.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
What a beauty .
I think that dashboard is good looking .
-Nate
1966 was the first year when the tri-gauge pod co-existed with air conditioning.
Beautiful car! But I disagree with you on the dashbord – I think its stunning and distinctive!
I like the pale yellows that were available at that time. My mother had 66 Corvair In Lemonwood yellow, which looks very similar to me, and our neighbours across the street had a Canadian Pontiac in a pale yellow, but it was a 4 door sedan.
Being the current owner of a ’65 Catalina Ventura with 421 Tripower 4spd and years ago owned a ’66 Grand Prix with 389 and I’m extremely fond of early to late ’60’s full size Pontiacs. GP was white and the Cat is Capri Gold. Never was a fan of Mayfair Maize or even Vedoro green. Just seemed those two colors were so common, the green has grown on me over the years. I love the interiors of those years, dash included. The Cat dash is basic but GP had real wood veneer, console with vacuum gauge and Parchment upholstery which has a pearlescent sheen, beautiful.
I really loved the Pontiacs of this era. My oldest sister wanted a 65 LeMans. My BIL said that was fine but he wanted it to be a little better than a grocery getter. So he ordered a 2 door with a 326 and a 3 on the tree. It was not well equipped though-I think an AM/FM and maybe a gauge package were it. But I recall my dad really enjoying any behind the wheel time in that car.
I’m glad to see so many older cars survive.
I have always loved the concept of a gentleman’s express. Sure, Pontiac was selling plenty of GTOs but the 2+2 had real panache. There were never many around and there was plenty of go fast stuff on the 2+2.
Triple carbs are cool but I can imagine how gas station mechanics messed with them. I’d wager getting them properly balanced would be a dealer only kind of thing.
We got the 2+2 in Canada, but it was based on the Canadian Pontiac, so all Chevrolet underneath.
And the Canadian 2+2 lasted longer. Many years ago I saw a 1970 2+2 with a 454 at the POCI Convention in the Quad Cities.
Pontiac used a vacuum system to activate/deactivate the Tri-Power’s end carbs. A lot of them were converted to mechanical setups, especially for modified engines.
Impressive car. Wouldn’t care for the high maintenance, white, interior. Looks good though.
Beautiful car! I love the Pontiacs of the era. They had unique styling. That said, I can only shudder when I think of a gas station mechanic trying to balance the triple carb setup. I’d wager plenty got converted to a four barrel.
Oh man, I have to confess! My buddy bought a mint Nightwatch Blue 2+2 in 1981. He put the tri power 421 in a 69 GTO. I got the bucket seats and vacuum gage. We junked the rest of the car. $200.00 well spent for him! Sad!
The ’65 Pontiacs are among my favorite ’60s car designs. My Dad bought a ’65 Bonneville, medium blue with almost a turquoise hue, with identical vinyl interior. The Bonneville dash had real wood. Dad bought it ‘right’ from either a small-town dealer or privately through a repair shop because the original engine had thrown pistons. The deal came with a new 421 installed. Beautiful car and I remember many of the little details, the center-seat big radio speaker, the ‘pontiac indian’ high-beam indicator and the thermometer-style climate control system.
We had the car for about 3-4 years, then Dad decided it was time to replace the car, don’t recall the reason, and he traded it for a ’69 Bonneville. Nice car, but kinda homely next to the ’65. He was tempted by a low-mileage ’66 Buick Wildcat, beautiful maroon with black top and interior, power-everything, but I think he did want newer, preferred a coupe and when the local dealer was going to take it out for Mom to try, it didn’t start. Starter was replaced, but Dad took it as a sign and onto the nice but just okay looking ’69 Bonneville coupe.
My wayward older cousin somehow got his hands on a lightly used ’65 Pontiac 2+2 sometime in the mid 60s. He showed up at our house with a friend after Thanksgiving dinner and took my brother and me on what remains as the wildest, scariest, and yet exhilarating ride of my life.
I was 14 or so at the time; we went to what was then a largely rural area near the Pittsburgh International Airport. I remember one oncoming driver pulling completely off the road when he saw us approaching! Needless to say, my brother and I remained mum to our elders about the antics we experienced once we were deposited back at home.
I have always thought that the larger Pontiacs were some of the most beautiful sedans produced in Detroit! If you ever catch reruns of My three sons ( the black and white episodes) at the end they show the Pontiac line! The drawings were mere marketing prints, however they showed the beauty of these sedans! When people think of GM classic cars, they automatically think Chevy however Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick created some fantastic cars that are worth collecting and preserving!!
My Uncle Bob bought a used 65 Catalina sedan in probably 1969 or 70. Dark turquoise outside and light turquoise inside, it was a beautiful car. That dash was always one of my favorites, so I don’t consider it nondescript at all.
But I must part company with you on those light yellow paint colors of the mid 60s – I think that is a color I would buy the right car in spite of, not because of. At least back then they had colors for everyone’s tastes.
When I grew up as a 3 to 7 years old boy.There was a man who lived up the road.He was a hells angel.He always road his motorcycle.But when he didn’t,he drove his 2+2.I always remember the cool numbers on the bottom of the car.So I asked my older brother,What does 2+2 mean.He told me 2 carburetors and dual exhaust.Car was gold.Or dark green.Had the good rims .I loved that car.I believe that was the first high performance car I had seen.To this day I love cars .
Posi rear and dual exhaust.Correction.